4 young sailors shine in Spain

FOUR young South African sailors from less-advantaged backgrounds arrived in Ibiza Town on Wednesday, 7 October on board the 24-metre classic schooner, Aloha-J of Cariba, after a 70 nautical-mile passage from Palma de Mallorca.

The four sailors, aged between 16 and 21, were selected from Cape Town and Durban to take part in the international Marine Inspirations programme, which introduces young people to career possibilities in the super-yacht industry.

Mfundo Joseph (18) and Xolani Innocent Jali (18), both students at Lawhill Maritime Centre in Cape Town, and Nhlanhla Lucky Phakathi (21) and Menelisi Mkhize (16), from sailing development organisation, Sail Africa in Durban, were the four youngsters selected for this opportunity of a lifetime.

They were chosen by their teachers based upon the potential and enthusiasm they demonstrated in their maritime-related studies in South Africa.

The maritime students have been in the Balearic Islands participating in a two-week mentoring project organised by Marine Inspirations to give them hands-on seamanship and navigation experience.

Marine Inspirations was founded in 2014 by semi-retired super-yacht captains, Phil Wade and Anthony Just, both originally from South Africa, who have had successful careers in the yachting industry and wanted to ‘give something back’.

Phil Wade graduated from Merchant Marine Training Institution General Botha in Gordon’s Bay in 1961, and Anthony Just graduated as a naval officer at Gordon’s Bay Naval Officer Training College in 1981 – the same institution, albeit under different names and some two decades apart.

Phil and I founded Marine Inspirations to introduce youngsters from less-advantaged backgrounds to possible careers in the maritime industry – said Anthony.

“This is the first time traveling on an aircraft for these boys, let alone visiting and sailing aboard super-yachts in the Mediterranean,” said Marine Inspirations co-founder, Anthony Just.

“This is the third group of youngsters for whom we have organised programmes here in the Balearic Islands. We are extremely grateful to Spike Thompson and Amanda Butler at the Ibiza Rendezvous for inviting us last year to participate in their inaugural regatta in Ibiza last year, which gave our first two young participants hands-on experience of racing a super-yacht event.

“It was a great experience for the guys last year, and we’re looking forward to taking part in next year’s Ibiza Rendezvous with more visiting student-sailors once again,” he added.

In June this year, another two young students, Thami Hoza and Archie Leeu, from the Lawhill Maritime Centre, were invited by Marine Inspirations to fly to Mallorca for two weeks to participate in the prestigious Palma Super-yacht Cup event, racing aboard the Perini Navi superyacht P2, while living aboard Aloha-J of Cariba. They also participated in various work experience programmes during their stay.

A total of 13 young sailors have so far participated in Marine Inspirations initiatives in Europe and the Caribbean since the very first initiative of this kind in October last year.

During this recent event, which has just concluded, the four young sailors from South Africa took part in training exercises aboard the classic wooden schooner Aloha-J of Cariba, which was built in 1930 and is part-owned by Anthony. Under the expert guidance of these two highly experienced mariners, Phil and Anthony, activities aboard included rope-work, knot-tying, man-overboard drills, helming, navigation and passage planning.

“It’s been great to have this opportunity and the hands-on experience has been really useful. I study at Lawhill Maritime Centre but it’s the first time I’ve been on a sailing boat.

“The experience will help me to widen my career options. I didn’t know anything about the super-yacht industry before coming on this Marine Inspirations programme.

“All my studies have been focused on a career in commercial shipping and nobody had ever told us about the super-yacht industry.

“I still want to pursue a career as an engineer, but this experience has definitely opened my eyes to other possibilities,” said student, Mfundo Joseph.

During their stay in the Balearic Islands, the four young South African sailors visited a number of marine-related businesses to get insight into the diverse activities and services that are needed to support the super-yacht industry.  They also visited a number of sailing and motor yachts for guided tours aboard.

Craig Millar, founder of Sail Africa and Commodore of Point Yacht Club in Durban, said, “We’re extremely proud of our boys (Lucky and Menelisi) and we are grateful to Marine Inspirations for providing this incredible opportunity for them to get insight into the super-yacht industry. I hope this will be the beginning of a long-term collaboration.”

Marine Inspirations co-founder, Phil Wade, said: “Our aim is two-fold in that we want to inspire both the young people taking part in our programme and also to inspire marine businesses, yacht-owners, captains and associated individuals to get directly involved by supporting the project and giving opportunities to young people who would not otherwise dream of this option, to potentially pursue careers in the super-yacht industry or other maritime avenues.”

Marine-related businesses provide the initiative with goods and services in kind, and also by provide work-experience opportunities and yacht visits for participants.

Marine Inspirations connects the sponsors directly with the students so that the donors can see exactly where their money is going in direct-funding for each individual youngster.

“This is different from most charities where donations are collected and pooled, and the sponsor does not know exactly what they actually sponsored or where their funds went,” Phil said.

The four sailors sailed back to Palma from Marina Ibiza on Saturday 11 October and flew back to South Africa on Tuesday evening, 13 October.