Achievements in 2025

Changing Horizons: The Impact of Seaview Sailing Trust

In her introduction to this years Impact Report, Chair Andrea Minton Beddoes reflects on a simple but powerful ambition: that children growing up on the Isle of Wight should not merely live beside the sea, but feel confident, capable and connected to it.

At the Seaview Sailing Trust, that ambition is becoming reality.

In 2025, we delivered 4,446 free sailing lessons to 723 Year 5 children from 20 local primary schools and home-educated families a 30% increase on 2024. Since our inception in 2022, we have funded over 10,000 three-hour lessons, enabling 1,792 Isle of Wight children to learn to sail.

Each child attends between five and ten weekly sessions, working towards their RYA Dinghy Level 1 or 2 certificate, taught by qualified instructors at Sea View Yacht Club. But while the certificates matter, the deeper impact cannot be measured purely in numbers.

Confidence Where It Matters Most

The Isle of Wight contains some of the most deprived areas in the UK and has one of the highest proportions of children with special educational needs. Despite living on an island, many children have never been to the beach. Some arrive at sailing lessons anxious or withdrawn. Others are unused to trusting adults outside their immediate family.

Week by week, something remarkable happens.

Children who begin in tears finish with smiles. They discover resilience as they navigate changing winds. They learn teamwork when crewing together. They learn independence when they take the helm.

You show them a horizon that's not to be feared, but to be embraced.

The horizon represents far more than open water. It represents possibility.

Beth shared the story of one pupil whose early years were shaped by instability and hardship. On the water, for the first time, he was not simply reacting to circumstances he was making decisions. He learned to trust instructors. He learned to belong to a team. He began to believe in his future. Today, he is thriving at secondary school and aspires to join the Navy.

His journey reflects what teachers consistently tell us: sailing changes how children see themselves.

Opening Doors Across the Island

In 2025, we expanded both reach and depth. Five new schools joined the programme, bringing our total to 20. We introduced Swim Safe training to strengthen essential water safety skills. Our Saturday Club continued to provide progression opportunities for just £1 per session, ensuring that enthusiasm can turn into lasting engagement.

We are also investing in accessibility improvements so that children with additional needs can fully participate. Our guiding principle is clear: no child should miss out.

None of this would be possible without our supporters. In 2025, we raised over £276,000, enabling us not only to grow but to plan confidently for the future. Our long-term ambition is to reach every Year 5 child across the Isle of Wight.

As Andrea writes in her introduction, this work ensures that Island children become active participants in the wonders of the sea.

When you support Seaview Sailing Trust, you are not simply funding sailing lessons. You are giving children proof that they matter and placing them at the helm of their own futures.