Local BV Islanders Graduate from Marine Training Programme

 

This past summer, two BV Islanders Recaldo Noel Jr and Shakudo Pickering graduated from the Marine Professional Training program at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Both men received full scholarships from Sailors for Hope and the Stanley Blaxton Foundation.  Noel and Shakudo were hired immediately out of their apprenticeship programs into Full Time employment into the Marine Sector.

Sailors for Hope congratulates Recaldo, Shakudo and all of the other graduates for a job well done.

Below is a letter, which we received the other day from the Marine Professional Training programme manager.

 Good morning Don,

Sincere thanks for your very kind support of Marine Professional Training (MPT) Level 1.

I’m very pleased (actually quite proud) to update you on Recaldo Noel, Jr and Shakudo Pickering, the MPT L1 Cohort 4 candidates sponsored by Sailors for Hope this past Spring 2022.

Both were hired immediately out of their Apprenticeships into Full Time employment in the Marine Sector.

This is precisely the outcome that I look for with our MPT L1 programmes- namely, that candidates are exposed to workforce opportunities, and employers have the chance to audit potential hires for entry-level roles in the marine industry.

As an update:

  • Recaldo is working F/T at Nanny Cay on their Marina Team.
  • Shakudo is working F/T at BVI Yacht Charters with their Technical Department.

What’s more, each of these young men has added to their workload a Community-based Part/Time engagement, fitting our Blue Economy model for resilient ecosystems and robust economies:

  • Shakudo works 10 hours / week for HLSCC’s Mangrove Nursery, assisting in the care and maintenance of mangrove seedlings as part of HLSCC’s coastal resilience initiative to protect our shorelines and juvenile fish habitats.
  • Recaldo was one of 5 MPT candidates that were hand-picked as instructors for Kids and the Sea (KATS), a cherished youth focused NPO that has been in the Territory for over 30 years.

Here is a lovely short video produced by one of our instructor trainers which features Recaldo (aka ‘Junior’) in a typical day at KATS: KATS Video by Cara Brown

Don, your support makes all the difference in these young people’s lives.

MPT Level 1, Cohort 5 is due to begin in January 2023. We are currently inteviewing candidates for enrollment and scholarships.

The MPT programme has attained tremendous fidelity in the BVI Community. For 12 spaces on Cohort 5, we’ve had over 40 applications!

Thank you to Sailors for Hope by helping our MPT candidates get their careers off to a great start!

With kind regards,

Matt

Matthew Holt | Marine Programme Manager

Centre for Applied Marine Studies (CAMS)P.O. Box 3097  |  Road Town, Tortola, VG1110  |  British Virgin IslandsMain: (284) 852-7000  |  Direct: (284) 852-7225  | mholt@hlscc.edu.vg  | www.hlscc.edu.vg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailors For Hope Providing Scholarships for Locals

Sailors For Hope Provides Scholarships for Two BV Islanders

Sailors For Hope and the Stanley Blaxton Foundation are proud to have sponsered two scholarships for Maritime Training at the H. Lavity Stout Community College in Tortola. Each scholarship consists of a $5,500.00 tuition grant. The recipiants are Recaldo Noel and Shakudo Pickering both from Tortola. Noel and Pickering were amoung five locals to apply.

Marine Professional Training (MPT) is a gateway learning platform into the BVI Marine Industry. It is comprised of internationally accredited certifications as well as workplace apprenticeship learning.

The participants meet at the H. Lavity Stout Community College Marine Center or participating businesses for two months, all day, each day.

Classes for the fourth installment of the MPT Programme begin on February 21st with a cohort of twelve participants. Students study various asspect of the marine industry for 8 weeks and apprentice (on-the-job-training) with local marine industries for 8 weeks. The students receive a salary of $8.00 per hour for the duration of the program.

The program consists of eight modules. Each week a new module is presented to develop and refine specific skills required for successful marine professionals. These skills are benchmarked and certified through Local, Regional and International Agencies.

Modules include the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Essential Navigation and Seamanship (ENAS); Basic Safety Training; Fundamentals of Marine Service Technology (electrical, engine, electronics and plumbing); Fiber Glassing; Woodworking; Swimming and Water Safety; Customer Service; US Sailing Basic Keelboat Training; Watchkeeping for Seafarers training and Discover Scuba.

The participants benefit from presentations from a number of guest professionals/practitioners as well as receiving training through the International Convention on Standards of Training programme as well.

The funding for these scholarships was made available through generous donations to the Sailors For Hope General Fund.

 

Stanley Blaxton Foundation is a educational support foundations located in Chesapeake Virginia USA.

Sailors For Hope is a non-profit all-volunteer organization dedicated to fundraising for individuals and community projects impacted by natural and ecomomic disasters in maritime environments.

 

Charter Yacht Society Supports BVI Youth Sailing

Charter Yacht Society supports BVI Youth Sailing

During the BVI Dinghy Championships, we welcomed Charter Yacht Society Executive Director, Janet Oliver to meet the young sailors and present a cheque to the Youth Sailing Programme.

Ms Oliver explained to the sailors that the CYS is committed to supporting the future generations of sailors as many of the captains and crew grew up in sailing programs just like the Royal BVI Yacht Club’s.

Each registrant at the Charter Yacht Show, held in November at Nanny Cay, whether they are a broker or crew is a contributor to the fundraising effort.  The CYS support reflects their dedication to ensuring the passion and discipline of sailing is passed on to the young people of the BVI.  “Many of you sailing here today may be the charter yacht professionals of the future” explained Ms Oliver “and our members are proud to support the early years of your journey.

Thank you CYS from all at the Royal BVI Yacht Club!

Donations: BVI Youth Sailing

$475 of $5,000 raised

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Donation Total: $25.00

Youth Sailing in the BVI

From the 2018 Commodore’s Report

JANUARY. A Hugh moment… the first youth sailing class after hurricane Irma.

As 2018 draws to a close, I would like to thank everyone who has supported the RBVIYC over the past year.  The sailing community is an incredible family throughout the world and we are enormously grateful for all the contributions that have helped us get back on our feet since the events of September 2017.

Our youth sailing programme is returning to it’s former glory with active classes, watersports camps and racing activities.  Toby McCullough joined the team from Northern Ireland in July, thrown in at the deep end to a busy summer of camps he is now running a maxed out after school and Saturday programme.

None of this would be possible without hard work and dedication to raise funds for new equipment, repairing equipment and keeping the faith in our young people.

It is a huge honour to acknowledge the generous contribution of one of our founder members, Mr Peter Haycraft, who enabled us to purchase seven of our new boats (four Optimists and three RS Fevas).  At our annual awards this year, Mr Haycraft was awarded the Roslyn Griffiths Memorial Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Club which goes just a small way to expressing the appreciation of the club and our young sailors.

We would also like to recognize:

Manhattan Yacht Club – Optimist ‘Liberty’
West End Yacht Club – Optimist ‘Loyalist’
Quiz Night – RS Feva ‘Quizzical’

Nanny Cay, Doyle Sails, B+G, Conch Charters, Gene’s Bar and Grill, Golden Hind Chandlery, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Fresh Mango, the Charter Yacht Society, O’Neal and Mundy, TICO, Road Town Wholesale, Kyle Roose, Sam Childs and Sailor’s for Hope and all the individuals who have given donations, their time and their energy.

The new RS Fevas have proved to be an excellent addition to our fleet, loved by kids and adults alike so we are looking forward to really putting them through their paces in 2019…..

Season’s Greetings and fair winds for 2019.

Giles Wood, Commodore

All At Sea Features Sailors for Hope Preparing for 2018 Hurricane Season

“Marine-Manned Aid Organizations Ready for 2018 Hurricane Season – British Virgin Islands”

by Carol M. Bareuther – As originally appearing in All At Sea

The number of hurricane relief organizations that sprang up and helped hard-hit Caribbean islands in the wake of last year’s storms was heartwarming. One of these, Sailors for Hope, drew extensively on the love of sailors globally for this region to create a network of assistance. What is noteworthy is that nearly a year later, many organizations such as Sailors for Hope are still in operation. These operations have continually changed focus to adapt to the needs of those they serve, from supplying generators and making roof repairs in the immediate aftermath of the storms, to helping with normal everyday needs today. Most of all, with the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season starting on June 1st, it’s heartening to know these organizations are ready to help should disaster strike again.

“Sailing, by its very nature, requires the best of you,” says Don Makowiecki, an East Patchogue, New York, USA-based US Sailing International Judge, Senior Judge and Umpire, who has officiated at many Caribbean regattas and who founded Sailors for Hope last fall. “Sailors must learn to be creative, take risks and keep a steady helm. What I’m saying here is that sailors have goals, to win a race, to get to the next port etc. Once that goal is defined it usually is achieved. In this case, we all worked in our own way to achieve our goals, one
of which was to get relief aid to the British Virgin Islands right after the storm.”

Right from the start, Makowiecki’s team of on-island and stateside sailors brought their collective talents to the table. These included the BVI’s Judy Petz and Puerto Rico’s Diana Emmanuelli on communications, the BVI’s Chris Haycraft as a port agent and principal in two shipping companies, the USA’s sailing journalist and website writer, Michelle Slade, the USA’s Luiz Kahl of Yachtscoring.com to source supplies, the UK’s sailing photographer Ingrid
Abery, and the BVI’s Aristocat charter owners, Scott and Brittany Meyers on fundraising.

The scope of support quickly branched out as Makowiecki’s Caribbean sailing friends recommended local help organizations that could benefit. Many of these groups had, and continue to have, limited resources and presence for raising funds even before the hurricanes. One of these is the BVI’s Family Support Network, which aids those involved in domestic violence. Sailors for Hope donated generators for many single parent households and financially made it possible to feed 3,000-plus family members through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

“Hopefully, our page on the Sailors for Hope website will give us a broader audience and likely more donations,” says board president Judith Charles. Adopt a Roof and Youth Sailing in the BVI, Project Promise in St. Croix, USVI, and the K1 Britannia Foundation in St. Maarten, are other organizations for which Sailors for Hope currently raises awareness and funds.

Looking ahead, Slade says, “I think organizations like Sailors for Hope, which have deep seated personal connections throughout the Caribbean, is the most efficient way to reach those in need following a disaster. Sometimes working directly with local people on the ground who really understand exactly who needs what and when is more efficient than the big NGO efforts, although clearly there is a place of those organizations also.”

For more information, visit: www.sailorsforhope.com.

Carol M. Bareuther, RD, is a St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands based marine writer and registered dietitian.

$26,000 Grant to Sailors For Hope & Adopt A Roof BVI from BVI Immediate Relief Fund

Sailors For Hope today announced a $26,000 grant earmarked for Adopt a Roof BVI from the BVI Immediate Relief Fund. This increases total funds raised to $31,000. The funds will be used to support continued relief and aid projects for the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria in the BVI. 

Continue reading “$26,000 Grant to Sailors For Hope & Adopt A Roof BVI from BVI Immediate Relief Fund”

The Rebuild Continues for Youth Sailing in the BVI

It has been a fantastic few weeks for the BVI and particularly the sailing community so here’s a round up of our recent activities…

On Saturday 24 March we organized a Sport Relief Sailing Mile at Nanny Cay raising $386 for the youth sailing programme.  Much fun was had by the near 40 participants ranging from BVI Youth Team sailors, parents and several who took to the water for the very first time, including HE the Governor, Gus Jaspert who took an Opti out for a spin!

Continue reading “The Rebuild Continues for Youth Sailing in the BVI”