Ocean Youth Trust South buys Sail Training Vessel Prolific

Ocean Youth Trust South one of the UK’s leading sail training charities for young people, is delighted to announce that the charity has just agreed the purchase of Prolific – a stunning vessel with real beauty and genuine character.

Prolific was built in 2005, as a tribute to the herring-fishing vessels in operation along the Norwegian coast during the 19th century. The ship is a hybrid of historic design and modern-day construction. Most recently she has been used for sail training with young people in Norway.

Richard Griffiths, Chairman of OYT South, says: “We are thrilled to be able to bring this unique boat to the UK, where she can play a major part for many years to come in helping young people to develop the skills to succeed in life.”

Mark Todd, OYT South’s Chief Executive, says: “The purchase of Prolific allows us to plan the charity’s future well beyond what would have been the life expectancy of our current vessel  John Laing.  It means we can move forward with all our attention focused on what really matters: running great voyages, attracting clients, continually improving how we work and what we offer, raising funds to allow more disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals to sail with us, and above all, making a real and lasting difference to young people. That’s why OYT South exists and Prolific will help us to do that for many years to come. Our immediate priorities now are a major appeal to raise funds for a refit and modifications to Prolific over the coming winter, and to make sure that as many young people as possible from a wide range of backgrounds have the chance to book a voyage for 2016.”

See here for more information about Prolific: http://www.oytsouth.org/prolific.asp.
See here for details of OYT South's charitable work: http://www.oytsouth.org/charity.asp.

OYT South’s major sponsors, including MDL Marinas, International Paint and Raymarine, all welcomed the purchase of Prolific:  http://www.oytsouth.org/prolific.asp#sponsors. The charity would like to extend deepest gratitude to all the sponsors and donors who have made the purchase of Prolific possible.

Ocean Youth Trust South will be seeking a buyer for their current vessel, John Laing, after the 2015 sailing season ends in November.