Tall ship “Eendracht”. (CST photo)
MARIGOT--Non-profit association Caribbean Sail Training (CST) has announced it will again offer great sailing adventures to Caribbean youngsters in the upcoming 2023 season.
In cooperation with the Dutch “Stichting Zeilschip Eendracht”, and with the help of sponsoring from a young girl who sailed on a sail training vessel to the Caribbean, it has secured space for four Caribbean youngsters to embark as “trainees” on a sailing adventure completely free of cost.
Tall ship Eendracht was not in the Caribbean last season and the season before mainly due to COVID-19 restrictions but took youngsters on board several times during previous seasons for trips around the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and other islands, as well as on longer voyages.
“We are very happy that foundation Stichting Zeilschip Eendracht, operator of the vessel Eendracht, offered CST again the possibility to have young trainees on board this vessel,” says CST Advisory board member Ellie Sneep. “We have been working with Eendracht for so many years and everybody knows that sail training on board a tall ship provides young people with a unique opportunity to discover their real and true potential.”
The shared experience of meeting the sometimes-harsh demands of the sea brings a world of change to youngsters that has surprised educators, parents and psychologists all over the world and wherever sail training exists.
Meeting the challenge of a tall ship’s environment develops personal skills, teamwork, personal accountability, as well as leadership in all who experience it. Students who return to the basics and the sea are offered a compelling learning environment.
This time CST received much appreciated co-sponsoring from a Dutch girl, Emma Boer, who herself sailed on board Wylde Swan (another long-time CST member vessel). Boer organised a sponsoring drive for herself to help offset the cost of sailing on Wylde Swan as a trainee student last year and in addition she collected money for a good cause, which she wanted to donate to a Caribbean non-profit organisation.
While sailing on Wylde Swan she spoke with the Wylde Swan’s Captain Richard Slootweg, who explained to her what CST had been doing already for many years, and she decided to donate that money to CST so that other youngsters could also experience what she did on another vessel.
Eligible to apply for the Eendracht voyage are all youngsters born on a Caribbean island (girls or boys) or who have lived in the Caribbean for at least 10 years. Applicants must be ages 16-21 years (no exceptions) and be in possession of a doctor’s certificate of good health.
A letter is needed from parents allowing the trainee to go on a sail-training trip if the trainee is younger than 18 years. A letter is also required from the school (if the trainee is still attending school) that allows the youngster to go on school leave to participate in a voyage, when it is not during the regular school vacation time.
A valid ID or passport copy with proof of address on a Caribbean island is required. The applicant will need a passport in order to travel to the Virgin Islands (ID alone will not be enough).
Each candidate needs to write, and send by e-mail, a motivation/application letter to the Caribbean Sail Training Association at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. together with a CV. WhatsApp application will not be accepted, only e-mail. Food and beverages are provided free of cost on board. Not included are souvenirs and eventual on-shore excursions.
The nine-night voyage to the Virgin Islands is scheduled for February 1, 2023, to February 10, 2023. Embarkation is from Marigot, St. Martin, on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, with boarding at 4:00pm. Disembarkation is in Marigot, St. Martin, on Friday, February 10, 2023, at 12:00pm.
For more information visit the CST website: https://www.CaribbeanSailTraining.org.
