Ancasta Yacht Services

Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust

When the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust approached Ancasta to help find and develop a yacht to make sailing more accessible for young people living through and beyond cancer, no-one imagined quite how big an impact that would have.

Here is the latest on how young lives are being transformed by the Trust’s flagship Beneteau Oceanis 45s; the ‘Heroes.’

ALL ONBOARD AGAIN

“My whole future was ahead of me and then I got diagnosed, it felt like my world came crashing down. I’m two years in remission now and I still feel like I’m trying to climb a mountain to get back to whatever kind of normal was.”

Chrissy, now 25, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma - an aggressive bone cancer - in her shoulder in 2019. She was just two weeks from graduating from university and spent the first COVID lockdown undergoing treatment in Bristol. Her entire shoulder blade was removed. This summer, Chrissy was one of 519 young people aged 8-24 supported by the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. Sailing was not something she had ever imagined herself doing, especially since her surgery. But sailing for four days with the Trust in July gave her a great sense of achievement and feeling of optimism about what lies ahead. Chrissy continues:

“It was quite an aggressive tumour, the size of a grapefruit, and it started breaking the surrounding bones, so I was left with just one shoulder." "Going sailing was quite surreal. I didn't think I'd ever be able to do anything like it. I'd opted out of quite a few things since having one working arm. But the Trust said you can get involved as much or as little as you want, and they help you all the way if you need that extra hand."

"I felt quite proud of myself that I managed to do the ropes and even steer the boat with one arm. It really boosted my confidence in my body. I know my limits because I've been able to push them with that support. I felt more optimistic about the future and that I can go and do anything.”

BACK AFLOAT

MacArthur Cancer Trust takes young people sailing and on outdoor adventures to inspire them to believe in a brighter future living through and beyond cancer. For many young people, simply picking up where they left off before their diagnosis just isn’t possible. So, when treatment ends, the Trust’s work begins. The Trust gives young people the environment to have fun, push their boundaries, and stop feeling like ‘the only one’. They feel more accepted, independent, and optimistic and can start to rediscover their purpose and place in the world.

2022 was a magical year for the Trust. After the pandemic scuppered any sailing in 2020, the Trust ran a limited programme in 2021. 2022 was about getting back to normal while still living with COVID. Altogether 36 sailing and outdoor adventure trips were run across the UK, with 266 young people sailing with the Trust for the first time from the charity’s two homes in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight and Largs on Scotland’s west coast. In addition, 226 young people who had previously sailed with the Trust returned for new adventures.

One of these was Josh, who took part in June’s Round the Island Race. Josh first sailed with the Trust in 2018 after treatment for synovial sarcoma - a soft tissue tumour, which he was diagnosed with just before his 20th birthday. This was his third sailing adventure, and for the first time, he got to sail alongside Dame Ellen MacArthur herself Josh said:

“Being with the Trust made me realise how some limitations are now advantages. If I can sail, I can probably try this or do that, it really helps you to push your boundaries.”

For more information visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org

Sailing towards 20 years

In 2023, the Trust celebrates its 20th anniversary. In that time 2,836 young people living through and beyond cancer have benefitted from sailing with the Trust. The Trust also launches its Ambitions for 2023-25, with the aim to be accessible to all young people who have a cancer diagnosis in the UK and have the biggest impact possible on every one of them.

Frank Fletcher, CEO, concludes:

"It was wonderful to support so many young people again. To see our bases on the island and in Largs buzzing with excitement for the whole summer was truly magical."

“It’s a proud time to reflect on what’s been achieved in the past 20 years and to look ahead at how much more we could do to inspire even more young people to believe in a brighter future living through and beyond cancer.”