UKSA to invest in four new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449s

At Southampton Boat Show on Thursday, 20^th September, UKSA were delighted to announce the purchase four Jeanneau 449s. The purchase has been funded by trading in part of the charity’s existing fleet and the support of the Neighbourly Charitable Trust, allowing UKSA to offer the most up to date training vessels for the Professional Yachtmaster Offshore and Flagship Superyacht Cadetship courses.

The announcement was attended by UKSA’s CEO Ben Willows, Nigel Colley and Tim Harley from Sea Ventures, and Jean-Phillipe Brun, the Sales Director at Jeanneau.

UKSA is both a charity and the leading brand and largest provider of RYA Yachtmasters anywhere in the world. During 2017/18, we undertook a strategic review of our yachting programme, aligning it to our vision of ‘widening access to maritime training, enhancing life skills and employment within the sector’. The outcome was a decision to invest in a matched fleet to support our ongoing mission to deliver excellence in maritime training.

Investing in the future

As part of this decision, it was agreed that we should invest in new yachts from Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd, with our contribution to investment in a new fleet being critical for training our students as it enables a smooth transition from graduate to employment. Tim Harley, Sales Director at Sea Ventures, said: “I am excited about our ongoing relationship with UKSA; not just in the present but also looking forward to how we continue to support the organisation in its growth in the future. We are proud of our long-established relationship with UKSA and recognise it as being truly unique in the industry. I, along with many of our team, started my career through my training at UKSA and its support, industry guidance and end-to-end offering to employment is truly second to none. We are proud that our long-standing and interwoven relationship has stood the test of time.”

Big thank you to the Neighbourly Charitable Trust

One of the 4 new yachts will be owned by the Neighbourly Charitable Trust but maintained by UKSA in return for shared use of it. Neighbourly was set up in 2015 by a group of like-minded people that believed there was a new way to significantly grow community investment, by making it easier for people to request and receive help. “We would like to thank the Neighbourly Charitable Trust for its support”, said Ben Willows. “Our investment in the four new Jeanneau yachts is a testament to our continued commitment to supporting and enhancing the lives of young people in their journey into maritime employment. We want our students to work on the very best boats so they are fully equipped with all the skills and training they need to excel in their careers. We recognise the Jeanneau yachts as great training and sailing boats, but furthermore the support that the team has given us in terms of transition between the old and the new fleet has been business critical. We go forward into our busyYachtmaster Training season with the confidence that there will be no downtime, alongside providing our students with a superlative learning experience.”

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449 – the perfect training & performance yacht

UKSA considered and tested 4 brands of yacht, deciding on Jeanneau based on value for money. We reviewed the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449 and 419 and ultimately chose the 449 for a number of reasons. It offers great flexibility for accommodating mixed-gender crews and reduces issues with taking under 18s as there is a berth for each individual – this is critical for attracting women into the industry. The yacht offers greater teaching and living space in the cockpit and saloon areas, a feature that skippers and students prefer. Also, the 449 offers a superior sailing performance.

Jean-Phillipe Brun commented: “I was very impressed with the thorough and rigorous selection process that UKSA adopted with the team being out all day on the water, testing the boats. The fact that we were chosen as their yacht partner of choice is testament to our promise and DNA – quite simply our boats are developed by sailors for sailors. UKSA’s selection of a matched fleet provides the team with a consistent and agile solution that will provide an essential resource in the growth plans to support and train young people.”

UKSA will be delighted to take delivery of the new yachts during November and December 2018.

We are looking for sponsorship opportunities to support our exciting venture. Please contact Julia Hutchison on 07880 199343 or email [email protected] if you wish to support UKSA.