Sailing for a good cause; underprivileged youths learn the ropes with Team Singapore
National Sailor Cheryl Teo (pictured left) leading a group of underprivileged youth on a 40-foot yacht at Marina Bay, as part of the 2017 Athletes Gives Back event. Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY
SINGAPORE — She may have taken some time to find her sea legs in the Marina Bay’s waters on Friday (Dec 29), but Manoshi Saha’s first sailing experience was certainly an unforgettable one for the 15-year-old. This particularly after she got the chance to take control of the wheel of the 40-foot yacht as part of an experience offered by the annual Athletes Give Back programme.
“The boat was slow (initially), and I wanted to go faster,” said Manoshi.
“I definitely will want to go out and try sailing again.”
This year’s programme, which was organised by the Singapore Sailing Federation (SSF) in collaboration with SportCares and its community partners, brought together 50 underprivileged youths aged between seven to 18 years old from Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home and Touch Young Arrows.
With national athletes like SEA Games sailing gold medallists Yukie Yokoyama and Cheryl Teo - among others - at the helm, the youths got a rare opportunity to navigate the Marina Bay waters and learn more about the sport.
Another young participant, a 11-year-old boy, said the experience beat out the time he went kayaking. “The boat moved fast and I liked it when it went sideways… I want to sail again, it was very exciting,” he said.
The outing was also an enjoyable one for Yokoyama, 20, who said that her first experience with the programme in 2013 had inspired her to continue helping out.
“It was very different for me then, because I was only doing competitive sailing at that point,” said the pint-sized sailor.
“I had to teach the kids how to pull the ropes, how to adjust the steering wheel. They really enjoyed it and I did too.”
While sailing may be second nature to athletes like Teo, the 18-year-old took time to get used to organising the programme for the children as it involved more details like finding volunteers, and dealing with groups of children.
But it was also a fun experience, as Teo, who only started helping out last year, recounted to TODAY that one child even asked whether there were “monsters in the sea”.
“It’s interesting to hear what questions they come up with, and they’re excited to go out in the boats and steer them,” she said.
Yokoyama and Teo are not about to stop there, as the pair are looking to help more children by starting the Sea Rangers programme early next year. They hope to introduce sailing and water activities to children from the Rainbow Centre, which caters to infants, children and youths with special needs like autism and intellectual disability.
The six-week programme will start with 10 children, with one national sailor mentoring each child. “Hopefully it will give kids independence and responsibility through sailing,” added Yokoyama.
Beyond the Sea Rangers, women’s 470 sailors Yokoyama and Teo are looking forward to a busy 2018 season.
The pair have their sights set on qualifying for the Asian Games in Indonesia next August, and they will be taking part in two training camps next year. The first one will be held in Okinawa, Japan, in February, where they will train with the Japanese national sailing team, before travelling to Spain a month later for a second camp.
However, challenges await the sailing pair, as funding remains a tricky issue for Yokoyama and Teo.
Trailblazer Foundation and the Chiam See Tong Sports Foundation contributed to their Japan and China training camps this year, but the duo will have to look for sponsors for their training stints for next year.
Yokoyama said that they may have to cut short their European tour - they had planned to stay on for a month in April - as their Spanish stint in March will set them back by about S$10,000. They have received between S$2,000 to S$3,000 in funding for the trip so far.
Yokoyama added: “We have to be realistic about how far we can go. If we have trouble getting funding, we might have to reevaluate our goals and be clear in what we have to achieve.”
