Hartlepool Tall Ships: Meet the trainees sailing into town from Amsterdam

Life-saving skills have been taught to teenage trainees before they race back to Hartlepool next week for one of the UK's biggest maritime events.

Water safety is just one of the key skills the youngsters have taken on board before they take part in the Hartlepool leg of this year's Tall Ships Race.

They will fly to the Netherlands before setting sail across the North Sea to Hartlepool on Thursday 6 July where thousands of visitors are expected to welcome 38 ships manned by hundreds of international crew.

Max Gray, 15, enjoyed the training and said: "I’m buzzing. I’ve never done anything like this in my life before so I just can’t wait to get out there.

"I’ve been learning team building skills and how to tie different knots and I’ve been thinking about the Navy for a while and this is on the water and it’s like the same thing."

Ellie Travill, aged 20, who has already had some sailing experience, said: "We’ve done a lot of team building exercises and getting to work with different crew members, and getting to learn different parts of the ship again. I’ve had a bit of sailing experience, but it’s always nice to refresh that, especially when it’s been quite a while since I was last at sea."

They were in the safe hands of the seasoned sailor and skipper of the Black Diamond.

First mate Jessica, is a former sail trainee and said: "I went when I was 18 and had never been on a boat before, now I work on a boat so it must have worked."

Hartlepool Council's event manager Rachael Graham explained how the training opens up a world of opportunities, and is a way of meeting new people.

She said: "They’re learning new skills. It also enables them to know if that is what they want to do. We’ve got a lot of our sail trainees who are keen on doing some form of maritime future, whether that’s going into the Navy or working in marinas such as this and it allows them to see if that is what they want to do."

Trainee Ella Wheatley, 16, is excited for the race too, telling ITV Tyne Tees: "I’m very excited, you know. I did come to the Tall Ships when I was younger and I got to see all that, so it’s really exciting to be part of it.

"I’m excited to see my family see me come in, and I’m just expecting fun, you know, just a really good time."

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