“Don’t be scared to do something different as part of your DofE, it’s doing something unusual that makes it memorable”
James Eales, Egglescliffe Explorer 2012-2015
A Gold DofE Residential doesn’t need to be on land, as I found out when I had the opportunity to join a sailing expedition starting on the south coast of Wales and finishing Dublin in Ireland with the twist that none of the crew had met each other before joining the boat.
This meant that we had to quickly get to know everyone and work together to complete the challenge of sailing across the Irish Sea. It was one of the most challenging and fun weeks of my life from helming (steering) the boat across the Irish sea, doing the washing up at a 30-degree angle to having to be woken up to take watch (look after the boat) at 1:20 in the morning, but I know I will never forget it.
The other thing to mention is you don’t need any previous experience to do sailing as part of your DofE. I had some experience myself from doing the District Tall Ships Challenge in 2015, but most of the crew on board were sailing for the first time and were enjoying it just as much, so don’t be scared to do something different as part of your DofE, it’s doing something unusual that makes it memorable.
You can read James’ full expedition blog here: James’ Tall Ships Challenge 2017
For more information about completing your Gold DofE visit our Information Page
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