Claire Green

Claire (20) is from Paulsgrove, an area to the north of Portsmouth. She is quite new to sailing and was lucky to be chosen from hundreds of applicants from schools across Portsmouth to take part in the "Kids Afloat" Tall Ships race last year.

That event is organised by The Meridian Trust Association (who also maintain Lively Lady) and aims to introduce deserving inner city young adults from the Portsmouth area to sailing. Last year's race was a baptism of fire for Claire with gale force 8 winds nearly every day. However, she lived to tell the tale and caught the sailing bug at the same time.

Originally scheduled to take part in the first leg from Portsmouth to St John's, at the last moment she had to change plans, stay on shore and wave someone else off in her place. She took it all in her stride though. As she said, "I think the most important day for me so far was the day we watched Lively Lady leave Portsmouth. Even though I wasn't on the boat it was amazing to see all the hard work we'd put in so far fall into place. I felt very emotional that day seeing it all come together, which was something I hadn't expected."

Unsurprisingly, when she left the UK, she was slightly nervous "but in a good way" and couldn't wait for the whole experience to start. She feels she's already learnt much through working with the project and said, "I hope this voyage and all the work we've done in preparation will make me a stronger person who can stand out without the help of others. Although, through everything we've done, I've also learnt that everyone needs a little help now and again."