Clare Wood

I first met Alan Priddy back in 2004 when I was about to embark on some charity work in Africa.  Upon my return in 2005, Alan told me about his vision for Lively Lady and asked if I wanted to be involved.  I jumped at the chance to help, not knowing entirely what I would be doing but hoping to be a co-skipper on one of the legs of the round the world voyage.  So many aspects of the project interested me. I have been touched by Alan's selflessness and desire to help young people change their lives, in ways that may otherwise not be possible for them. I love working with young people, I love sailing and I think Alan is an inspiration to all he meets. It is also great to know that Sir Alec Rose's yacht is being used for the benefit of a new generation of young people, which is what he desired

At first a small group of adults (co-skippers in the making) used to meet about once a month at a local pub where we would talk about how we could turn Alan and Sir Alec Rose’s vision into reality, sailing Lively Lady around the world for the benefit of young adults.  The team went from strength to strength and the project gained momentum with supporters emerging from all sorts of locations wanting to get involved. 

I was to spend Feb 2006 – July 2007 living in Australia as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar studying for a Masters Degree at the University of Queensland.   Whilst making the most of already being in Australia, I had been hoping to sail as co-skipper from Sydney to Melbourne.  Unfortunately, when Lively Lady reached Australia I was in the middle of some major degree coursework and so was unable to join the team for that leg.  However, I realise that this project has always been about the young adults and so I am just happy to have been involved and help to make it a success, despite not being able to actually sail during the expedition. 

Throughout my time in Australia, I did feel quite far away from the team and the weekly meetings that were taking place back home.  However, the website and frequent co-skipper emails ensured that I was kept up to date with everything that was happening.  One of the best things that I managed to do whilst I was in Oz was to help to arrange the hosts for the Miami stop on the trip.  There was an Ambassadorial Scholar studying with me in Australia who was from Miami and so I got some contacts through his Rotary Club and passed those onto Alan.  Suddenly, I felt useful again – even though I was so far away.

Since returning to the UK in September 2007, I have become the Lively Lady Homecoming Event Coordinator.  This is a huge challenge that can be stressful but also fun and certainly rewarding.  I am spending a lot of my time liasing with many different people – young adults, coskippers, Lively Lady supporters, and Gunwharf Quays who are allowing us to host the homecoming event on their premises. 

I am now proud to have been a part of this amazing project, having seen how it has changed the lives of many of the people involved with it – both young adults and the coskipper team.  I am looking forward to standing on the quayside with the Lively Lady team and hearing a resounding “We Did It!”.