This summer, Dauntsey’s celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its Sailing Club with a programme of week-long cruises along the South Coast of England. The club started in 1970 when pupils at the landlocked School were inspired by their maths teacher to take up sailing. They placed an advertisement in South Coast newspapers which read, “Slave Gang from Wiltshire public school offers its services to owner of embarrassingly large boat in return for some sailing.”
Commander Newcome Hoare (Ret’d) of the Royal Offshore Racing Club, came forward and offered his boat, Griffin II, a 50-foot, Class 1, eight-berth ocean racer. And so the Sailing Club was born.
Over the next few years, teachers and pupils from Dauntsey’s looked after Griffin II and eventually took ownership of her. In 1976, the boat was destroyed by a storm and the Club sought an alternative arrangement. Working with Exeter Maritime Museum, and, using the insurance money from the loss of Griffin II, the School acquired Jolie Brise.
Jolie Brise is a Category 0 vessel, meaning she is allowed to go anywhere in the world, at any time. Dauntsey’s pupils have sailed her across the Atlantic six times, crossed the Bay of Biscay ten times, and navigated up to 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle. She has sailed some 234,000 nautical miles this century.
Jolie Brise was built in 1913 in Le Havre as a pilot cutter which involved racing pilots to incoming ships so they could be paid for bringing the ships into harbour. She has won the Fastnet Race three times, and, more recently, with Dauntsey’s pupils on board, has been overall winner of the Tall Ships Races four times.
Toby Marris, Head of Sailing, Dauntsey’s, said:
“The Dauntsey’s spirit of adventure is embodied in Jolie Brise. Any school that sends a 100-year-old boat racing across the North Atlantic, crewed by its pupils, is adventurous by definition. An estimated 10,000 young people have sailed with the Club over the last 50 years, and we have almost covered the distance to the Moon and back.
“On joining Dauntsey’s, the Club was popular, but quite small in terms of pupil numbers. One of my first tasks was to increase its appeal, so we decided that every pupil should come on board Jolie Brise to find out about sailing. From then on, each September, every member of the Fourth Form spends 24 hours on Jolie Brise, gets to cook a meal, spend the night and go sailing the next day.
“During the summer half term, our Second and Third Form pupils are invited to go on our Dinghy Sailing Adventure on the Isle of White. This fantastic trip includes daily dinghy sailing lessons, camping on the beach and sleeping on board Jolie Brise. We now have 230 regulars in the Sailing Club – half the senior school – made up of almost exactly 50:50 girls and boys.
“This summer’s cruising will be all about good sailing, good fun, beaches, BBQs and having a well-deserved nautical adventure. Due to the problems with Coronavirus, we can’t sail beyond the UK but we look forward to going further afield in 2022.
Before each cruise starts, Dauntsey’s will apply Coronavirus precautions that are compliant with guidance at that time.