​Celebrating a nautical legend – Dauntsey's School

Mark Lascelles, Head Master of Dauntsey’s, explains why a life on the ocean wave can pay real dividends...

It is perhaps surprising that a school situated in a landlocked county runs a 56-foot gaff cutter but Dauntsey’s in Wiltshire does indeed own a Tall Ship. Built in 1913 in Le Havre, Jolie Brise was the last boat to carry the Royal Mail under sail. She has won hundreds of races, including four Tall Ships Race Series and the Fastnet Race three times, including the inaugural race in 1925. She is class 0 – allowed to go anywhere in the world, at any time. It is no exaggeration to say that she is something of a legend in the world of Tall Ships.

Jolie Brise has been sailed and maintained by pupils from Dauntsey’s for 38 years. During this time, the vessel has sailed approximately 175,000 nautical miles (three-quarters of the distance to the moon) with as many as 6,500 different pupils involved as her crew. All Fourth Form (Year 10) pupils spend a day and a night on Jolie Brise in the Solent. Some never want to set foot on her again but many are hooked and join the Sailing Club, run by Toby Marris, the School’s full-time sailing master. They are encouraged to take part in a taster cruise for three to four days, before embarking on a longer two to three week sail in the summer holidays when they move further up the School.

This summer the ship competed in, and won, the Tall Ships Races, leaving Antwerp at the beginning of July, heading south across the Bay of Biscay down the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal to Lisbon. At Lisbon she took part in the World Famous Parade of Sail out of the River Tagus and raced again to Cadiz in Spain where she took part in all the Tall Ships festivities.

In August, she spent time ‘Cruising in Company’ with the Tall Ships Fleet, visiting La Coruna, before sailing across the Bay of Biscay and along the South Coast of England to Dartmouth for the Royal Regatta week. She raced again with the Tall Ships from Dartmouth to Portsmouth, followed by a cruise around the Channel Islands and France.

Teams of pupils sign up for each leg of the summer sailing season and many develop a lifelong passion for sailing. However, the School’s investment in Jolie Brise is about much more than messing about in boats. Time and again universities and employers say that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between applicants who have the same top grades. Academic results can only tell you so much and Dauntsey’s believes we should fully equip young adults with the necessary life skills and interests to make them not only stand out from the crowd but also set them up for life beyond the classroom.

Understanding risk and not shying away from it is an important life skill. Dauntsey’s is known for its passion for adventure. We see it as an opportunity to demonstrate and adopt behaviours that will help pupils lead a fruitful and interesting life, in which they take risks that they understand, are flexible, willing to have a go and learn from experience. Adventure plays a vital role in preparing children for life.

Jolie Brise provides a perfect and, arguably, unique environment in which all pupils can have a go, take risks and push themselves outside their comfort zone.

Dauntsey’s sixth former Izzy Jaggs recently had the opportunity to join SAIL Amsterdam on board Jolie Brise, the largest free nautical event in the world, involving 50 Tall Ships:

“There were some tough moments when both my sailing partners were seasick during night watch. I was the only person who could do anything but we got through it. It was choppy and I was steering into harbour and you really didn’t want to crash into either side. There was quite a lot of pressure but everyone really bonded on the trip. I’ve learnt that I really like sailing but also that I can do things I never thought I could do!”

Toby Maris, Dauntsey’s Head of Sailing summarises it well: “Sailing on Jolie Brise is a big confidence-booster. The pupils walk a foot taller when they come off the boat, especially after their first time. The crews have seen whales and dolphins, they’ve seen waterspouts and storm petrels landing on deck. They’ve seen incredible things that they could not have experienced anywhere else. For some, it’s life-changing.”

Adventure inevitably involves a few wrong turns, so it’s important to build the confidence needed to tackle things pupils may not believe they can do, safe in the knowledge that, if things go wrong, someone is there to help find a way around an obstacle. As a result, pupils’ confidence and self-esteem rise dramatically as they discover what can be achieved and this pays great dividends back in the classroom in terms of academic progress.

As Sam Moore, our Head of Adventure Education, says: “In short, what you learn outside the classroom can have a profound effect on the development of your character and your entire future.”

For more information about Dauntsey’s School, see the school's profile on School Search, the online guide to UK independent schools.

You can follow Dauntsey’s on Twitter @DauntseysSchool.

For more information about Jolie Brise, visit www.joliebrise.com