Islanders have until the end of this month to apply for the 2018 Jersey Clipper Bursary – a £1,000 cash award aimed at furthering maritime endeavour.
The bursary is designed to assist an Islander of any age to achieve a particular nautical ambition. This could be a trip on a tall ship, attending a training course, participation in a watersports competition, undertaking a marine biology field trip or competing in an ocean race – anything with a maritime theme.
The annual award, a legacy from the three Jersey campaigns in the Clipper Round-the-World Race, was established in 2007 through the generosity of Dandara, Les Pas Holdings and UBS. Further funding to ensure the future of the award has recently been provided by UBS, enabling the trustees to increase the main bursary to £1,000 and offer a runner’s-up award of £500.
The 2018 winner will follow in the wake of sailing instructor Tom Pollard who put the 2017 award towards the cost of representing Great Britain in the Laser 4.7 World Championships in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, and also the Laser Radial Youth World Championships in Medemblik, Holland.
Since then Tom has been selected for the under-19 British Laser Radial Youth Squad and has been attending challenging training sessions in the UK run by the Royal Yachting Association.