A London teenager is set to
swap school books for the
rigours of the open sea, when
she joins a crew for one leg of
a globetrotting journey that
begins on the Thames.

Sixth form student Drusilla Barnes,16, from Erith, won
the chance to take part in
the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall
Ships Regatta after being
among winners in an essay-writing competition.

She’s being sponsored by the
Port of London Authority (PLA) and will be at sea for the 15-day voyage on board one of the Tall Ships, destined for Sines in Portugal. Her duties will include rigging the sails, navigating and steering at helm.

Drusilla, who’s currently studying English literature, sociology and health and social care at the John Roan School in Greenwich, said:

“When I finish studying, I want to work abroad and travel to different countries and I thought this might be a great way to get started, while learning new skills and making friends.”

The race, organised by Sail Training International, will see Drusilla and 50 other sponsored trainees from Greenwich depart the Port of London in the grand Parade of Sail marking the end of the Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Festival over the Easter weekend

After a recent visit to the PLA headquarters in Gravesend to
meet the team and learn about
their work, Drusilla said:

“At school we were taught about imports and exports, but I didn’t realise the number of cars that
were shipped to the UK via the Thames.“I had a tour of Port
Control, which is like air traffic control for the river.

“Simon Malins, one of the duty
port controllers told me that he would be helping all the tall ships travel up and down the river during the Tall Ship Regatta. He said he would call me on the VHF radio to check up on me as I passed by,
on my way to Portugal.”

Glenn Witham, PLA director of human resources said “We
are delighted to be sponsoring Drusilla. She will be doing a range of duties including, climbing the rigging and charting the ship’s progress along with building a variety of life skills in what will be an unforgettable trip. I hope Drusilla and some of the other trainees will consider taking up a maritime career.”

The Greenwich Tall Ships Festival takes place between April 13
and 16.

Two new MBNA Thames Clippers are taking shape at the Wight Shipyard Co on the Isle of Wight. The £6.3 million order for the 170-passenger boats is the biggest passenger ferry order for a UK shipyard in more than
25 years. It’s hoped
the two new ferries will join Clippers’ fleet in summer 2017.