The Rona Sailing Project (formerly Rona Trust - London Sailing Project) has taken over 30,000 young people to sea and given them the experience of a lifetime, greater self-confidence and a new perspective on the world.

Apart from a dedicated full-time team of just five, all of the Project's 400 Skippers, Mates, Watch Officers and Watch Leaders are volunteers. Their active support enables us to touch the lives of a large and disparate group of people, all of whom, in their own way, significantly benefit from an experience at sea.

Paul Elvin: I sailed with the London Sailing Project for many seasons out of Gosport on various boats including Rona a 77ft Bermudan ketch and Lily Maid.

I also sailed in the 1970 Tallships race to La Corunna, Spain from Plymouth, Devon UK.

I was onboard and took part in "Londex 1975" when Rona and other Tallships sailed up the Thames to London and took part in the Lord Mayor's show.

There was an incident many years ago when I was Bosun onboard in fog just coming out from Portsmouth harbour with Commander Scott and Lord Amory onboard, Rona was hit in the bow and all down the starboard side by "Cuthred" the Isle of Wight car ferry, the impact was mainly on the bow which split the stem post and "Cuthred" pushed us to her starboard side and smashed everything except the bottle screws (only thing holding the mast up, which were badly bent) above deck level.