History & Hammond Innes

Wealthy benefactor Lord Dulverton (Frederick Anthony Hamilton Wills, 2nd Baron Dulverton) financed the construction of the 144-foot 3-masted schooner Captain Scott, which launched in 1971 with the stated purpose of taking young people on adventures.

During this period, he noticed there were a growing number of organisations with similar objectives, but operating independently, and felt everyone would benefit from closer cooperation. He began hosting meetings where representatives could exchange ideas about training, safety and crewing.

These gatherings laid the foundations for the Association of Sea Training Organisations. Initially linked to the Royal Yachting Association, ASTO became an independent charity in 1978 with its own governance and charitable purpose.

John H Hamilton was a volunteer with Lord Amory’s London Sailing Project and over the decades served many major roles within Rona Sailing Project, before joining STA as Race Director in the mid-1970s. He recalls ASTO’s early contribution as  “the opportunity for member organisations to meet from time to time and cooperate with one another.”

ASTO continued representing members as further vessel regulations were developed. Then, in 1998, a remarkable act of generosity transformed its future.

Adventure novelist Ralph Hammond Innes, CBE was also a passionate yachtsman who sailed widely with his wife, Dorothy. An earlier voyage as purser onboard Sir Winston Churchill, and attendance at an Isle of Man event organised by ASTO, had introduced him to sail training and the difference it could make to young people.

In his voyage report, he described how “boys who had come on board, raw to the sea, moved now with greater confidence.”

That experience stayed with him. He became a longstanding supporter of ASTO, and when he died, he had no children and left the majority of his estate, together with the rights to his literary works to ASTO. His incredibly generous legacy gave ASTO the financial foundation to achieve far more than ever before.

An annual independent conference, established in 2010, created a regular opportunity for members to share experiences, develop their knowledge and strengthen connections across the sector.

HRH Duchess of Edinburgh became a Royal Patron, providing further recognition of sail training’s contribution to young people. Alongside its races, grants and member support, ASTO continued building a community whose collective experience could benefit everyone involved.