Navigating Tomorrow’s Challenges: Full House for ASTO’s UK Sail Training Conference 2025

ASTO’s Chief Executive Kerry McMillan and Chair of Trustees, Mark Todd welcomed 150 delegates to the annual UK Sail Training conference at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard today.

Record breaking Heather Thomas delivered a fantastic keynote speech to a broad audience made of sea staff, member charity trustees and representatives from the sail training and wider marine sector. The 2025 Conference also included sessions covering everything from Diversity and Inclusion, supporting the wellbeing of young people who sail with us, and the importance of using social media film effectively.

Our thanks go to our fabulous speakers and workshop leaders:

• Heather Thomas, Skipper, Maiden
• Captain Louise Sara MNM, Kristy Dawson, and Rosy Elestone, Carnival Corporation
• James Davies and Niall McLeod, RYA
• Ed Tuite, British Marine
• Roy Beal, Keep Britain Tidy and Clean Jurassic Coast CIC
• Chris West, Solent MIND
• Mark Thompson Senior Master Mariner, HFW
• Faber Whitehouse, Chloe Buchannan and Kimmi Scadgell, The MTM Agency
• Sue Geary and Jim Whittaker, Tall Ships Youth Trust

ASTO also unveiled its new film featuring our patron, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh who met the young people participating in the Guernsey to Poole Small Ships Race last summer. The passage race was inspired by the RNLI’s 200th Anniversary and brought 130 young people sailing onboard 13 member vessels.