Header trainee

Join a sailing adventure on a Tall Ship and set course for new horizons!

Saint-Nazaire (FR)

11 July - 25 July 2021

14 days, Thalassa

From € 925,-

Book this journey

Clean Circle Navigators Exchange@sea Powered by Erasmus+ Sail Training

Normal price: € 925,-

Book this journey

Thalassa:
Saint-Nazaire (FR)

11 July - 25 July 2021

PDF this page

*FULLY BOOKED* Bon Voyage, Plastic! Erasmus+ Youth Exchange for young people aged 15-25 (ages 26-28 at request) from: the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Embark on an international adventure at sea and learn to sail a Tall Ship, practicing different skills: from making knots to working as a team. Conduct plastic research with a marine biologist from By the Ocean we Unite and learn about the environment, and the global impact of plastic pollution. Start your adventure with the Dinghy coaching program. Additional fees may apply due to the necessity of becoming a member of partner organisation of your country (up to EUR 50). The embarkation is at 21:00 but you are welcome to come by early to drop off your bags – the mentors will wait for you!

About the Journey

Join Thalassa for an adventurous youth exchange in France. Make international friends, visit beautiful places, learn to sail, study plastic pollution and . The crew will explain everything and soon you will start to do more and more on your own: navigate the sea charts, steer the ship, climb the masts (voluntarily!) and trim the sails according to the wind. Before long you'll become confident in sailing Thalassa working in a team.

During your journey Thalassa will be home to young people from different countries. The mentors on board will help you to get to know each other, compare cultural similarities and gain useful experience from your differences. Make international friends, share the most delicious foods from your country, take on fun challenges and find your place in a diverse group of young trainees. Improve your English and gain self-confidence while having fun in a completely unique environment!

Participate in plastic research of the sea, led by a marine biologist from By the Ocean we Unite. Learn to collect water samples, analyse them for microplastics and record the results to be entered into a worldwide database. Learn about marine ecosystem in theory while searching the waves for dolphins and sea birds. Talk to your peers from other countries about solutions to everyday environmental problems in different places, and together come up with more ideas. Become a climate ambassador.

No budget? No worries! The Windseeker Dinghy will help you get on board. The program, much more than just a fundraising training, is part of your preparation and included in the Exchanges. Raise money for your journey, supported by an experienced coach. Learn new things about yourself and gain life skills. It is also a great way to connect with other trainees. Let us know at booking if you’d like to take part. It's a good idea, really. Regardless of financial reasons. Join Dinghy and get going!

Ports

Saint-Nazaire is a major port town in the Loire River estuary in Brittany, France. You can explore its longstanding maritime traditions by visiting the Submarine Base and boarding the French Submarine Espadon. If you prefer to stay on the surface, visit Escal’ Atlantic where you will be brought back in time to the era of cruise liners. Afterwards take a stroll down Front de Mer - the waterfront, relax in a cafe with the view of the ocean and enjoy the summer breeze.

Sponsorship and costs

Participants of this journey are enrolled into the Windseeker Dinghy Program for free in order to raise money for their own journey.

The subsidized price for this journey is EUR 925,- per trainee, instead of the regular price of EUR 1,780.

Participants need to become members of their countries' Sail Training Associations for a small fee (usually up to EUR 30).

Possible reimbursement of your travel costs to- and from the ports, from the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. Reimbursement up to a certain amount (according to the rules of the Erasmus+ Program). Maximum possible reimbursement: the Netherlands EUR 275; Belgium EUR 275; France EUR 180.

The reimbursement will take place several months after the journey.

Key points

  • Dates: 11 July 2021 - 25 July 2021
  • Embarkation: 21:00 / Disembarkation: 10:00
  • For Windseekers 15-25 years, age 26-28 at request
  • Participating countries: the Netherlands, Belgium and France
  • No sailing experience required!
  • Official language on board: English
  • Price includes: accommodation and meals, excludes drinks at the bar
  • Price excludes: transportation costs to and from ports. Our travel counsellor can advise you and book your transfers. Windseeker can help to arrange traveling together with other trainees from your country
  • Windseekers need to have a health insurance and a travel insurance
  • Windseekers from the Netherlands, France and Belgium need to become members of their countries’ Sail Training Associations
  • "It is an adventure you don’t want to miss! Being a sailor only takes passion and motivation."

    Axel (23), France

You sail on the Thalassa

Shipping type: Barquentine
Homeport: Harlingen (NL)
Date built: 1980
Trainees: 30
Length: 47m
Height of mast: 35m
Sail: 800m2

Sail in style. The Thalassa is more than capable to sail every imaginable sea and ocean. A 3-masted barquentine, she carries square sails on the foremast, while the main and mizzen masts are both gaff-rigged. Thanks to that she can …

Read more

Windseeker logs

  • Bon Voyage, Plastic!

    Thalassa, July 2021

    France

    – by Trainees

    Sunday, 11th of July Once we arrived in Boulogne sûr Mer we had to wait until 9 o'clock before the embarkation on the Thalassa. So we walked a bit around the festival and the harbour. Then we met more people who …

    Read log
  • Whoopie in het stuurhuis!

    MORGENSTER

    SØNDERBORG, BALTIC

    – by Windseeker Jan

    De lange dagen op zee begonnen hun tol te eisen. Mijn 19-jarige collega Windseekers voelde hun laarzen gaan koken. Tijd voor wat whoopie in het stuurhuis!

    Read log

Photos

  • Dolphins
See more

OTHER JOURNEYS YOU MIGHT LIKE

STO Garant

This Journey is covered by the STO Garant guarantee. You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme on STO Garant’s website (www.sto-garant.nl/en/downloads).

This process is automatic and you do not need to do anything else. After receiving your booking, Windseeker will send you detailed information on how and when to pay for your journey – together with all the other important details.

 

What does it mean?

In short: you do not pay the booking amount to Windseeker but instead into an escrow account. This trust account holds your payment in reserve until your journey’s end. The booking amount is then released to Windseeker on the day after your trip ends. If Windseeker or the Ship should become financially insolvent before the end of your trip, STO Garant will implement the guarantee. The Guarantee Scheme details how you can make a claim under the guarantee in such cases. You can read more about this here.