Scaramouche Sailing Trust has announced the appointment of the new board of trustees: Alex Jacobs, Allie Smith, Andrew Pindar, and Damilola Ajaboona. The new trustees will bring a wealth of knowledge and support to take the charity to the next level and transform more lives through sailing.
Since 2014, Jon Holt, Head of Sixth Form and Outdoor Education at Greig City Academy, has led an extraordinary group of people to develop and lay the foundations of this unique school sailing project. It soon became very clear that the work they were doing was transforming the lives of the students that took part and securing its future was paramount. The Scaramouche Sailing Trust was established and, in 2019, became recognised as a UK charity.
“I’m thrilled to welcome the new Trustees to our board,” says Jon Holt. “They bring the range of skills and experience we need to build the Scaramouche Sailing Trust into a sustainable charity. It is the obvious next step and consolidates everything we have achieved so far. We very much hope to be able to us inspire many more state schools to benefit from the incredible opportunities of sailing.”
Allie Smith and Andrew Pindar, known to many in the sailing world, bring a wealth of knowledge and shared experiences to the charity.
Allie has been part of the Scaramouche journey from the start. Skilled in events and logistics having worked alongside many eminent UK sailors, she prepared Scaramouche for her original Fastnet Race campaign. As a qualified skipper and having raced around the world, Allie is ideally positioned to guide the sailing programme.
Andrew is an avid and hugely respected supporter of sailing campaigns. His name has been linked to Emma Sanderson (Richards) MBE, the late quadriplegic sailor Hilary Lister, Olympic Gold Medallist Hannah Mills, and many others including the whole US Sailing Team. His unrivalled experience and network are huge assets to the charity.
Damilola Ajaboona is a former pupil of Grieg City Academy. He has worked alongside Holt, and knows first-hand what sailing and outdoor education as a whole can offer students from inner-city London schools. He is able to link the practical elements of the charity’s activities with educational aspects that are not available in the classroom.