A Kinghorn RNLI lifeboat crew member is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime on a tall ship.
Melanie McGarva (18) will join the 59m Stavros S Niarchos on a voyage around the south-west tip of England, and is seeking assistance to help her fund the journey in April.
The trip has been funded by the Tall Ships Youth Trust, which each year makes places available for RNLI crew members aged under 25.
Melanie is looking for £200 to cover travel costs to Brixham and from Swansea.
She said, “I was stunned when I heard I had been fortunate enough to be given a place on a voyage on a tall ship. I have been a member of the crew at Kinghorn lifeboat since last year and have been training every week since.
“This trip will allow me to put some of that training to good use.”
The voyages allow young people to experience life on a tall ship, undertaking all of the tasks required to keep the ship at sea from climbing the 45m masts to scrubbing the decks to helping in the galley.
In the case of RNLI crew these trips allow the volunteer crew members the opportunity to put their training to another use, while developing transferable skills.
Kinghorn lifeboat operations manager Paul Wibberley said, “This trip will be a fabulous opportunity for Melanie to learn about life on a tall ship and to utilise the training she has received.
“As well as still being at school and currently studying for her Highers, she has just completed a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Day Skipper theory course.
“We wish her well and if someone, be it an individual or a company, would be able to assist her with travel expenses I would be delighted.”
Any individual or local business wishing to help should contact Richard Smith on richard-smith2@rnli.org.uk or contact 07786 668903.