All aboard for voyage of a lifetime

It's a summery July afternoon at an Isle of Wight yacht club yet for all the chatter that is going on around them there are two Yorkshire voices standing out over the general excited buzz.

"And you're always laughing, don't start laughing again, it's doing me 'ead in!"

Danny and Tom have known each other for 24 hours, but they are bantering like old schoolmates after their first night's sleep in bunks aboard a yacht.

The lads, Danny, 15, from Hatfield, Doncaster and 13-year-old Tom from Fulwood, Sheffield, are part of a seven-strong group of patients from Sheffield Children's Hospital who had arrived on the South coast the previous day to take part in an activity none of them had ever attempted before.

But they were in experienced hands – the record-breaking Round the World yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur and after one day with her, the youngsters had decided already that they wanted to come back next year.

Over the past five years all these youngsters have endured the agony of diagnosis, treatment, chemotherapy and sometimes relapse – the harrowing cycle that victims of childhood cancers and leukaemia must face.

They are at different stages of their illness – some are still in treatment, some on maintenance and some in remission. But feeling sorry for them is not a thought that crosses your mind as they charge around the boats and take the mickey out of each other. They even do a bit of sailing every now and again. Pity would be patronising and that would risk a soaking from them.

Ellen MacArthur, made a Dame for her sailing exploits, says: "Childhood illness has an impact on everything. It affects how that child interacts with others, both adults and their peers, their confidence and what they can and can't do for themselves while they're having treatment.

"These trips are all about building confidence and giving the children the chance to be independent and take responsibility for everyday life on the boat. They have to work as teams, help sail the boat, do boat chores and they have an enormous amount of fun in a very relaxed and informal environment."

She founded her trust in 2003 on her return from her most famous solo circumnavigation of the globe. She had been mightily impressed by the courage and humour shown by a group of youngsters she had sailed with from a French children's cancer charity and decided to use her new-found fame to launch a British equivalent

It was launched with one boat and 15 children from Great Ormond Street and Southampton General hospitals. Now it has expanded to help youngsters from Sheffield and further afield. There are now five trips accommodating 25 in five boats per trip. For the first time this year, youngsters from all 21 primary children's cancer treatment centres in the UK – including Leeds – will be going aboard for a trust trip this summer.

It also runs residential weeks in Essex and annually enters a crew into the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. The most ambitious project last year was a 17-stop, four-month voyage around Britain and Ireland in which 85 children took part.

Altogether 265 of them will be involved some way or another this year.

Those who come for the four-day trips via their hospitals are invited back until they reach the age of 18. Then they can return as volunteers.

In this role they act as a well-rehearsed extra pair of hands but, more importantly, as an inspirational figure for the younger ones who may be joining the trip for the first time and who, up until that point, have been unable to envisage life after their illness. "It's really important to have a mix of young people who have just come out of treatment and those who have been in remission some time," says Dame Ellen. "It often gives those who have been ill more recently a big lift to be able to chat to other youngsters who have been through the same as them and come out the other side."

Once on board the children do everything from hands-on crewing to cooking and washing-up. No one gets away with hiding and no one seems to want to.

There was a chicken stir-fry to cook on night one. Danny, who is studying catering GSCE at school, immediately grasped responsibility for chopping and preparing all the veg.

The following day, with all the safety briefings completed, the basic workings of the boat were explained and the yachts launched into the Solent. Izi, a 13-year-old from Oughtibridge, Sheffield, wasted no time in taking the helm and learning how to steer. She had no qualms about telling experienced crewmates to get out of her way when she couldn't see where she was heading.

"My friend from the hospital did it last year and told me how amazing it was," said Izi. "But even when I got down here and saw all the boats everywhere, I couldn't quite believe I was here. I just wanted to have a go at everything. I loved steering. When we were going fast and the boat was going to one side, I loved trying to make sure we kept going straight ahead."

Sarah, 15, from Doncaster, chipped in: "I've just taken so much from doing the actual sailing – it's really calming. I didn't think there were going to be so many kids from so many different hospitals here, but it's brilliant there is.

"We've got a jobs rota on board to make sure no one gets away without helping with the cooking and clearing up. It's important to make sure everyone plays their part in the team."

And then there are the water fights, now firmly rooted in trust tradition. The

boats gang up on one another and escalate a very soggy conflict across the bows by whatever means they can get their hands on.

Scampering around the deck of Scarlet Oyster, 10-year-old Bradley from Chapeltown, Sheffield, took no prisoners firing his artillery of water bombs and super soakers. Anything that moved was drenched.

All boats have a professional skipper, a medic and a volunteer on board. Each hospital sends a representative as a familiar face for their youngsters as well as acting as a pastoral link.

Sheffield social worker Pat Percival has been along for the past two years. He works as part of a three-man CLIC Sargeant team at Sheffield Children's Hospital and observes the change in the morale of the young sailors during the course of week.

"There's always three times as much noise in the bus on the way home as there is going down," says Pat. "Even the quietest kids are chattering away non-stop. This is a chance for them to do something completely different. How many will ever have had the chance to sail before? Not many and certainly not in such an environment where everything is geared up for them to make the most of it. You really see the characters of them all come through."

Once sailing is finished for the day and the boats are safely moored in harbour, there are evening activities – football, rounders, cards and barbecues lazily pass the time. Fishing and crabbing off the pontoon prove to be the most popular pastimes among the boys with joker Danny particularly keen to share his angling expertise.

Dame Ellen, now one of the most famous sailors on the planet, endeavours to be on every trip. Her surprise arrival never fails to bring an extra element of excitement to proceedings. She in return remembers everyone's name and story.

She admits that for all that she endured on her long, torrid, lonely voyages around the world, it was ultimately her choice to do so. Compared to what the youngsters on these trips have, there is no comparison.

She is delighted to be able to offer a taste of the sport she is passionate about. "There are very few activities that can give you the same sense of escapism

as sailing.

"I absolutely love joining the trips and every single group of young people we've had along since the very first one has brought something new to all of us."

To become a friend of The Ellen MacArthur Trust, visit www.ellenmacarthurtrust.org