I was persuaded ages 14 to join my local bronze dofe group

I immediately loved it and within weeks was trying new things for the first time Such as rock climbing , hiking and much more upon completion I enrolled in the silver award Where

I learned photography as part of this , a hobby I still participate in 10 years later

Once I got to gold I had to join a group based at a local sailing charity - dispute having never sailed

Within a few months my leader pursauded me to sail on a 65ft yacht !

I loved it

For my gold expedition I had the opportunity to take part in a yachting expedition where we sailed From the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg in France ! This is my best memory of dofe pushing my self to do something despite being extremely nervous

It was an incredible experience

I have since gone on to progress my sailing skills And sail and race regularly and will soon be taking my dayskipper qualification

Not bad for someone who never wanted to sail !

In fact I would never had met most of my close friends if it where not for the award scheme

Dofe was probably the best thing I did as a teenager it definitely changed my life

I would encourage all 14-24 year olds to give it a go As there is something for everyone