Volatile Funding: Riding the Swell - UNCHARTED S01E07

07 February 2026

By now, our protagonists have realised they’re not alone. There’s a small flotilla of organisations using sailing for health and education:

• Leman Hope (Switzerland)

• Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust (UK)

• Fondazione Tender to Nave Italia (Italy)

• Sailing Lifts Your Spirits and Making Waves Foundation (Australia)

• Tall-ship youth programs like Young Endeavour, Leeuwin Ocean Adventure, and Spirit of Adventure (NZ)

The educational programs are relatively straightforward: “Pay X, your child gets Y - amazing experience and skills.” But the health-focused programs sail into trickier waters: regulations around health claims, the ethics of advertising to vulnerable families, and questions about equitable access.

Most organisations rely heavily on donations and grants—fuel tanks that are emotionally rich but financially volatile. Storytelling and heartwarming anecdotes attract donors, but they don’t provide hard, healthcare-style data on impact.

Gregor, with his health-research brain, starts wondering: could sailing be turned into a reimbursable health intervention? Could organisations one day bill health insurers instead of just passing the hat?

The idea goes on the metaphorical whiteboard.