Brogan Mellor, a 16-year-old from Woodside was among Aberdeen’s youngsters crewing the Tall Ships Races this summer.
Brogan was crewing the Morgenster, a ship from the Netherlands on the Dunkirk to Aberdeen leg of the Tall Ships Races 2025. The Morgenster was built in 1919, with a height of 22.45 meters and a hull of 38.04m. Brogan was among a crew of around 40 young sail trainees.
First hearing about the opportunity to join the crew of the Tall Ships when a representative came to her school, Brogan recognised this one in a lifetime opportunity for young people and seized it. She applied and was delighted to be accepted on the programme.
She said “I just did it. I thought it would help me with my self-discipline, but it, it just seemed like one of those opportunities that has so many benefits and that shouldn’t be passed over because it just seemed too good to not do it.”
As you can imagine, for any parent, this is a big leap of faith, sending your teenager across the sea in a boat of people you don’t know, but for Brogan’s mum, Freya, she knew this was a fantastic opportunity for her daughter.
Freya said “I was keen for her to do for her confidence and as a life experience. I mean it’s been 28 years since they were here before and goodness knows when they’ll be back. I was a year too old the last time they were here and I was gutted to miss out. It was a strange experience sending them off and we had hardly any contact from them over the week. We could track them with an app but we didn’t have a clue about what was going on onboard.
“I’ll admit I had a few tears thinking about it, but they did really well, and they were well looked after.”
Brogan explained a bit more about her experience on the ship.
“I was on the blue watch with the rest of my cabin mates. We all slept in the same cabin and our shifts were from 4am to 8am and 4pm to 8pm. On our watch we’d be working on the ropes, peeling them, heaving them, and then like coiling them.
“Sometimes we would also help out, out at the kitchen. But the watches were pretty like relaxed. Some of us would go make toasties because it’d be quite early in the morning and it’d help us stay energized. Somehow, I found waking up for shifts easier than waking up for breakfast.
“Our shifts landed when we were leaving Dunkirk and when we were coming into Aberdeen.”
The crew onboard the Mergenster did not go underfed, with maybe one of the cushiest set ups among the tall ships racing. Chef Herman kept the crew well fed, whipping up pizza’s, burgers and more, keeping everyone happy. Not all the boats had such a luxurious set up, so Brogan lucked out on that one!
Brogan appreciated the routine the boat gave her, and enjoyed time away from her phone, appreciating the peace and calm the sea provided. “I thought it was rather pleasant. I enjoyed the almost endless landscape and just being on the boat surrounded by water. The colours in the sky and the sun and moon shimmering on the water was beautiful.”
Her favourite part of the whole experience though was the people. With a crew made up of youngsters from around the world, it was a fabulous opportunity to make new friends and learn about other cultures.
“My favourite part was becoming friends with different people. It was interesting how connections can just spark, going from strangers on a boat to hopefully lifelong friends. I’ll definitely stay in touch with some of the people I’ve met on the boat.”
Many in Brogan’s position may have been scared or anxious, but there was nothing much scaring the 16-year-old, not even the weather. “I was really intrigued by the weather, one day we experienced every type of weather apart from snow. It was quite windy and rainy and the ship was rocking as quite significant angles. The chaos of it was quite intriguing to be honest.”
As for the festival in Aberdeen itself, it was quite surreal for her, whisked off for interviews and other duties, it was still a busy time despite being home.
Freya was impressed with the festival. “It was just fantastic, just what we needed. I am so proud of Aberdeen for what they’ve done.”
For anyone disheartened if they missed out on the opportunity this time around, Brogan advocates for any young person to go for the experience should the opportunity arise again.
Here’s hoping it won’t be another 28 years before the Tall Ships return to Aberdeen’s shores.