Sir Ben Ainslie’s Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix Team and BBC’s The One Show teamed up to surprise a London schoolteacher with a once-in-a-lifetime experience on-board their F50 race boat.
The surprise was broadcast on BBC One on Thursday evening as part of The One Show’s One Big Thank You series, which rewards people that have gone the extra mile to help others in their community.
Jon Holt, head of Sixth Form at The Greig City Academy in Hornsey, was nominated by his students for his unwavering commitment and dedication to get them into the sport of sailing. Back in 2014, Mr Holt set up a sailing programme at the school and even remortgaged his own home to buy a sailboat for the students as he believed the sport would provide them with invaluable life skills and opportunities. Mr Holt was so passionate about getting the students out on the water, that each weekend he would travel with the students from London to the Isle of Wight so they could go sailing.
In a message to Mr Holt, 17-year-old student Corneille said: “Thank you for making the impossible, possible. Not only have you given us the opportunity of sailing, but it’s given us many other opportunities, careers and a future that we never would’ve imagined. You’ve changed so many lives including mine, and you believed in us when nobody else did.”
The One Show viewers saw Mr Holt being surprised by Emirates GBR athletes Hannah Mills OBE and Ben Cornish as he visited the team at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth in July, for what he thought was a behind-the-scenes tour for his students. During a tour of the team’s F50 race boat, which flies above the water at speeds of 100kmh, Mills told Holt he would actually be joining the crew for a Sixth Sailor Experience on-board as they took part in a practice session on The Solent. The Sixth Sailor Experience is a once-in-a-lifetime experience reserved for the highest calibre of guests, with HRH Princess of Wales being a previous participant.
Mr Holt said: “I was in utter shock when the team said I would be joining them on-board the F50, it’s definitely different to the sailing I’m used to. The G-force was unbelievable, I can’t believe the Emirates GBR crew race that thing with 11 other F50s on the course, they are just incredible. It was such an amazing experience that I will remember forever.”
Since its inception in 2014, Mr Holt’s sailing programme has gone from strength to strength, with students triumphing in regattas and even competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, which is a 695-mile course between the Isle of Wight and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France. The sailing programme is now supported by a charity, Scaramouche Sailing Trust, which seeks donations and investors to continue the programme. Several students have gone on to have careers within the marine industry, while one former student, 19-year-old Kai Hockley, has joined Sir Ben Ainslie’s Emirates GBR SailGP Team as a Development Sailor.
Kai was a standout talent in the sailing world after being part of Mr Holt’s programme, winning Young Skipper of The Year at Cowes Week in 2023 and the Youth Sport Trust’s Young Sportsperson of the Year at the Sporting Equals Awards in 2024. Despite his success, there was a lack of opportunities in the marine industry that were accessible for Kai, due to them either being short-term or unpaid. This was highlighted to Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie by Mr Holt, and together they created a new internship programme which provides long-term, paid opportunities to young people. The internships are part of the Athena Pathway Programme, which was set up by Sir Ben and Hannah Mills OBE with the aim of fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing and bringing diversity into the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly.
Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie said: “What Jon has done for his students and the sport of sailing in general is truly incredible. His sailing programme has really changed so many lives and nurtured some real stand-out talents in our sport and the wider industry. It was a pleasure to have him join the team on our F50 race boat in Portsmouth and all of us at Emirates GBR were glad we could pull off the surprise with The One Show and their One Big Thank You team, we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving to join us onboard!”
