An interview with Zoe Skinner
Zoe Skinner completed her degree Biochemistry degree at Surrey in in 2022. After her graduation, she was looking for a meaningful experience - that's how she stumbled across the opportunity to sail around the world on the training vessel, Picton Castle.
Why did you choose to study at the University of Surrey?
When I was initially deciding on universities, I had a list of over ten potential schools which I narrowed down to seven. My experience first walking into the Surrey campus was among the best first impressions I had, immediately placing Surrey into my top choices. The deciding factor was the quality of the teaching facilities and labs. As a Science student, it was important that both were well maintained with modern equipment and they were.
How was your experience at Surrey? Do you have any favourite memories?
I couldn’t have expected what happened during my time at Surrey! I had a truly fantastic first semester, made some brilliant friends and attended engaging lectures from my professors. However, during the second semester, the COVID-19 pandemic came to the forefront and campus was closed.
While I was unable to experience a typical degree with Surrey, I was able to witness how the University evolved to cope with the difficulties of remote teaching. The support offered by the university throughout the pandemic was brilliant and it was fascinating to be part of that time of extreme change.
With that said, most of my favourite memories are of my walks into campus. I’d leave the house alone, but it wouldn’t take more than five minutes before I began to see other students walking the same way, to a lecture or the library. I always felt a silent comradery with those other students, and the sense of being part of a bigger community.
How did you get involved with sailing on Picton Castle?
Once I graduated from Surrey, my initial plan was to go directly into a postgraduate degree, however, I realised I would benefit from an opportunity to travel.
From the start, I knew I wanted to accomplish something with my travels so I researched different programmes. The possibility of finding a training ship programme was a random suggestion but ended up being a perfect fit. With further research into both the Picton Castle voyage and training ships in general, I realised what a unique opportunity I had come across and I had a lot of encouragement to take part. The more I read about the experience the more I realised this was exactly the thing I had been hoping to find!
What was the most surprising part of life at sea?
The most surprising thing about life at sea was the average schedule – it was like clockwork and there was rarely anything substantial to differentiate one particular day from another. Every day you are woken for your watch at the same time and have meals at the same time, as well as talking to the same people. It’s not a wildly exciting lifestyle, but it gives you the opportunity to get to know others on a deeper level and for them to know you. This daily routine makes it easy to forget how unusual the experience is. Climbing 25 meters to the top of the masts in order to stow a sail becomes ordinary, standing at the helm of a 55 meter sailing vessel is an everyday occurrence. It is when the squalls hit and the waves are large that our routine was shaken up. The most surprising thing about life at sea was how quickly the bizarre became mundane.
Has your time studying informed your experience at sea?
It is difficult to know the full extent that my time at Surrey effected my time on the ship. The biggest connection between my time studying and my experience at sea, was the similar sense of joining a new community. The whole voyage was a microcosm of society on a 55m boat! Lots of the group work skills I developed at Surrey were important to the maintenance and upkeep of the boat.
Do you have any advice for current students?
There was a 78 year old man onboard who became a big role model for me and others onboard – we wanted to be exactly like him when we grew older! On completing the voyage, he was completing a life long dream. He took everything in stride and strove to take part in every opportunity. He was a constant reminder that it’s never too late to do the things you love and to laugh at all the absurd moments along the way.
What’s next?
I am still confirming my next steps. I am looking into masters programmes currently to start in Autumn of 2025 but I have yet to even decide on a country to study in. For now, I am just focusing on reconnecting with old friendships and maintaining my new ones.