Today we started at Portsmouth Harbour, we sailed out of the harbour and we were given the opportunity to meet our fellow ship mates. We were also given the opportunity to helm the vessel. We then learnt how to tie knots such as the bowline and clove hitch, which was useful when we moored the boat at Cowes.

We also learnt how to go through the mooring process and along with that learnt how to tie the round turn two half hitches. We also had plenty of opportunities to chat with everyone and learn about sailing rules and regulations.

We continued our journey from the Isle of Wight after bacon baps off to Studland Bay… a duration of 6 hours. These 6 hours included attaching up all 3 (main, yankee and stay sail) which all the crew members participated in, therefore improving our teamwork.

We continued from the previous day with learning how to tack and what was included, e.g. pulling in the sail & steering the boat. We were given the opportunity to sit in the snake pit, mast sweating, and sorting out winches. There was a variety of activities on the boat which was fun to try out with our team mates. Lots of the crew members really struggled with sea sickness so steered the wheel which developed their directional skills as well as using clouds as markers. Finally the team put sails down, anchored the boat and sign posted our location. Last but not least we headed down deck and got ready for fajitas!

Alice and Dilys​

We began our journey back to Cowes at 9:30 despite there being no wind. With the engine running this was quite peaceful as the morning mist gradually cleared. We enjoyed the sunshine and views of the cliffs before beginning to set up a climbing challenge using one of the spinnaker poles. This meant being harnessed to a safety rope and pulling ourselves up in the quickest time possible. Rowan was the fastest with 5 seconds among some other competitive times.

During the afternoon we then put up the yankee sail without assistance from the staff, showing our improvements since day 1. After bringing it down again, we then prepared for mooring by bringing out fenders and mooring lines. We were then disappointed to find that our spot had been taken. This meant swapping the fenders and mooring ropes from port to starboard when moving from mooring to mooring. To round off the day nicely, we then relaxed and played a fun game of mafia.

Mia and Sam B