Today we joined the crew of Challenger 2. Upon arrival we met magnificent Mark the watch leader of the port watch and Terrific Thea our watch leader. The other two members of the crew are May the first mate and our skipper Terry. We got given a tour of the boat and given our lifejackets and waterproofs where we put them on our bed. We got given a safety brief and off we went down the loch.

1745 hours, we began prepping our evening meal (dinner for you basic people) spaghetti Bolognese! Starboard watch made the meal first. Gordon Ramsey would be proud!! It took celebrity master chef style cooking to make gourmet food (and Asda garlic bread;😊)

We left port watch to clean up because Belfast loch doesn’t smell great… not like we did either till we took a shower. Now we are going to bed for a nice sleep to be disturbed by waking up at a quarter to six.

Today, we started our journey from Bangor at 6:00 o’clock. For breakfast we had cereals it was nice.

So many people were feeling the effects of the weather. We all put up all of the Sails early in the morning it took teamwork and hard effort.

The boat was tilting on its side for half of the day it was hard to stand up on the boat. for lunch we had spinach and ricotta pasta and it was really nice after lunch we put down the sails it was hard to pack them away again, we needed full focus and hardworking teamwork. for dinner we had chicken curry with Nann bread which was prepared by Mr chi chi and some crew member it was lovely.

We learned new skills like knots and setting sails, some people were even steering the boat! everyday we improve not only ourselves but other people as we work together as a crew and share laughs and encouragement to complete or tasks maintaining an enjoyable experience on the boat.

The boats antigravity feature is some experience in itself as it always tests your balance and keeps you on your toes at all times, some find this more enjoyable than others.

We have arrived in Scotland today on time as calculated (another skill the crew got to learn). The views are lovely around here we are in a nice little town with lovely scenery like older structures and greenery. Something about this town has a subtle but calm and beautiful essence around.

The sea was smooth for the most part and personally made me feel calmed and relaxed with each wave we would flow over , must have been something about how light and peaceful I felt like swinging from a swing as I moved with ease or swayed side to side. Others were less fortunate with cases of sea sickness but overcame it and continued to work as well as they could.

Everyday we get stronger and stronger as a group as we sail from point to point with a final goal always being met when and where we needed it, it would be wrong not to mention our “MATE MAY” pulled off an impressive manoeuvre to dock or boat , allowing us to settle in for a slower and easier afternoon leaving us here ready to get rest for a new and exciting day tomorrow.