Shwmae! (Sha-my!) Today we boarded the vessel and met our crewmates. We then had a guided tour of the boat and played an icebreaker game where the watch leaders chucked a ball at us and demanded to know our names. Issy then talked us through the safety procedures and the boat before we escaped the bay through the barrage.

Amelia was excited because she likes watching Below Deck! We then put the sail up with George, Jimmy and Molly’s amazing skills… and nobody else’s! It took us 12 minutes to get it up, while the other watch only took two. We’ll definitely try to be faster tomorrow. (George is being rude – I think it was a team effort!)

We learned some useful knots, including the clove hitch and the bowline, which we used to tie the fenders to the side of the boat and create loops for docking.

We also prepared some fajitas while underway to show off our cooking skills. Jimmy accidentally poured the chicken onto the hob, creating plenty of “chicken water”, but they still tasted really good! We then finished the day by sitting down together and planning our route for tomorrow.

We had an early start and, once again, went through the barrage and out to sea. The waves were quite strong and we reached a top speed of 11.5 knots. During the day, we learned about the points of sail, how to tack, and how to rescue a crewmate who has fallen overboard although thankfully none of us have… yet.

We definitely felt the adrenaline when we stood at the bow of the boat during the biggest waves. We also spotted lots of pysgod wibli wobli (jellyfish) floating past.

In the evening, we played plenty of games, including Uno and Spoons, while enjoying the beautiful views across the bay. Tonight we’ll be on anchor watch, and tomorrow we’ll be raising the anchor. Anchor watch means taking turns to make sure the boat is still safe and that we haven’t run aground… or been attacked by pirates.

We had a late start today, with each watch taking turns racing laps around the boat in the tender and showering aboard. Around twelve o’clock, we brought up the anchor and set sail, also setting a new record by raising the mainsail in 10 minutes!

With the wind changing direction overnight, we broke another record by reaching a speed of 13 knots under sail on our way back to Cardiff. Turning downwind at Nash Point, we put out a spinnaker pole for the Yankee and sailed on until our approach into Cardiff, before motoring back through the barrage locks.

Anyway, the ice cream shop near our dock closes in half an hour, so we’ve got to go hwyl fawr! (hoy-al-val)