We arrived at the Slug and Lettuce and met up with everyone. We then got all our stuff together and headed down to the boats. Once we got on board, we were shown where we would be sleeping and put all our bags into our storage boxes.

We were then split into two groups for a tour of the boat. My group went downstairs first, where we were shown the bedrooms, the galley, the saloon and where some of the boat’s equipment is stored. After that, we went upstairs and learned about the different parts of the boat, including the ropes and sails.

Once everyone was back together in the cockpit, we were shown how to use our lifejackets. We then got ready to head out to sea by untying the ropes from the dock and setting off.

Everyone had different jobs to do on board. Some of mine included pulling on the ropes to help put up the sails and storing the fenders in the sail locker. Afterwards, some of us sat at the front of the boat looking out to sea, where we even spotted a dolphin!

We then docked in Cowes, where we had a few more jobs to finish on the boat before sitting down for dinner. We had sausage and chicken pasta with carrots, onions and tomatoes. Afterwards, we used the showers at the marina and then washed up before settling down for the night.

We woke up at 7:15 in Cowes on the Isle of Wight for an early 7:30 breakfast together in the saloon. We had a choice of cereals and some very tasty crumpets.

At 8:15, we started deck prep by getting the Yankee and staysail ready before releasing the mooring lines and heading out for the day. After about an hour, we had the challenging job of putting up the mainsail. I really enjoyed pulling on the halyard in the snake pit to take up the slack while the sweaters hauled the sail up.

Soon afterwards, we had a lesson on tying different knots, including the bowline, clove hitch and round turn with two half hitches. Vaughn impressed Paul by proving he could tie a bowline behind his back!

Next, we hoisted the spinnaker pole onto the mast before raising the Yankee sail. This time, I was one of the sweaters, helping to haul the heavy sail up by leaning back and pulling hard on the ropes.

Later, we had loads of fun putting on climbing harnesses and making our way out to the end of the spinnaker pole while suspended above the waves.

Before arriving in Weymouth, we packed the boat down by putting the fenders out on the port side and preparing the bow lines. Once we were alongside, we packed the sails away into their bags before heading ashore to explore the town and beach.

It was really nice relaxing by the coast before coming back for a classic fish and chips dinner. We finished the evening by playing card games together before heading off to bed, ready for another day of adventure.