We arrived in Gunwharf Quays after a train journey at about 12PM then had lunch in the sunshine until 1PM when the boats were ready. We had a bit of time to ourselves looking around the nearby shopping centre. When the boats were ready for us, we split up into our separate boats and boarded with our luggage. Sat in the cockpit, we all introduced ourselves and then got onto the main issue of the day, the 95 mile night voyage to Brixham.

We left at about 6PM that night and motored into the Solent, ready for the long night ahead. At about 8PM we ate dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread, which signalled the beginning of the first 3 hour watch for the port watch. They saw a beautiful sunset. After an uneventful watch duties were passed onto the starboard watch. At the end of each watch we had to wake the others up, but we did give them a cup of tea! It was a clear night sky and we could see the Milky Way, and some shooting stars. Conditions were quiet, with some parts of coast (Southampton in thick mist). When wind picked up in the next watch we put up the front sails. Challenger 2 saw dolphins, and some phosphorescent algae in the prop wash. It was difficult to make out the lights in the distance, and sometimes difficult to work out which side the land was on!

We arrived in Gunwharf Quays after a train journey at about 12PM then had lunch in the sunshine until 1PM when the boats were ready. We had a bit of time to ourselves looking around the nearby shopping centre. When the boats were ready for us, we split up into our separate boats and boarded with our luggage. Sat in the cockpit, we all introduced ourselves and then got onto the main issue of the day, the 95 mile night voyage to Brixham.

We left at about 6PM that night and motored into the Solent, ready for the long night ahead. At about 8PM we ate dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread, which signalled the beginning of the first 3 hour watch for the port watch. They saw a beautiful sunset. After an uneventful watch duties were passed onto the starboard watch. At the end of each watch we had to wake the others up, but we did give them a cup of tea! It was a clear night sky and we could see the Milky Way, and some shooting stars. Conditions were quiet, with some parts of coast (Southampton in thick mist). When wind picked up in the next watch we put up the front sails. Challenger 2 saw dolphins, and some phosphorescent algae in the prop wash. It was difficult to make out the lights in the distance, and sometimes difficult to work out which side the land was on!

We were woken up at 8 a.m., although many of us were awake beforehand due to the turning on of the generators. We then had a barbecue breakfast and cleaned the ship ready to leave at 10 a.m. After we left the port we raised 3 of the sails and turned off the engine and started sailing to Salcombe. There was a very strong breeze and the boat leaned at such an angle (over 30 degrees) that the edge of the deck was dipping into the water. Some waves were big, leaving some feeling sick. We made sandwiches for lunch but trying to make a sandwich when everything is sliding towards one end of the boat, including the person making the sandwiches, is very difficult. Carrying tea up from the galley was also a test! It started raining as we came into Salcombe and as we were coming in to the port we took the sail down which wasn’t very easy in the wind and rain. We had to lie on the deck under the sail bag and sail to pack it away). We docked in Salcombe and the rain stopped and we were able to get an exclusive tour of the local lifeboat station and lifeboat, which was very interesting. We returned to the boat for dinner which consisted of curry and a lot of poppadoms.