After crumpets for breakfast we were ready to start planning our trip back to Portsmouth. In our watches we each had to work out the bearings , distance and ETA using the skills we had developed over the course of the week. As we were taught very well , thanks to charlotte and Lindsay, we managed to do this in little to no time and before we knew it we were on our way to Osbourne bay. We raised the sails and took it in turns to steer the boat giving the directions we had planned this morning. Osbourne bay is where we anchored for dinner. Next it was time for the souvenir competition , which we had been given £2 to buy a tacky souvenir previously. One group brought a spade but my group won by buying a pirate coconut, which was an absolute steal as I got it down from £6 to £1.95. I thought the coconut looked lovely but every one disagreed, I don’t know how they could call it tacky. Many of our crew were tired and ill so we cancelled our night nav and made an early arrival at Portsmouth. Where we had a shower and an early night.

Keelan

We woke up at 8 o’clock to then make crumpets and cereal, after the breakfast we tidied up, we also took off the sail covers and did engine checks to prep to leave Cowes. In the engine checks we learnt wobble which is, water, oil, belt, bilge, leaks, and electrics. After that we left to head to Lymington. When we got out of Cowes we put up the topsail by using the halyard to lift the sail upwards. After that we put up the mainsail, we did this by hauling on the halyard and putting it through the line to get it up. We also then put up the mizzem by easing on the furling line and hauling on the halyard. We then sailed across to Lymington, whilst on the way were learnt the different points of the sale. We also learnt how to tie different knots, these knots were figure of eight, reef knot, bowline, 2 and a half hitches and clove hitch. We also learnt how to tack and jib and why we would tack and jib. When we got near Lymington we took down all the sails by flaking them over the booms and tying them to the booms. We then put all of the fenders out across the starboard side and got all of the lines ready to tie against the mooring. It was quite hard getting in as it was quite tight, we had to have two tries. After we had moored on we went to the inflatable course in Lymington, it was so fun except for the part when Loz lost her ring. After that we came back and made a spag bol which was really nice, after that we cleared away and are about to go on a walk.

Mitchell and Ryan​

Today we went from Portsmouth to Cowes. First, we all got to know each other on the boat, we had to say if we had any sailing experience, what we wanted to get out of the week and what our favourite biscuit is (chocolate Hob-Nobs all the way!) We also got information and history on the Cat we are sailing on for the week. She was once the biggest Catamaran in Europe! And she is fifty years old, luckily she has never seen the sight of the Ocean floor. Then we had to get out of Gunwharf keys, this is when we all realised what we were in for, un-tangling ropes, bumping into each other, figuring out who goes where and what roles we each had to play in making sure that the boat doesn’t crash. After getting out, we all got to chill out and watch the other boats that we were passing. I then got the chance to get properly stuck in, I was trusted to steer the boat! I managed to get us all the way across to Cowes without any bumps, scratches or holes in the Cat, this for me is a very big achievement. After about an hour of handling the boat I had to work the boat around an anchored cruiser. Some tricky turns later, we got our way around and had a smooth journey to our destination. At the moment, we have one group chopping up veg and chicken for our tea, we are having Fajitas. The girls are complaining about their eyes stinging because of the onions, to be fair they do smell a bit. My group tonight is on cleaning up duty, I think that I will be having to teach the lads how to wash and dry the pots… So far so good if I’m honest! I think that this will be a good week.

Zan Page