We arrived and were promptly taken onto the boat by Martin and one the two Gordons. We chose our bunks and gathered in the saloon for introductions, where we learned that multiple people had met Princess Anne at some point in their lives.

We were split into two groups for the safety brief, one above deck and the other below. Setting off turned out to be much more involved than expected, with a confusing manoeuvre to make sure no one was left behind once the boat was untied.

We mingled a bit while the boat got out the channel, with some people having hot drinks out on the deck while indulging in the exciting view of the harbour. Angus revealed to us that he had played 20 hours of a delivery game after having been reminded by a cargo ship that was unloading some sort of grain which emitted an unpleasant aroma of cow dung.

No sails were put up as the journey to Bangor, it was only 1 hour long. Docking the boat was more of the same complicated procedure we had gone through for departing Belfast, and none of us were quite sure what was going on… Nonetheless, we flawlessly glided into our berth without issue.

Our watch began cooking dinner – chicken and chorizo stew – and the other put the boat to bed for the night. As the stew loudly bubbled away on the stove, the crew sat down for a bonding game of cards. After cycling through a few different choices, we eventually settled on playing President.

Soon, all 13 of us were squeezed around the table and feasting upon our meal, which was a hit amongst all. Paul, despite his affliction towards chickpeas, let Gordon know that this recipe was one for the books. As the evening closes in, we prepare ourselves for our first night aboard Challenger 2.

By Lili and Orla

We awoke this fine morning at 6am sharp – to many sleepy heads we readied the boat. All 3 sails were set up and we practiced preparing our fenders and lines. Angus had a bit of mast climbing, which terrified the other crew.

Goodbye Bangor! Hello North Channel!

Some sun came out to play and turned ¼ of the crew the colour red with sunburn, poor fellows. They immediately went below deck to put on suncream and take seasickness medication. However, several members still felt woozy and went for a lie-down while others took a nap above deck.

A few found comfort as well in steering the boat and wistfully staring out at the empty, empty water.

The wind was inconsistent, which resulted in a little bit of motoring and surprise heeling from gusts.

Breakfast was a great flight of British cereal with Anselm singing praises for his favorite (American) / favourite (British) Krave. Lunch was a much better tomato beans and beef empanadas (pasties).

As we made our way towards/across the channel, we held each other at the bow and sang sea shanties together (Titanic). The views were fantastique with cute lighthouses, awe-inspiring cliffs, and luscious green mountains. We spotted Jellyfish, Dolphins, Cormorants, lots of other Birds, and Seals! There were two pods of dolphins, the first of which disappeared as quickly as they came. The second stayed to play with us for nearly 30 minutes! They put on a show, battle-scarred and forlorn for their people. We believe they desired companionship with the amazing crew. Other boats shouted their jealousy at us from afar, before they stole our dolphins as we docked.

From whence we docked in Campbelltown, the crew immediately departed to explore one of the world’s whiskey capitals by chowing down on €2.90 double-scoop ice cream.

We also made a pit stop by Tesco and Co-Op before taking a stroll through the park back to the boat.

For dinner, we had BANGERS and mash with a side of marmite to taste (yikes). We ended the night with great honor (American) / honour (British) by tidying up the boat and putting away our pants (American) / trousers (British).

Sincerely, The Americans (Isabella and Serina)

Following a 07:30am wake up, not tall Gordons watch (AKA Starboard Watch) prepared bacon rolls for everyone. It was very good but Seumus opted for cereal instead. Dishes and table was cleaned up by tall Gordons watch (AKA Port Watch), while the other watch prepared the sails above deck.

After which the boat was hastily prepared for a 10:15am departure. With the wind from port side and minimal obstruction ahead, departure was made fairly easily. By 10:45 we had the main sail up tight for a close haul towards the Isle of Arran initially as our destination was almost directly upwind.

We had to tack in a zigzag manner to climb upwind in the channel so we would have a good wind angle to reach Tarbert. It was a peaceful day with typical Scottish weather, limited visibility and no blue skies but at least it stayed dry and despite putting copious amounts of suncream on, almost everyone has turned various shades of pink.

We had to avoid some boats, shallows and lobster lines along the way.

We reached Tarbert by about 17:00, took down the main sail and motored into harbour. While taller Gordons watch readied the boat for bed the other watch got the prep ready for a chicken curry dinner.

After which we were given free reign for about an hour which we used to explore the Tarbert castle atop a hill on the other side of the harbour. A 4 min walk according to Google maps ended up being about 45 min instead but it was well worth the climb as the surrounding area is absolutely stunning along with the fishing boats visible from the top.

Dinner was good, one watch did the dishes while Seumus and I were forced to do this blog. Huzzah! We have now all showered and have spent the evening socialising, playing the After Dinner Trivia game.

By Seumus & Dmitri

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, on a boat which is white and some blue, we woke up. We had croissant and chocolate croissant for breakfast; they were good, very good. I would have it again if I could.

After breakfast, we got ready to leave the place with nice showers and a castle which was very pretty. After a bit, we left, and I sat down at the front of the boat, which was nice and comfortable because I was laying on the sails, along with a few others. We shared some terrible jokes that were only funny because they were bad.

We eventually put all the sails up, so we lost our comfortable seats, but we did look at the scenery, which was very pretty and worth looking at, with single houses and the fields full of sheep and cows. Later, we lowered the sails as we were about to arrive at Greenock. After a while, we arrived at Greenock, we prepared the boat for nighttime, I went to have a shower, which in my opinion is in second place for best shower facilities.

After my shower, I made my way slowly back to the boat but then stopped as I went to sit on the side of the old harbour, looking down on the other boats. I lost track of time and came back to help people with the tea (dinner for some), but when I got there, it turned out that I couldn’t do very much that other people weren’t already doing.

We had pasta that was a mixture of red, green, and normal with mince that had carrots and chorizo. It was tasty and I would recommend. Now that we have finished eating, I am writing this blog, as of now alone, because Anselm has gone somewhere.