On the 30^th of December 2018 we set of on a new year’s adventure to Poole. We originally planned to sail the ketch but had to sail Challenger 2 due to engine problems. We set sail on the 31^st as we didn’t have time on the 30^th because of this we instead prepped the boat and played some icebreaker games in the saloon. We refreshed our knowledge on different knots and went to bed. After a long sleep we woke up earlier than usual to prepare the boat and make it to Poole before sunset. We motored out of Portsmouth harbour and into the Solent. We hoisted the main and continued the journey west. Due to not much wind we had to have the motor on till we got to the Needles. Once we got past the Needles we turned left to sail on a beam reach/broad reach to the Northerly wind. We hoisted the 2 head sails (the stay sail and the Yankee) and managed to see the polar bear on the side of the mountain. Having a chance to relax for a while we each had a go at helming and talked about knots. Heading north we dropped the 2 head sails and aimed at Poole. When we were nearly there we dropped the main sail as well so it was easier for when we got back to land. We arrived at Poole, we packed up and got into the New Year’s Eve mood.

Waking up in 2019 we made bacon sandwiches for breakfast. At 10.30 there was to be an annual bath tub battle. Knowing this we woke up later and prepped the boat so we could leave straight after. As many of the crew hadn’t ever seen anything like this before it was interesting. Setting sail we headed for Cowes hoisting all three sails straight away this time. Due to the fact of the crew being so highly efficient we had very little to do for the rest of the day. Skip to 5 o’clock we arrived at Cowes, we packed up, sat down and wrote the blog.