Arriving at Portsmouth was exploring a new territory, completely different from the congested urban streets of London. An absolute breathe of fresh air, quite literally! The action started immediately after we’d boarded the ship and made our way out to the Isle of Wight.

We resembled astronauts in our red and black sailing gear as we were all given important tasks like letting down the sheet, turning the winches and looking out for buoys. I personally enjoyed steering the boat.

We carried out duties in a harmonious manner and enjoyed our view of the ocean as we did so!

By Ugochi and Laaibah.

Unfortunately, our journey from the Isle of Wight to Weymouth the nest day wasn’t so merciful.

Not only were my shipmates and I forced down onto our knees due to choppy waves, but many of us had our stomachs flip inside-out because of sea sickness.

The troubles we endured only made the experience feel more thrilling overall and deepened our connections to each other.

The rainfall was a perfect cue to start dinner prep for an enjoyably cliché fish and chips. We became a family of sailors as we munched on our meal after a challenging but rewarding day!

Today was the most peaceful morning we have had in a while. We had a very early start, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the glistening sea; it genuinely twinkled its smile at us.

Today’s tranquil essence cancelled the hardships of yesterday, so much so that we had a small nap. The waves were rocking us to sleep.

Our Patrick-shaped pancakes (SpongeBob) turned out lumpy, but we gladly enjoyed them up on deck. Working as a team, we took up the Mainsail with a “2, 6 HEAVE!” and cautiously looked for lobster pots.

Having arrived early to Lymington, we were given the chance to go exploring onshore; our first on-land adventure was to go swimming in the local salt water pool after devouring the ice cream.

The highlight of our day was being able to talk to the RNLI, where we were given a tour of the lifeboat, which could house up to 24 people at once. We ended the day with some overfilled fajitas, and ‘that’s a wrap’!

By: Starburst watch – Bindi, Nasrin, Yoana, Yagmur and Yi.

Today was a slightly later start at 08:00 with the circle of life song (Lion King) drifting us out of dreamland. After our breakfast bagels, we were excited to hear we were going dingy rowing. Despite us going in circles, we still had a great time, but forgot to sing ‘row, row, row your boat’.

We eventually took off sailing with our new Skipper, John, who made some outrageous dad jokes and had unique rules (no saying sorry).

As newly named champions of hoisting up the Mainsail the fastest, we led the rise in the feminist sailor movement.

Our karaoke session kicked off with a boom (pun intended) with all genres accommodated for.

“MAN OVERBOARD!!!” poor Freddie the fender was catapulted off the boat and the entire team were soaked in tears whilst Freddie was soaked in the ocean; we saved a life today, with the power of teamwork

Having a quick breakfast, we headed upstairs to start our first and final deck prep. Despite Challenger 4 being the best boat ever, we couldn’t help but stare in awe at the French pirate ship that was docked next to us. Feeling slightly jealous that their adventure had only begun whilst ours was nearing an end, we set off back to Portsmouth.

On our journey back, we found ourselves caught in the middle of a race, which was stressful at first, but the people waved back with a spark of humanity after hearing our friendly “TALLYHO”.

After our daily karaoke session with our feet dangling off the boat and giggles with Sally the staysail (she unfortunately escaped our mouths and hid in her yellow bed covers), we were called to prepare dinner.

The giggles turned to cries. Dinner was not so plain sailing but we gratefully slurped it up in the sun… Even though we were listening to “too many nights” (Metro Boomin), it was time to call it a day; our final day.

By: Bindi, Nasrin, Yagmur, Yoana and Yi (Starburst Crew signing off for the last time).