May Half Term Exploration Voyage (12-25)
A four night exploration voyages for ages 12-15. Read all about their experiences in their blog entry. Enjoy.
CF774 | Challenger 3
Day 1
Thursday, 29 May
Today we started the day with a tour of the Challenger 3 and then we met everyone else including the staff. We did a lot of fun stuff including learning how to leave the marina We then left Portsmouth to start our adventure, and we headed to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Once we got there, we cooked dinner which was spaghetti Bolognese. We are now in having our showers for today. I liked the waves when the big cargo ship went past.
By Olivia & Juliette
Day 2
Friday, 30 May
Today, we woke up around 7:30 and had breakfast (cereal and toast) then we were all so quick prepping the boat we had time to take a short shopping trip into Cowes. Then, we set sail away from Cowes and headed to Yarmouth, we hoisted the main sail, and the front one called Yankee 3.
We have learned about the different angles of the sail and their names we also had a bit of a play in the Solent and learnt how to tack (when the bow of the ship goes through the wind) and gybe (when the back of the ship goes through the wind).
After this we heeled at 40 degrees and got wet due to the sea spray from this, also our highest speed was 11 knots!
We ate baked potatoes for lunch and chicken curry for dinner. We finished our trip at the port at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
By Callum, Nathanael, Charlie & Sophie
Day 3
Today we woke up and had bacon rolls for breakfast then we prepared ourselves and the boat and set off. We motored for a bit because there wasn’t too much wind, but once we got the sails up, we averaged at about 4 knots. Then we had lunch, which was Cornish pasties and baked beans. To get towards the Solent, we had to do lots of gybes ☹.
Then we sailed towards Cowes for a bit then we did a man overboard (MOB)drill, which included heaving to and turning back to the Dan buoy, which was pretending to be a person. During this we got down Yankee 3 as the Staysail was already down.
Then we got the main sail down and moored, cooked dinner which was sausages, mash, carrots, gravy and onions.
Unfortunately, one of our crew went home, as they lived on the Isle of Wight and it made sense for them to do this, rather than their parents pay to get the ferry to Portsmouth and back again. Then we washed up and hung about on the boat and then went to bed for the final time on our trip.
By Sophie