Challenger 1 – ST PAULS SCHOOL

We arrived at the boat at 1pm. What a journey the mini bus had. Laughs, a sing along, and a couple of games to make the journey move faster. Oh some truths were told!

After we had departed from school the boys made their own fun and Lily and Isabella decided to have a little nap to occupy some time and of course the one and only Mr Hoarty felt the need to be really loud and compliment the girl’s sunglasses waking them up. They were very unimpressed.

After a quick stop at the service station and one McDonald’s breakfast later, we arrived at our destination where the Talls Ships trip would begin.

After introductions and safety briefings, we finally set sail, motoring from Portsmouth to Cowes (Isle of Wight) with Ahmad and Isabella steering us through the seas avoiding big cargo ships. Whilst avoiding one of the big ships, we went through some big waves and the boys, who were sitting at the front of the boat, got soaked. It was funny.

Once a very successful first mooring experience was complete, we found out our groups and then volunteers cooked dinner which was Chicken Fajitas.  A group router will now be put in place for the next week ahead.

A very exciting first day ending with some free time which brings us up to now! 21:40 16/07/2018

By Lily & Isabella

Lovely morning in Cowes with fun climbing the mast waiting for the tide to rise. As we left Cowes the wind picked up and it was time to experience some proper sailing. We all worked hard pulling lines and tacking lots of times to make good headway. Everyone worked really well stepping up to the challenge when needed. Making the tea was hard with the boat nearly full on its side. As we got to Old Harry on the way to our destination (Poole) we had a call from Challenger 3 who had blown their engine. The skipper sprang into action to come to their rescue. We then towed them in to Sandbanks and then came to their side to finish off the rescue with a buddy type arrangement. We managed to squeeze the two boats into the dock managing to avoid the 100 million pound Sunseeker boat. We changed dinner to curry as it was easier and quicker to make as it was 8.45pm before we berthed. The trip to the ice cream parlour is postponed til tomorrow. The bunks were much appreciated after an eventful and joyful day – and the aching bodies needed the rest. Weymouth tomorrow but the wind is set to be calm – boo.

By Ahmed & Jamie​

Started the day right with bacon rolls, we headed about town, visiting an old sweet shop (not Mr. Simms) and a swanky ice cream parlour with the lads. We arrived back to the boat, and left the broken Challenger 3 behind us, and sailed past (and salivated over) the luxurious homes in Sandbanks. It was quite a gentle sail with little wind, so we hoisted the main sail, but kept the motor running, to make sure we reached our destination, Weymouth. Of great fun, was the Stay Sail Competition, a challenge to raise the sail the fastest. Jamie was in the lead with 18 seconds until First Mate Andy knocked him out the park with 13 seconds. In all this poor Mr. Hoarty (Anthony) was perched at the back of the boat alone with the fishes… or his gear at least. After the exhausting competition, the smarter of us collapsed on a sail at the front of the boat, dozing peacefully only to be awoken by the prospect of dolphins, of which we saw none! When we arrived to Weymouth, we ventured to the beach before making our way back to the boat for some fish and chips and then writing this amazing blog. Plan for tomorrow: early Maccie D’s breakfast and a long sail back to West Cowes.

By Imogen and Velsi​

Today we had MacDonald’s for breakfast, getting ready for our long journey from Weymouth to West Cowes, during the journey, we had lunch on the boat, and played a rope climbing challenge (above the water) which was quite thrilling, but not for the people who didn’t participate. As we got closer to West Cowes, we had to pack away the sails, in addition we had stored them in the storage room. Then when we were outside Cowes, we had to take down the main. Finally we had arrived, beforehand, we had set up our fenders and the mooring lines, and finally docked, Port watch had prepared the dinner (sausage and mash) which everyone ended up enjoying. Afterwards, Starboard had to do the clean-up in order to finish the day off, this was probably the messiest dinner to clean up out of all of the meals we had, but it was worth it in the end. This might not seem like a lot, but everyone had enjoyed what they had done and even played card games whenever there was breaks. Oh yes I agree with Igor the dinner was very scrumbleichious. Also Marcus agrees with Igor and Hamish but the only thing I would change is the sausages this is because they were too spicy.

By Igor, Marcus & Hamish​