Today was our first day. We travelled to Portsmouth on a coach. We then walked to the dock, where we were shown which boat we were going to be on. There were three yachts with 10 of us going on each. We got put on Challenger 2.

We went down into the depths (below deck) and got shown where everything is and how it works. We then put on our wet weather clothes before setting off.

We later raised the sail and took turns at the steering wheel, before arriving in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

As we were travelling to the Isle of Wight, we saw several ships, which we managed to avoid. We saw sailing and speed boats, including Flying Fifteens finishing a European championship race.

We cooked dinner (chicken fajitas) asserting our dominance.

By Dimitris and Oliver.

We started off the day by waking up early and leaving the Isle of Wight at around 08:00. We hoisted up the Mainsail for the first time.

Unfortunately, a couple of us got a bit seasick later on, but were alright in the end.

After a while, the tide and wind were quite powerful, so we had to use our life jacket clips for the first time.

After a couple of hours, lots of us curled up to either sleep or hide from the wind.

After around eight hours of sailing, we began to take the sails down by folding them into our legs. Then, we set up the fenders and pulled into Weymouth, next to the other two Challengers.

We then had an hour of free time, which some of used to explore the local area, while others just played card games or read a book.

Our Skipper then went to the shops to buy some fish and chips for our main meal. While cooking, ‘someone’ nearly set the fish and peas on fire.

Now we’ve had food and showers, we’ll be going to bed soon

Over and out.

By Vincent.

We started the day with crusty bacon rolls and cereal. Over this delightful breakfast, we had a spirited debate about whether and when you should have milk on your cereal.

This morning, us Scouts, took part in a competition to find the tackiest souvenir, which meant we had an hour to find the most naff object in the Weymouth gift shops. We were given £3 and we could spend less but, no more.

After that, us kiddos climbed the mast, 80% of the young people got right to the top. Everyone gave it an excellent go! Just before we left, we saw a dolphin having a curious swim around the Harbour.

We set sail at 12:00 and used the corporate method to hoist the Mainsail, it was very, very, heavy. We stayed quite close to the Jurassic coast and along the way, we had a brief stop in Lulworth Cove.

After a short look around at the cliffs and caves, we headed east to Worbarrow bay. We anchored here for lunch and afterwards we climbed to the end of the Spinnaker pole.

After a delightful couple of hours here, we headed round to Studland Bay, where we were going to spend the night. Once at Studland Bay, we dropped the Mainsail and put it away. As we turned into the bay, we went round Old Harry Rock.

After we had sorted the boat out and released the anchor, we were able to jump off the front of the boat and swim down to a dinghy on the side. Once we got to the dinghy, we could climb back onto the boat and then jump back in again. Before we knew it, it was time to climb out for the final time and then we went for a quick shower.

We had ‘spag bol’ for tea. We’re off to bed soon, as we are going to be on anchor watch tonight. This will involve two of us at a time keeping a look out, while the others sleep soundly in their bunks.

By Alyssa and Tegan.

Very early in the morning, we had anchor watch shifts in pairs.

00:00-01:00 – Erin S and Oliver

01:00-02:00 – Skye and Dimitris

02:00-03:00 – Tegan and Scott

03:00-04:00 – Erin B and Saakketh

04:00-05:00 – Vincent and Alyssa

It went by quite quickly since all we had to do was take bearings every 15 minutes and we got to eat bourbons. 😁

When we woke up in the morning at 08:00 (except fro Oliver), we ate pancakes with Nutella, syrup and jam. We readied the boat and then had some lessons.

We left Studland Bay around 11:00 and while we were bringing up the anchor, Challenger 1 circled us and their crew performed the Macarena, to which we performed YMCA.

The journey was about three and a half hours. While sailing, the ocean was calm and the Skipper taught us about the rules and etiquette of sailing.

After we docked into Lymington, we were taught about potential emergencies at sea. We also went in the dinghy to practice rowing.

Some of us went out to town and went sightseeing. When we came back, dinner was ready and it was a delectable sausage and mash with gravy.

Soon after, we ate some apple and blackberry crumble with custard. We then started designing emblems to fly on our ship. Now we are writing the blog. 😊

By Erin and Saakketh, with no help from Dimitrs.

We woke up early in Lymington and started preparing for our longest and final day of sailing. We had cereals for breakfast, then a refreshing shower to stop us smelling too badly.

We departed Lymington at 11:30 and got out of the channel safely. Parallel to Challenger 1, we got ready to race hoisting the Mainsail. Corporate hoist was the chosen method, which is everyone lined up along the port side of the boat with main halyard in hand ready to pull. However, the race was delayed as Challenger 1’s crew had failed to put one of their fenders away (tut-tut). Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we lost to Challenger 1.

We then sailed on down to Cowes, where we picked up a mooring buoy (Scott put everything into this). While we were sailing, we learnt more knots and what different parts of the boat were called. We then had our dinner and then learnt about points of sail and night navigation.

Once it was dark, we put our newly learnt navigation skills into practice and motored back to Portsmouth. It is now time for bed and our last night onboard Challenger 2.

By Scott and Saakketh.