CHALLENGER 2 – HARROW SCHOOL

Today the Challenger 2 set off at around 4:30 to the east coast off the Isle of Wight. On board are 10 lads on a tall ship for the first time learning their ways around the boat. For hoisting the front jib for a first time the crew did well but as the challenger 2 thought we weren’t going fast enough we decided to hoist a second jib and finally reached a speed of 8 knots. After this Challenger 2 anchored up and the Starboard shift prepared Chicken Fajita wraps for the whole crew to enjoy. Port shift then led washing up whilst most the lads enjoyed the sunset view up on-board with the Isle of Wight in the background. Most of the crew made their first night of to bed at around 10 o’clock.

The day began at an hour most boys and I alike had not encountered. Our alarm, the blasting of the engine, woke the whole crew up at 6 AM. No time for breakfast, we all scurried up onto deck with done up lifejackets and heavy bags under our eyes. However, our tired faces quickly changed to focused ones when, with Terry’s instructions, we hoisted up the sail. This took all the crew grinding together at a different task. From sweating the sail to easing the main sheet, we all worked as one unit to set sail across the Channel.

After an early rise full of hard work, the team took a breather with many boys catching up on a few hours’ sleep in the sun: yet a few caught a bit too much of the sun (don’t worry, lots of after-sun was applied that night). Those rather rosy boys headed down to the saloon to have a master-class on cross charting by the skipper, Terry: learning how to calculate the tides, wind and, ultimately, our journey to Alderney.

12 hours later and we had anchored in at Alderney bay. We now had the chance to explore a fraction of the island. The ‘Moorings’ pub was the hotspot for everyone to get a drink and a small bite; before, we headed back to the boat for Terry’s special- spaghetti bolognaise. After dinner, we were lucky enough to rush back to the island to watch a bit of World Cup action. The final whistle signalled the end to a busy, but enjoyable first day.

We woke up at 8:30am we then had breakfast which was cereal, we were then allowed to have a more detailed explore around Sark, most of the crew went to the village but some people were swimming (Sam). After having a explore around Sark we accepted a challenge with Challenger 3 to race to Guernsey (which Challenger 2 won of course). While having the race the skipper decided to do the Man Over Board (MOB) simulation. He also decided it was a great time to wake up the men and climb up the mast.