So we met at school, and made our way to Portsmouth by mini bus.

When we arrived the view was pretty cool, the boats were massive and posh and the sea water was so clear. Chas (Chas Cowell, TSYT Youth Development Mgr) greeted us and took us to the boat we’re staying on and introduced us to the team that was looking after us.

Derek, Paul and Hector gave us a tour around the boat and then we quickly got to work to get the boat sailing, each of us taking on a job to make this happen. Once we were at sea, some of us had a chance to helm and some enjoyed the calm view and how pretty it was. 😊

We were all then given a place and job as we docked in Cowes. Then our team started to prepare dinner, all of us again getting involved and helping each other. Once dinner was done and the boat was tidy, we went for a walk around town, getting to know the locals and their pets (that’s a funny story to tell) 😁, and taking in the sights and skimming stones on the beach.

Before we knew it, we were making our way back to shower and enjoy a cup of tea and biscuits. So far, we are really enjoying being part of this team and getting involved in the voyage.

Katie and Kaysha

Our first night in the boat’s bunk bed was unexpected in a good and funny way 😁. We woke up at 7.30am and had breakfast before getting the boat prepped for our 91km journey to Weymouth, taking us roughly  nine hours. En route, it started to rain so, we had to get our waterproof overalls on, these did a great job in keeping us warm and dry on our journey.

Lunch was prepared by one half of the team, we all enjoyed a hot soup and freshly baked roll on deck. The other half of the team did the tidying and washing up. Not long after lunch the whole team worked together to raise the sail. Everyone had a job, some on the winches, some pulling the ropes to raise the sail and some making sure no ropes were in the way. We all felt accomplished after this task and enjoyed a well-earned cup of tea together and a few card games.

When we were close to Weymouth, we all worked together again to take the sail down and get ready to dock, our second day was definitely harder than day one, the weather wasn’t as nice and the journey was much longer, and some of us were tired. But when we docked it made all our hard work feel worthwhile, especially hearing the cheers at the harbour from the England vs Germany 2-0 defeat! To top the day off, we had fish and chips for dinner with curry sauce, the best dinner so far 😋. By the end of day two, we were all ready for an early night.

Kaysha, Alex, James (Benjamin)

It was a rough morning because some people woke up with a headache, but we all had a go at climbing up the mast: even someone who is scared of heights had a go. We then walked to the beach and had a swim (it was good fun). Then we got a really nice ice-cream and a drink, and walked to the arcade (the bumper cars were the best), and the others went off to play a game called Halo.

After that, we went back to the boat to leave Weymouth at 13:10 to head to Poole. On our way to Poole our teams worked on looking out for lobster traps and putting the main sail up. We also practised tying different knots and we even used our skills on strawberry laces 😋.

We all took turns to steer the boat, and then had a chill above deck. Our journey took roughly 5hrs 45mins and when we arrived at Poole we saw the millionaire houses, we then all took our places to help dock the boat. Dinner was sausage and mash followed by a trip to the shops for sweets.

Connor, Mitchell and Frankie

Day four we woke up in Poole, and the weather was brilliant. We got talking to the neighbours, who happen to be border force and they offered our team a tour around their boat and gave us a talk about the job they do.

Then the Skipper gave our two teams a challenge (to find the tackiest souvenir) with a budget of £3. So, we went shopping around the high street and we got our tack on 😁.

We then left Poole and made our way to Cowes, on the way the winds picked up and we turned the engine off so we could sail. This meant we had to raise both sails and some people that hadn’t felt confident to do this before, had a go. And said this was the best part of the trip. This part was so special for everyone as we all came together as a team. 🥰

When back at Poole we had our dinner, which was chicken curry, and a spiced version (that everyone liked the best). Some were happy the day was done because they got a little sunburnt.

Some of the comments from our team members are:

“It was cool that we all survived five days together”

“It was amazing”

“It gave everyone a chance to relax”

“It was challenging but rewarding”

“It was tiring”

“Lots of effort, but it was fun and we learnt a lot”

“It was enjoyable. Adrenaline rush”

And words used to describe Paul, Hector and Derek (the TSYT crew).

“Fun/funny, calm, nice, caring, patient, chilled, thoughtful, listened to us and inspirational but also demanding.”

We’d all like to say a massive THANK YOU from the students and staff of Mayesbrook Park.

All the voyage crew. 😊