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Lucky Day

We woke up at 8 o’clock and had the best breakfast yet, it was pancakes with sugar, lemon and syrup (lots of syrup for Olivia). After breakfast we started a game of PEG where you have to secretly put a certain peg on someone (the game finishes tomorrow after breakfast) the person with the peg at this point looses, Ian quickly pegged James. We brushed our teeth and went for a very lucky walk with James. On our walk we found a total of 42 four leaf clovers, 2 five leaf and 1 six leaf clover after spending all morning looking. We walked down to the sea and looked at all the really old shipwrecks but couldn’t go to look because the sand around them was sinking sand (Mary told us later that the other week the boys had gone and got covered in mud how unfair). Then we threw rocks onto the sinking sand, a game James called ‘Spladoosh’ and then went to look at the tide. When we got back on Tenacity we sat down for a quiet game of cards whilst James made our lunch. After we wolfed down our hot dogs and potato wedges (also the best lunch) we got dressed for a sailing trip. We actually got the sails up today and Olivia, Megan and Madi finally got a go at steering the boat. We did not go very fast because the wind was not in our favor but we still went quite fast and it was very bumpy (well for our first time anyway). We stayed on the sea for about two hours then afterwards we cleaned the outside of the boat. That took maybe another hour and doing that we all had a mini water fight. It was great fun. We then went to the trek away toilets to have a shower. There were only 5 showers so Georgia and Megan had to wait 30mins to get in the shower. We all came back and played a game of uno IAN lost!! Then we had the best dinner ever made by the best skipper ever MARY!! By this time Ian had the peg again. For dinner we had Fish and chips. After dinner we had a chat and by the end of the day we were all tired and went to bed. We had the best day EVER!!

Lucky Day

We woke up at 8 o’clock and had the best breakfast yet, it was pancakes with sugar, lemon and syrup (lots of syrup for Olivia). After breakfast we started a game of PEG where you have to secretly put a certain peg on someone (the game finishes tomorrow after breakfast) the person with the peg at this point looses, Ian quickly pegged James. We brushed our teeth and went for a very lucky walk with James. On our walk we found a total of 42 four leaf clovers, 2 five leaf and 1 six leaf clover after spending all morning looking. We walked down to the sea and looked at all the really old shipwrecks but couldn’t go to look because the sand around them was sinking sand (Mary told us later that the other week the boys had gone and got covered in mud how unfair). Then we threw rocks onto the sinking sand, a game James called ‘Spladoosh’ and then went to look at the tide. When we got back on Tenacity we sat down for a quiet game of cards whilst James made our lunch. After we wolfed down our hot dogs and potato wedges (also the best lunch) we got dressed for a sailing trip. We actually got the sails up today and Olivia, Megan and Madi finally got a go at steering the boat. We did not go very fast because the wind was not in our favor but we still went quite fast and it was very bumpy (well for our first time anyway). We stayed on the sea for about two hours then afterwards we cleaned the outside of the boat. That took maybe another hour and doing that we all had a mini water fight. It was great fun. We then went to the trek away toilets to have a shower. There were only 5 showers so Georgia and Megan had to wait 30mins to get in the shower. We all came back and played a game of uno IAN lost!! Then we had the best dinner ever made by the best skipper ever MARY!! By this time Ian had the peg again. For dinner we had Fish and chips. After dinner we had a chat and by the end of the day we were all tired and went to bed. We had the best day EVER!!

We're sinking.......

Today we had an early start with Jess shouting ‘we’re sinking, we’re sinking’. It was only a false alarm. Just the toilet being flushed. After our traumatic start we were back on our feet with a lovely breakfast of cereal and eggy bread. We all gathered round the table and finally were told we could sail. YIPPEE!!!!!!! Starboard went down to the kitchen and made tiffin (a load of sugary niceness) whilst Port prepared the boat for sailing on our big voyage to Fleetwood. After that we all got kitted out and prepared ourselves for the longest wait of our lives, because the lock gates were meant to open at 11:45 but we ended up waiting until 12:15 when the lock keeper finally arrived to open the gates. We were finally on the move! We set sail into the Irish Sea all the way to Fleetwood. We had loads of fun and got some great pictures especially when we got to drive the boat. When we were nearly at Fleetwood we got call on the radio to say someone had stolen our parking space (The cheek) so as a result of that we had quite a bit of trouble parking the boat. When everything was eventually done we all had a relax until problem number two arrived. We were having a nice sunbathe when Jess was told to open a window. She decided to go inside to do it but instead dropped the hatch on her fingers. OUCH. We were all in the kitchen looking at jesses blue sausage fingers. Mary, Ian and James made the decision that jess should be taken on a 20 minute walk to hospital. After a long nail biting wait of two hours jess finally returned with her blue sausage finger safely taped together. They were thankfully not broken but very badly bruised she is now making the fastest recovery ever and is just as hyper as usual. We ended the day with a fantastic meal of turkey and broccoli korma followed by apple crumble without the crumble and custard. Afterwards we played cards and eventually after the best day yet we went to bed.

Pictures.

Ian was wrong!

Today we had a little lie in. We were awoken at 8 am and we got dressed and had breakfast. For breakfast we had a modern continental breakfast selection including a bacon butty with ketchup. Then we sat down and looked at the weather forecast and another bad day for sailing so instead we went for a walk to see the sea that was to ruff to sail on. On the walk jess found a golf ball so we spent the most of the walk bouncing a ball in the wind. Ian insisted that the ball had rubber bands in it so when we got back to the boat we cracked it open to found that Ian was totally WRONG! It was actually filled with a hard plastic centre. By this time lunch had to be made and it was starboard to make it. We had sandwiches, crisps and cookies from yesterday. Then lovely Mary, Ian and James started whispering across the table to each other and made us put our fingers in our ears and hum, so we couldn’t hear them, so we did. Then they told us that instead of taking the sailing boat out we would get to ride the dinghy but then the bad news, we had to clean while the other group went out but it didn’t turn out so bad it was sort of fun. 40mins later it was time for starboard to ride the dinghy. It was amazing! We spun round in circles, made waves and just went really fast. But it started to get cold so we headed back to the boat. We then used the winches to get the dinghy back on Tenacity. We were all so tired so we had an hour of down time and played cards and headed off for a shower in the Marina. Port then started to prepare dinner (spag bol) YUM! While the rest of us played cards and chatted. Dinner was served! It was gorgeous almost all of us had second helpings. After our amazing dinner we had the best homemade rice pudding made by the best skipper ever MARY!!! Cards after dinner again, it was great fun! Everyone getting tired 10pm time for bed.
By Georgia and Madi

The famous Tenacity TIFFIN!!

400g Chocolate
200g butter
4 tablespoons of Golden Syrup
Chopped up marshmallows
400-500g of roughly crushed digestive biscuits (choc hob nobs work well too)

Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup in a pan, (add a little water so it doesn’t catch). In a separate bowl crush the biscuits and mix in the marshmallows, then add the chocolate mixture.
Spread into a non stick tin and allow to cool.
YUMMY!!!

Knotty knots!!!

After our arrival last night we were shown around Tenacity and introduced to our lovely skipper Mary and the mates. We had dinner (bangers and mash followed by chocolate fudge cake – YUM!), played cards and planned for the week. Then we settled in to our cabins but could not get to sleep because we could hear a ticking noise and we thought it was a scary baddie coming to get us (it turned out to be the ropes tapping on the mast in the wind). Our cabins are the bow and the stern, we got to sleep just after 11’oclock…

This morning we woke up just after seven we got changed whilst starboard prepared breakfast, cereal, scrambled eggs and toast, after that we discussed the weather forecast and planned for the week. To our disappointment we then found out that we could not sail today because of gale force winds! Instead, we got our waterproof equipment and lifejacket on and went through all of the safety equipment in and outside of the boat; also playing a few games like: how many safety things can you spot. In addition we dekitted ourselves and port prepared the sandwiches. We then put into practice moving the boat to and from the mooring which proved to be quite difficult! We had to step off with the ropes and wrap them around cleats, to stop the boat. Towards late afternoon, the weather improved slightly, as we split into two groups port baking and starboard practicing knots. Port made chocolate chip and ginger cookies. Next both teams met up, starboard taught port how to do a figure of 8, clove hitch, round turn and 2 half hitches and bowline Knots. We then had a mini test.
In the evening Port were able to have showers and starboard made our dinner. For dinner we had caramelized pork, special sauce, rice and vegetables. Pudding was delicious, we had chocolate fondue. After dinner we played cards, then went to bed.

Written by Jess and Ellie

Map of Current Year 8 Trip

We Caught a Fish!

Finally, a fish! Hannah M and Hannah W caught a fish with their teamwork skills; they called it JimBob McCracken-Waters!

This morning, as a team, we all cleaned up the boat. Next, we all had a drive of the dingy. We each got a score out of 10, from Ian, of how we drove and parked the dinghy. Harriet got 9 ¾, therefore becoming the winner. Several games of poohead (card game) later, we went on deck to wait for a lifeboat to zoom down the ramp. Unfortunately, we are still waiting. Mary was very disappointed as she had waited from previous Tenacity trips to see this.

We couldn't sail today because there was not enough wind. Starboard cooked flapjacks and rocky road and they were both YUMMMYYY! After having spuds and several fillings for lunch, we went on another trip in the dinghy to the island. For three whole, fun, hours we played Sardine Protector! Hannah M was upset when she got found by everyone twice. We then had a snack and continued playing. After collecting mussels and getting very muddy we climbed back into the dinghy and headed back to Tenacity. We then cleaned ourselves with sea water.

For the rest of the evening we fished and chilled out while Port made tea. We had fish, chips, peas and sweet corn, which we were very surprised with when Rhiannon ate her vegetables.
Sadly, we had to set JimBob free in the evening. We all got our lifejackets on and had a ceremony for the fish, but then noticed he wasn't there. We all cried. Then Sam owned up that he had hid the fish in another bucket of water. We all cheered! On the other hand, we still had to set him free. We all said goodbye to JimBob and set him to the big blue ocean where he belongs!

The voyage begins....

We woke up this morning at 6:00 to a strange alarm clock (Sam singing ‘Good morning’, which is not very good!). We think he is TONE DEAF!! We got changed and devoured some cereal quickly because we had to get on deck ready and set for this once in a life time opportunity. It took FOREVER to exit the very time consuming loch, like half an hour!! We gave the gate keeper a sausage buttie.
After hours on end we finally reached the Irish Sea. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sail due to lack of wind so we motored away on our journey to Piel Island. Simultaneously motoring, we played a very unusual game of charades where I (Ailish) acted hilariously as Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Will Smith. Hannah got tired so we went to the cock pit and had a few Hob Nobs and Jaffa Cakes! Minted. Some of us even got to steer the boat after our biscuit eating session. In this time we saw some dolphins leaping in the water. We also saw seals sunbathing on land and on buoys.
When we were full a few of us fished. Hannah (super fisher-woman) got so into it that she “aggravated the fish” and “snapped the line!” Sam had to fix it. Due to the lack of fish-and our bad skills-we stopped fishing. For we failed in catching any and we kind of sucked.
Then, we anchored near the Piel Island. Land ahoy! It took 4 hours and 45 minutes to get there. It seemed like two days. After lunch failed due to the oven going out and not cooking the jacket potatoes we had hot dogs-AGAIN (no fish caught yet).
We went to Piel Island in the RIB. All the kids played hide and seek and sardines. It was great! We had bourbon biscuits and JUICE! (Still no fish).
Once we had got back we played Poo Head (a card game). Jainee (the ultimate winner) became the Poo Head. A failure she was. But she is pretty great at that game.
Then we had a delish tea (Chicken Korma) with naan bread. (we still caught no fish) and for supper we had apple crumble!
To end the day we resolved it with a great game of poo head!!!

By Ailish and Florence

Quick Message from Patterdale Hall

Just had a call from Mary, she is struggling with a poor signal tonight and so is unable to post the blog. Everyone on board is fine and Tenacity is anchored up at Peil Island near Barrow, see the map below, and the weather is nice and calm so they are expecting a quiet night. Hopefully they will get better signal tomorrow and will be able to post the real blog.

Is it still only Tuesday???

This morning the two teams (port and starboard) woke up at 7:30 AGAIN!! Port made breakfast which was made up of cereal and bacon butties. After we had recovered from our wake up we went up to main deck to do some series training. We learnt how to get out and put back the sails and then we did some races and Group 3 (Harriet, Florence & Jainee) won race 1 with a staggering 23 seconds! While the group 1 (Hannah, Ailish & Rhiannon) trailed 48 seconds. Then we moved onto the mizzen which we only had 2 goes on because we were getting a bit too competitive! Then it was time for a well earned lunch which was sandwiches, crisps and soup (which starboard made). Callum, one of our instructors left us and Ian replaced him. All the kids are obsessed with tricks we learned, including a pen trick, and two rope tricks (don’t worry we’ll teach you when we get back).
Later on we split into 3 groups of three. We rotated different activities including tying ropes, going out on a dinghy, and having a shower! We all got to steer the dinghy, however there were some very close calls, including some other very expensive yachts. While the third group was out and about in the dinghy the first group played cheat and solitaire card games. Then we had a rest (5 mins). We were called up to the main deck to clean the boat. We were split into twos’. Two cleaned the heads (loo’s), two cleaned the galley (kitchen), two hovered, and two filled up the water tanks (took about an hour). Then port made dinner which took a ridiculously long time. We ate spaghetti bolognaise. We found that two of the instructors had very annoying habits we just had to point out and tease them about:
Sam, who when picks up some food has to talk while it’s on his fork and took ages eating.
Callum, who twitches at breakfast time.
We haven’t found out any of Ian’s bad habits yet…
We have nicknames for the instructors…Sam: Samantha/Marge/Sobo, Ian hasn’t got one yet. Callum: Twitchy/Camilla.
All is well on the boat! :D
From Hannah Waters and Harriet Gribbin

Settling in...

Last night we arrived at tenacity at about 6pm. We settled in and had bangers and mash with a big fat chocolate cake it was delicious! We unpacked and settled in. We talked for a while , well all night really! We got woken up at 7:30 and ended up being very late for breakfast. Ha ha. We went up on deck at 9:30a.m. And put our waterproof clothing on and a life jacket. We then got given safety lines and secured them to a black rope on the floor. We were split up into teams Port and Starboard, and did a little assault course. We had to go over rope obstacles and clip our selves back on again after every rope. Port won 2-1. We had elevenzeeeees (11:00 snack) (biscuits and juice). We then got showed around the boat’s wheel house and deck. We threw life rings and Dan buoy in practicing just in case someone fell in! So far no one has thankfully. After we sat down for some lunch (however I (Hannah.M) wasn’t feeling so well , so I went to sleep for a while), the others did some more activities. We went back up onto deck and got showed how to tie the boat onto the jetty in the harbor. Mary drove the boat around the harbor and we all took it in turns to tie the boat to the jetty. When everyone had had their turn, we put the end of the rope into a spiral shape on the jetty, obviously Nichole. K’s was the best. Sam said they were a work of art. When we had finished we made cookies then ate them mmmmm...! Then we set out for a walk. We were telling jokes to Sam on the way but they were absolute rubbish, ha ha. We saw a great view and some plaques which showed us were some islands were. Starboard team prepared tea. We had pork chops with stir fry and rice, and chocolate fondue with fruit for dessert. Me and Sam had a fight for the fruit and it went everywhere! The washing up took a while AGAIN!! Me and Hannah took the rubbish out to the big Biffa bins twice at about 8:00p.m. In the pitch black, the first time we both got freaked out by the ghostly boat at the end of the jetty, and I said ‘wouldn’t it be scary if someone jumped out of the bin!? … ‘Then as we were walking past the toilets, the door rattled open and this freaky old duuddeee came out. Me and Hannah screamed, and pegged it to the bins as fast as we could, then ran back across the jetty. The second time, we took a torch and to keep our selves happy sang ‘always look on the bright side of life, D’DO, D’DO D’DO D’DO!’ as we were running. It was quite funny… overall it was a great day! Xxx

Map of Current Year 8 Trip

The return to Glasson......

Today we returned to Glasson after a long night at Piel Island. It was an eventful journey as half of us felt sick and three of us were, we also got the jib sail out to stabilize the boat. It was quite rough with a few rolling waves but Tenacity fared well. It was a long and tiring trip, the up side was that we got to drive the boat. On the journey back we saw quite a lot seals. It took us four hours to get back to the dock. We had quite an audience entering the lock. Most of them had life insurance but it made their day. After we moored up we scrubbed the decks, all of which the crew got wet. After we played poo head (a card game). At dinner, which we had battered haddock and chips, everyone calmed down and we chilled out. Then we made pancakes and all had a go at tossing them. After we’d eaten the pancakes the instructors gave us riddles to think about. We cleared up and at half past ten we went to bed thinking about tomorrow and the riddles we were unable to figure out.

Nine very tired Buoys

Today we woke up early after a long day on Tuesday. For breakfast we had cereal and eggy bread which we saw later in the day. We were issued with jobs which some of us didn’t like. We prepared the boat so we could set off at noon. The first obstacle we encountered was the lock, in which we had an audience of angry locals. We spent an hour in the River Lune and when we finally reached the sea we were met with big waves. Two hours in to the journey, some people were unwell. Oliver chucked up and we saw our lunch and part of our breakfast which brought back memories. One by one we had the opportunity to go to the bow (front) and stood on the bow Sprit. Also we had a chance to steer the boat for about twenty minutes. We reached our destination after five hours of sailing and chucking, dropped the anchor and had a watery Chicken Korma. For pudding we had crispy cake and custard then we settled down for the night.
By Tom Watton and Alex Johnson

Quick update from Patterdale Hall

Just a quick post to let everyone reading that Tenacity is anchored up next to Peil Island. Everything is OK but they have been stuggling to get enough mobile signal to post their blog tonight, Mary has therefore asked me to put this quick message on for you all. The real blog with pictures will be posted tomorrow hopefully when they return to Glasson. Forecast overnight suggests that they should have a quiet night and a good run back to Glasson tomorrow.

Hoods up and sails out...

Poking was the main technique for waking people up on this wet and cold day. The grey clouds and rain were making it feel like a day back home in Bolton, other than that everything was dandy. There was to be no sailing today because the wind had reached Force 6. We staggered up to the top of mount Tenacity to find lots and lots of rain. Lovely, but that didn’t stop us getting out. However, the thought of the lovely warm ginger biscuits that were coming up later helped. We learnt the names of the sails and how to put them up, and had a fun time racing each other in 3 teams to take out and pull in two of the sails, the monster (the mizzen) and the gerbil (the jib). The next activity on the agenda was making lunch and a game of ‘poo head’ with a pack of cards.
Then we took turns in our 3 teams again of riding and learning to drive the dinghy. We learnt how to drive safely around the basin, then did reverse doughnuts and finished with practicing ‘man overboard’ rescues with a buoy. Apparently it is a proven matter that Aaron, will go purple going in circles at 23 mph, no sorry 2.3 mph. More practicing of tying knots followed and then baking delicious ginger biscuits, tiffin and a pretty little cornflake cake. We had pasta bolognaise for tea made by Dominic and Bertie, followed by rice pudding made by Dominic, Tom, Aaron and Mary. Then we went to beddie by time…

By Bertie and Jack

(apologies for no photos, it was a bit wet!! Mary)

We woke up today at 7 o’clock and waited for breakfast to be cooked, by Sam Critchlow and Tom Watton. When we went to eat breakfast, we struggled to get our legs around the table because it was such a tight fit. After we had eaten breakfast Jack Key and Oliver Hoare washed up. After washing up we went up on deck, to find the sun shining beautifully and were told to get waterproofs, salopettes and lifejackets which we wore while doing loads of different exercises by clipping our selves onto the boat. For our lunch we had sandwiches and vegetable soup. We learnt how to moor a boat by tying the boat onto the quayside by driving around the marina. When we had done the mooring exercises we learnt how to tie different knots like the bowline and the figure of eight and the round turn and two half hitches. Later we had tea which was caramelized pork fillets with rice and stir fried vegetables, and for dessert we had chocolate fondue.
Written by Aaron Winstanley and Oliver Hoare.

Week 3

All aboard safe and sound, looking a little tired this morning ready for an action packed day.

Map of Current Year 8 trip

Another action packed Day at Sea

Today we had an early start after being woken at 5:30am. We had a bowl of cereal, then put on our oil-skins and went up on deck. Paul, Stefan and Andy, helped raise the anchor. Then the engine was put into gear and we motored away from Peil Island down the channel, guided by lots of red and green buoys and the slow sun rise.
Mary steered at first, and then Chris had a go. The waves, however, were growing around us and with them brought only one seasickness. Stefan again!
Joe then attempted steering for the first time and was excellent, keeping the waves behind us and pushing up our speed to over 10 knots. Abhinav then also tried steering for the first time, and steered a shortcut, using Blackpool Tower as a landmark to aim for. He then also in the deepest waters of our trip-over 50 meters.
We then headed over towards Heysham Power Station, constantly looking for the buoys that marked the entrance to the river Lune and Glasson Dock. We passed another ship at anchor also waiting to enter the harbor. Her name was Ben Allen. We continued up the Lune in calm waters and a Pilot boat passed by us, ready to assist the Ben Allen. Then a really weird wave similar to a bore wave (but in the wrong direction) formed with the tide, as we sailed by.
Mary then performed the sharp turn into the lower basin of Glasson Dock, where a true and helpful Lancastrian, the harbor master, assisted us in mooring up. This is where we were to wait for the lock to be readied, for our ascent into the upper basin. The Ben Allen then came into the basin with only less than a foot to spare on the sea walls.
We then ascended the lock, after the Ben Allen had performed a turn. The ascent took only a few minutes, with Mary still at the helm in control of everything going on. After leaving the lock we swung Tenacity round and moored her at her berth in the Harbor basin.
After a long morning we ate an early lunch in the sunshine on deck. We had jacket potatoes with left over Spaghetti Bolognaise and Cheese and Beans. Then Paul washed all the oil–skins and hung them to dry, whilst the others went on a fishing expedition, with the success of a few bites for Stefan, Peter and Abhinav. Then the baking commenced with Mary and Paul making Tiffin cake. After some free time on deck, dinner was put under way, Matthew and Abhinav cooking the curry, Abhinav chopping up the raw chicken and peppers, and Matthew chopping up the onions and cooking the curry. Dinner was to be Chicken Korma with rice and naan bread, followed by Tiffin Cake. After the ‘feast’ everyone began to get changed for bed – the end of another action packed day and a great trip!

By Paul Greenhalgh, Abhinav Kumar and Stefan Smaczylo

Sailing...finally!!

Today we finally set sail. We left Fleetwood at about quarter to ten and we went through the bridge and the locks under power. Once out of the locks we navigated through the channel still under power with eyes constantly looking at the depth gauge underneath the keel. When we got out of the channel we got out the mizzen followed by the gib and finally the main sail. As soon as all the sails were out the boat instantly started to heel. We had to put in a few tacks since to get to the buoy we needed to go against the wind on a beat. This also meant that we were against some large(ish) swells. This inevitably lead to sea sickness, first to fall was Stephan, followed by Joe Winrow, Imran Ahmed, Peter, and Stephan (again). When we finally reached Peil Island we got out the rib from the back of the boat and went to the island itself. When Andy went to get the last load off Tenacity the lifeboat came off the ramp and roared past. While on the island we explored the castle and played a few games of hide and seek and followed by a completely random game, courtesy of Andy, in which we stood in a square and attempted to touch each other’s shoes. On the way back to the boat we went to see the pigs that lived on the island, they were quite cute. Benito also found a new friend to play with, (i.e. a toy duck he conned out of three really cute black Labradors). While the first load went on the rib back to Tenacity they were greeted back on board by the return of the lifeboat roaring up the ramp again. As we are writing this blog the wind speed gauge is starting to touch 25 knots.
By Matthew Taylor and Peter Mackin