Friday...boat cleaning day

We asked each of the crew what was their best part of the week and they said:


Chris

When we went sailing on Wednesday and went to Peil and then Fleetwood. I enjoyed the food (no surprises there then…the crew).

Tom

Tuesday when we went up the canal in the dinghy, played cricket and moved the boat out of the inner lock. The fondue was pretty good as well.

Oli

On Tuesday when we went in the dinghy and moved the boat out of the inner lock.

Marcus

When I steered the boat back from Piel Island to Fleetwood

Goodbye from Chris, Tom, Oli and Marcus.

A day at Fleetwood

In the morning we went on the R.I.B. (Rigid Inflatable Boat) and learned how to drive it and dock it alongside a pontoon so as people could get on and off. We also played a game of hide and seek were we had to find Russ, one of the instructors, dock and pick him up.

For lunch we had baked potato with beans and cheese…yum. For desert we had homemade chocolate chip cookies.

After lunch we tied the R.I.B back to Tenacity. Then we untied Tenacity from the pontoon motored around the dock and tied back on to the pontoon 3 times. Russ helmed it first time and then Mira nearly crashed Tenacity! The second time he did it though was good. When we came alongside we stepped ashore ourselves without the aid of the instructors. Now Tenacity is docked alongside the pontoon held by knots that we did without the instructors.

We are looking forward to our fish and chip supper!!

The seals basking in yesterdays sunshine.
   Our skipper gives me some tips on steering.

Marcus.

Wednesday the day we sailed

After an early start at 4.40am, we finally got our go at sailing. We took the stormy sea to Piel Island. There were lots of waves and wind, which caused Christopher, Tom, and Marcus to be sick on several occasions. After 4 hours of sailing, we finally arrived at the island. We went in the galley to prepare sandwiches to take with us to Piel Castle. We then took the short journey to Piel Castle, where we looked around before eating soggy sandwiches and crisps. Mira and Russ had a nap whilst Christopher, Oliver, Tom and Marcus had a play around in the little field surrounding the castle for a bit. We all went back to Tenacity and had half an hour to prepare to leave for Fleetwood. This boat journey was vomit-free. Marcus steered us to our destination, whilst Chris, Oliver and Tom dozed off a few times. After 4 long hours we finally arrived and enjoyed a well deserved dinner of korma and rice, with naan bread.

Tuesday 24th May

Today everyone was up at 9.00am and before breakfast we all went for a shower near the outside toilets. For breakfast we had cereal and bacon butties. After breakfast we put on our oil skins to get ready to go on deck. When everyone was on deck Russ showed us how to lower down the power boat and showed us how to work it. Marcus went first down the canal and it went fine. Next it was my turn and I went full throttle down under the bridge until it was Chris’s turn. Chris went down as far as he could until he reached the lock so we tied it up onto the stairs and Russ showed us how the lock worked and we all had a go at working the lock. After that we went back down and Boulos finished his go. Tom was up next and he had a hard time getting used the controls and went mental nearly crashing about 5 times. Then Marcus came again and he did it just as well as last time. It was my go again and when we got back to the marina Russ let me do a doughnut at full speed, but I had to stop because it started to fill up with quite a lot of water. When we got back to Tenacity, Mira was waiting for us with lunch. For lunch we had sausage butties with crisps and fruit, and also Mira was showing us how to do Origami with crisp packets. After lunch everyone put there oil skins back on and we went to the top deck to learn how to tie knots onto the cleats on the jetty. Before leaving we refilled the water tanks and at 3.00pm the lock keepers arrived and started to get ready for us to go through. Once out of the locks we parked and all of our spectators went away. To get off the boat Mira and Russ tied a fender to a ladder to get ashore to go to the shop across the road. In the shop we bought some sweets, chocolate, and a cricket set which we used in a nearby field and a few of the local kids joined in. With Tom getting the best shot out of us lot we went back in to enjoy Mira’s spaghetti bolognaises which I spilt all down my shirt and my mouth, we moved onto our chocolate fondue which I also spilt all down me. After that we chilled for a bit and got ready for bed ready to get up at 4:30 am tomorrow morning.


Oli.

Windy start

 This is the reason that we are still in the marina on Tuesday morning, 45 knots is severe gale force 9. Safety first!!
Arriving here on Sunday was an excitement, and we have settled in fine. Chris livened up our evening walk to the beach by sinking knee-deep in quicksand, and having to wade his way out after removing his shoes and socks!

We have had numerous walks, some very wet as the photo shows. We strolled around the town and countryside visiting the locks before returning to the boat to receive a safety talk and a tour of the boat
In the afternoon we learnt how to securely tie Tenacity to the jetty with warps and learned how to tie a Bow-Line. We were rewarded with a Pork Stir-Fry for tea.
Tom.

Map of Boys Year 8 trip 22 -27 May 2011

Read more about Sail Training on board Tenacity of Bolton at http://www.tenacityofbolton.org/

Day 6

Day 6


Today we were permitted a lie-in, and when we woke up Piers team were ready to make eggy bread for us all. Thirty eight eggs were broken into the mix and we were all treated to two delicious slices. Some lucky people also got extra, which was very much appreciated.

James and Ian then told us that we had two and a half hours to completely clean the boat and make it ready for the next group. Some of us documented all the food on board, and others scrubbed the deck down. George elected himself as the bucket-dipper and promptly dipped a bucket into the marina waters and proceeded to throw all the water down himself as a result of a hasty withdrawal. We set to work with everyone barring Nathan and Daniel who were down stairs in the warmth of the cabin. George threw the bucketed water over the boat and if we got too close then we would be drenched by the freezing water.

After we finished the scrubbing we came down to the galley to have some lunch, and write the blog. We all settled down to butties and crisps, and thought about how we had enjoyed the week.

We have all had a great week, and really enjoyed ourselves. Various high points included sailing in the sun and making the food and cakes, and lots of people had great fun learning lots of new things. Everybody agreed that that they would love to come again.

Daniel and Sam

Thursday morning. After a good nights rest everyone woke up nice and refreshed ready to tackle the day ahead! After enjoying a bowl of cereal and some bacon butties we walked along Fleetwood dock to watch a trawler being dropped into the water. After that we all geared up and set off through the docks to follow in its wake.


After we had got going we were assigned jobs. On the very tight schedule, we motored to Glasson at an average of about 6 knots. James’ team gladly made us some hot-dogs on our approach to Glasson docks. We navigated through the channel using the buoys and Piers’ amazing driving skills. We arrived in the locks at Glasson Regardless of the struggle to dock, the team pulled through.

After a beautiful day, the ‘amazingness’ of the day continued, as we scrubbed the waterproofs, prepared the life jackets and started dinner. Whilst it was cooking we fished in the water and Nathan pulled a huge catch “a bin liner” and then snagged the line, again!

To finish the evening we enjoyed fish and chips, reflected on the week and dozed off to sleep.

By George Rudd and Oliver Bond

Day 4




After waking up at a new port in Fleetwood we found it was extremely windy and there were fish bones everywhere, also seagulls were all over the place. Once we woke up it was a long slippery walk to the showers and toilets and Paul and Charles couldn’t get through the gate to get to them. However the facilities were great and the showers were nice and relaxing.

Later we motored to the marina and all got taught how to ferry glide. This went very well and we did this without difficulty and did it comfortably. When we were in a safe position the anchor was dropped and we had a try at fishing. Unfortunately nobody caught but it was hilarious watching Piers fail because he nearly caught his line on the mast.

After this we all went inside for lunch and had jacket potato and Collin’s delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies. Quickly after this we went back to Fleetwood before the tide went out.

Around an hour later we all lowered the dingy so we could be taught how it works. James’s team went first and we all got to have a go at controlling it. After we had set out we tried to paddle the boat against the strong current but absolutely failed. Also we nearly crashed into a boat. James then took control using the engine and teaching us how to control the motor. With all of us being taught the controls we had a go at driving. Sam started us off and Paul finished, however the worst driver by far was definitely Charles who almost crashed us into several boats.

For our evening event we went for a walk to the now dried up marina. This stroll was extremely muddy and we all got caked in mud. While we were there we saw three shipwrecks which had also been burnt. To add, Charles did stupid dares that Piers told him to do for example, lying in the mud and his face in it. When we got back from the walk we all washed ourselves with hose and Charles got his own back by wetting Piers.

Piers’s team have now started to make tea. We are looking forward to chicken korma and apple crumble, also we are looking forward to returning to Glasson Dock tomorrow.

Paul Hart and Charles Sandbach

Tuesday 17th May 2011

Morning


After absolutely no sleep at all for some of us, we set sail for the first time of the week, some of us looking forward to it more than others.



As we were waiting in the lock anticipation was building amongst the young crew and after a while, the time was filled with eating bacon butties, the sea lock opened and we were off. We made our way into the estuary and navigated through a large number of green and red bouys which indicated the shipping channel that we had to stick to.

Midday

At the end of the channel we put the sails up and shut down the engine and we finally got our first taste of sailing Tenacity. After about half an hour the Skipper, Ian, handed over the role of steering to us and, one by one, we took on the role. As the waves were choppy some of us felt sea sick (see the picture of Mate Piers), although none of us actually were.

We kept course for Piel Island and navigated first towards a wind farm before turning down the Walney channel and dropping anchor right beside the castle on Piel Island. During our evening meal on Tenacity we were occasionally disturbed by the wakes of passing boats making our pasta bolognaise difficult to eat.

Evening

We are now sailing towards Fleetwood which we will have to wait outside until the tide is high enough which should be at about 22:00 tonight.

More from all on board tomorrow



Alex and Nathan

PS Thanks for the comment from Pete Woodruff, we have had a good day on board today, although as you suggested a little wet but the evening is proving to be very enjoyable, from the crew of Tenacity of Bolton


Read more about Sail Training on board Tenacity of Bolton at http://www.tenacityofbolton.org/

16th May 2011

Last night, we went to bed excited about today, ready for a good night’s sleep. Sadly only one word could be used to describe the night - noisy! The beds were nice and comfy, and deceptively spacious, but the howling of the wind was very distracting.

We woke up this morning at 8:00 and the prevailing wind continued to rock the boat. We ate our breakfast of scrambled egg and toast with gusto, and eagerly donned our sailing gear to brave the winds up on deck. Ian taught us about the different aspects of the boat, and we were challenged to find several different things on the boat, such as flares, life rafts and even a screwdriver!

It was too windy for us to sail today, with wind speeds reaching 32 mph, so then we learnt to tie some knots. Some of us were better at this than others, but we all got the hang of it eventually. After this we learnt how to accurately throw ropes and practiced diligently. However, bucket-loads of rain fell as the heavens opened and we were forced to retreat back into the relative warmth of the cabin. Daniel kindly offered to assist Colin with making sandwiches. Everybody enjoyed the soup and sandwiches when they were served.

After lunch, one group went out to the dock to try their hand at rope throwing, and the rest of us decided to make some tiffin. This was improvised slightly but still tasted delicious! Ian then took us on a tour of the dockyard, where we learnt about the features of different types of boat, and their uses. This was very interesting and we all learnt a lot. We also went to see an old RNLI lifeboat called Swn Y Mor, which was dedicated to Ieuan Edwards, a lifeboat man who sacrificed his life to save men who had been stranded in the ocean. The Swn Y Mor circumnavigated the world in 1986. It was a very interesting boat which Ian told us a lot about.

We then settled down to wait for Piers group to make dinner… the boat hasn’t caught fire yet! Tomorrow we hope to start sailing.

Sam and Daniel


Read more about Sail Training on board Tenacity of Bolton at http://www.tenacityofbolton.org/

Map of Boys Year 8 trip 15 - 20 May 2011

Read more about Sail Training on board Tenacity of Bolton at http://www.tenacityofbolton.org/