Thursday and Fridays fun

Hi there Parisa and Amy here, yesterday we woke up at 04.30am so we could get to Piel Island, we were all really tired but got up and had some cereal. After a quick breakfast it was straight to work as we needed to get ready to leave the lock gate.


It was a 3 hour long journey to Piel Island from Fleetwood so we all fell asleep at one point. Everyone got a go at the helm, I (Amy) got to go first as most of us were asleep. We were all awake to see the sunrise which was a beautiful sight and Dawn kept going on about it. When we were heading to Piel Island on the way we saw some seals and got to stop and watch them for a few minutes. We then anchored in the sea near Piel Island and got a very filling breakfast of bacon sausages toast and eggs. After breakfast we went on the dingy to Piel Island, we got off and looked around the Island and the castle. We decided to play hide and seek but only played one game as were all tired of running about. We attempted to go into the castle after told not to but we got stopped by Dawn who was hiding at the front of the steps. We went back and looked around for a few minutes before getting our gear back on and going back to the boat.

As soon as everyone was on were had to leave the Island and head back to Glasson Dock which was a 4 hour journey. We got to use the sails on the way back we used the Main sail and the Genoa sail. After that we got jacket potatoes with butter on for lunch whilst we were sailing on top deck. We all stayed awake until the last hour when everyone went to sleep after singing for a while. When we finally got to Glasson we thought we would have to wait for the Lock Gate to open but they opened it for us. We had to move all the fenders lower and get prepared to go out of the Lock. Whilst we were in the lock the ring that secures the boat to the wall broke with a loud bang. After nearly banging into the side we got through and back to our space on the Jetty.

For tea we had stir fry with rice which was made by us and I (Amy) had about three piles full of rice, before I was finally full. For dessert we had a chocolate fondue with apples bananas melons and grapes, we had two dishes of chocolate one for us and ones for Dawn, Simon and Ruth. We finished our way before theirs and licked ours clean. We were hoping to get the left over chocolate from their Dish but had to have loads of fruit, before finally getting the leftover chocolate.

After dessert we had a 20 minute sing song while Simon was playing the guitar. We sang songs like Mr. Brightside, Valerie, I’m yours, lazy song and marry you. We then brushed our teeth and went to bed.

Today, we woke up at 8 to the sound of dawn’s voice. For breakfast we had cereal, bacon and toast with various toppings. Then Ian set us jobs. I (Amy) had to scrub the decks with Simon, me (Parisa) and Claudia had to clean the toilet, floors and cushions and Sally and Christie sorted out the galley and made it look nice and did the washing up. For a treat, after all the hard work we all had orange flavored cookies and choccy biscuits.

From everyone on Tenacity (Sally, Christie, Claudia, Parisa, Amy, Simon, Dawn, Ruth and Ian)

A few pictures of our
many smiley moments:

This our last blog  if anyone is worrying about going onto tenacity don’t be it is great ;) 

A very early start

Good morning,

After getting up ay half four and leaving Fleetwood at 05.30 we are now anchored off Piel Island. The girls are tucking into brunch. A few photos of this morning are below and the girls will write a blog this evening when we have returned to Glasson.

Bouncy old day

Hi Claudia and Christie here,


Today was our first day of sailing. The morning started with us and Sally making pancakes with Simon. They were beautiful! After an unhealthy amount of pancakes we got the boat ready for sailing. Then after a quick recap of what to do we set off on a rough journey.

We started the journey at the lock gate, it was a slow and steady process but after just under an hour we were out on the rough sea. We were driving against the waves which made the boat go almost vertical leaving us and Sally on our backs in the cock-pit attached by our lifelines. Waves were crashing literally on our boat like a freezing cold shower.

When we finally arrived in Fleetwood we were all frozen and soaking. We all still had to help tie the boat to the jetty (which is VERY hard when you can’t feel your hands). When we were finished up on deck we were greeted downstairs to dawn’s infamous hot chocolate.

We started a tea of mash and fish straight away. Everyone was starving after our busy day so we all had clear plates;)

Claudia & Christie :D

Knots and mooring lines

Hello Sally and Claudia here,

After the fun last night which included doing a number of challenges in groups of three, Claudia feeling ill and a lot of laughs we all fell instantly asleep to wake early this morning. It was Parisa and Amy’s turn to do breakfast which was bacon and scrambled eggs so us and Christie had a sort of lie in.

After rehearsing knots and learning about the switches we realized that once again we were unable to leave Glasson dock due to the weather. We were all cheered up after a lovely lunch of hotdogs and tuna sandwiches for Parisa. We then split to two groups. We were working with Ian who helped us make some cookies, while the others learned what to do when preparing what to do when we leave. When we swapped Christie and Amy made Christies chocolate crispy cake (cccc). Then we all went top do learn and be tested on what to do at the dock.

We were all cold and wet after a little spell of rain and were very grateful to be greeted by Dawns great hot chocolate. We had a chill until it was time for Amy and Parisa to serve our tea of chicken korma. Over tea we had a lot of laughs and some interesting conversations. We are very looking forward to some good weather tomorrow hopefully.

Bye for now Sally and Claudia ;)

Gale force winds for Monday

Hello, Sally and Christie here.

We woke up this morning after very little sleep. We decided to be little stars and get the breakfast out early. However we forgot a few necessaries.

After a lovely breakfast we went for a pleasant walk in the rain to see where the locks were. After a little trip to the village store and park we came back with jelly tots, aero caramel, 3 bags of salt and vinegar crisps, lucozade, éclairs and a giant bar of dairy milk.

We were still undecided on whether we would leave the dock today however the weather was too windy to sail, getting up to severe gale force 9.

After a well deserved lunch of minestrone soup and sandwiches we learnt some knots. The bow-line we all found very difficult

and a few got in a bit of a strop but Dawns hot chocolate cheered us all up with a demonstration of how to turn a biscuit into a straw by the lovely Simon.

Claudia and ourselves have just been preparing spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. The onions made us all cry, especially Christie, however Claudia was still moaning. Whilst we were cooking Amy, Ruth & Parisa were having a game of mastermind.

Weather is still wet & windy outside however the smell of dinner is cheering us all up. We are definitely looking forward to bedtime and the midnight feast ;)!




This is why we stayed at Glasson to-day

 



First evenings fun.

Hello, how are you? We are all fine and definitely not hungry as we had bangers and mash for tea as well as seconds. Parisa had tuna. We had lovely Yorkshire puds made especially by our good friend Aunt Bessie. During dinner Sally made good conversation about how she gets sweaty in her sleep. What a minger. The next best conversation definitely had to be the one about blisters. Earlier on Sally dropped a knife on Christie’s foot which left a vile scab. We visited the toilets at the port where we were told to go to instead of the ones on board whilst we are on land. Life’s good. We had a game of cards where the lucky Sally won every single time. She must have cheated ;).

Skippers note for Christies mum, don't worry her

foot is really OK.

Map of final voyage of the 2011 season

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

The last day at sea

Today we had to wake up at half six because the boat was grounded and tea was flying EVERYWHERE. After our........harsh waking up we had cereal and toast for brecky! We sailed back to Glasson Dock and the sea wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. When trying to get into the marina, Hannah (me) dropped the rope that attached us to the wall. Then she did it again (but to be fair I thought Melissa, the other blogger, told me to). We were then watched by about 20 people Melissa and I waved at a little girl. SHE WAVED BACK. James told us that there were pike in the marina, but we didn’t even get one bite. That was really depressing. To cheer us up Georgina, Melissa and Hannah (me) did a ‘fishy’ ritual. It ended up turning into a water fight !!!!!


After drying off we had burgers for lunch and Melissa’s fell apart (LOL). Then we went for an AGONIZING 10 minute walk. It was ok ish because after the walk through hell we had and ICE-CREAM! They always make things better.

Later we found a park. Let’s just say, girls over 9 should definitely not ride the see-saw. We (Melissa and Hannah) learnt that the hard way. Then with hurting....places......we had to walk back and we were really annoyed when we found out there was a short cut! Not funny.

Then came the game of cards. Cheat or bluff. Myself, Melissa, Georgina, Cerys, Katrina, Anna, Gabby and Beth played. Myself (Hannah) and Gabby decided to pair up because we were being thrashed. So then Melissa and Georgina paired up. Gabby passed me (Hannah) 3 jacks. She had the other jack. The order we went in was Hannah, Gabby, Melissa and Georgina. When it came to my go I put the 2 jacks down and then Gabby put her 1 card down and Melissa had no choice but to cheat. Now me and Gabby being the smart girls we are figured out she was cheating and she didn’t figure out what we had done after about 2 minutes. Being the bright girl she is!

We then had fish and potatoes for tea and for some reason Georgina started talking about not liking holes in her ears. She then told James that she wanted to put wood in her ear and James, being the cool dude he is, said and I quote, “Omg, if u like went into school with them you would get bullied girlfriend” We didn’t speak for the rest of the meal....

Lots of love

Hannah.F.

Melissa.C.

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

Roa and Piel Islands

Today we woke up to a yummy breakfast of porridge and toast. After breakfast we put our oil skins on and set off to Roa Island. When we got near enough we lowered the dingy down, and as the first group were setting off in the dinghy, the others were stuffing their pockets with sweets and chocolate. When we had all arrived on Roa Island we went for a short walk along the beach and looked for treasure. Unfortunately the best treasure we found was a piece of thick glass. After this we went and bought a drink from a small café and set off back to Tenacity, to be greeted with a lunch of vegetable soup and jam sandwiches.


As we were sailing back to where we were moored we spotted lots of seals and Georgina was practicing her seal noises! When we had arrived back near Piel Island some of us started tea while the others went crab fishing. So far the record is three cabs caught at once and we have currently got in a bucket 11 crabs but we hope to catch many more. As Katrina and Hannah were crab fishing they saw a passing fishing boat and started waving to them, but the fishermen thought we were waving for them to come over because we were in trouble!

As we are writing this the others are still crabbing as we wait for our tea of chicken curry, rice and naan bread whilst for pudding we are looking forward to a delicious chocolate fondue. All together there were smiling faces all day. 

By Anna and Katrina.

Our first sail on Tenacity

We woke up to the smell of a cooked breakfast being made by Melissa and Hannah. After breakfast we were told that today we were going to sail out and go to Piel Island which was a 3-4 hour sail. We set of at 10.15 and arrived at Piel Island by 2. In the duration of this boat journey 2 people were sick on the deck. When we arrived at anchor we cooked up a delicious lunch of hot soup which was well appreciated by the girls as they were cold after the windy boat sail. After lunch we put back on our wet oil suits after much protestation from us and headed onto the Island via the rib. When on the Island we played hide and seek all over the island, which turned out to actually only be 1 acre. When we returned to the boat Hannah and Melissa started to prepare dinner which turned into an very amusing argument about how thin the pork should be cut and ended in Melissa taking all the pieces that had been cut by Hannah and cutting them in half but it was worth it as the dinner was fab. All in all we had an unforgettable day and all really had a good time together.


By Georgina and Cerys

The first night and day

When we got to Fleetwood dock after a short drive we unpacked the shopping and luggage into trolleys and walked around to Tenacity and even though there were a few close calls none of the luggage/shopping ended up in the sea. Then we choose are beds, Melissa, Hannah, Anna and Katrina at the back of the boat (kitchen/dining room) and Georgina, Gaby, Beth and Cerys at the front in the smaller room.

After we had unpacked our bags Liz served us Bangers and Mash our first meal onboard tenacity. Just after ten we headed to bed but it did not mean we were going to sleep… Hannah and Melissa did sleeping bag adverts as a laugh at the back of the boat which we all heard about this morning whilst at the front we chatted while Beth demonstrated how to be sick in your hands and decorate your sleeping bag at the same time. She is ok now though, she did not know what the smell in the room was until reminded this morning.

This morning the back of the boat had not been to sleep at all and in the front Georgina woke up a very, very sleepy Gaby. The front made a breakfast of toast, cereal and Gaby made cups of teas… her official job. Hannah and the rest were dressed and looked extremely interesting for all the wrong reasons.

In the morning Ian took us out into the Fleetwood Channel were we got our first taste of sailing. After a lunch of sandwiches and bacon butties served by the back of the boat. We went on the RIB and had a quick safety talk and learnt how to put up the sail. We have just had a pasta bake and we are relaxing on board the boat.

By Gaby and Beth

Map of Girls voyage 9 - 14 October 2011

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

Wednesday 5th October 2011 – We had to go home

Today was the last day of our voyage. We heard Max com into the galley this morning and say “Wakey wakey!” whilst putting the kettle on for the first job of the day….tea! We got up and had cereal and toast for breakfast, after a trip up to the shower block to brush our teeth etc..

Immediately after we had washed and tidied up the breakfast things we were determined to make the best of our last short day on Tenacity, so we lowered the dinghy into the water and Dawn & Ian showed us how to drive the tender responsibly around the marina.

After we did that, we had bacon butties on freshly baked soda bread, and then back up onto deck to swap the small lines for the big thick ones as we are leaving Tenacity with some pretty strong winds forecast. The food fest continued after this flurry of activity with the production of pancakes, , rocky road, chocolate crispy cakes and fruit scones to have for our afternoon tea, then we had another go at driving the dinghy round…..then we ate the homemade afternoon tea!

We also helped Max pump out some of the water that had got into the bilge yesterday, and then it was time to leave the boat unfortunately. We really enjoyed our time on Tenacity, we learned lots of things including tying knots, cooking things, living together in close proximity etc...we had a great time..thanks to the guys on board!

PS from Skipper & crew

It seems strange sitting aboard without 9 lively young ladies. We had lots of fun too...hope you enjoyed your time on board, Max, Ian & Dawn

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

Tuesday 4th October – Adventures in Fleetwood

Today we had an incredible day! We had eggy bread for breakfast, had showers, scrubbed the decks and also did some other jobs around the boat, such as vacuuming the floor, cleaning the heads and cleaned the galley. After that we walked up to Asda in Fleetwood to get a few items, and on our return we made soda bread, and lunch was served with bread fresh out of the oven! Yum!

After lunch, we went up on deck and we practiced rolling the jib in and out whilst still in the marina, in 3 teams of 3. At about 4 o’clock, the gates at Fleetwood marina opened and we set sail into the sea. We hung about in the outer harbour and we practiced what we should do if someone ever fell overboard. Ian threw a fender overboard and we practiced picking the buoy up again with a boat hook.

Then we set off for a very short sail just out to the sea and back. Max said that because the weather is so bad that a short sail is all we would be doing today. Some of us got the chance to steer the boat and we got all the way out to the sea. Then we turned round and started sailing back to Fleetwood as planned, when the boat started making some strange noises, and it turned out that the engine had a problem.

We sailed all the way in to the calm flat bit by the marina gates and Ian put the anchor down. Max, the skipper then rang the marina to see if they could tow us into the harbour as the boats engine would not drive the boat forward. But the marina didn’t have a boat to tow us in so Max called the coastguard on the radio and asked for a tow from the lifeboat.

The lifeboat came along in about 10 minutes and towed us into the marina and back into our berth and we tied up alongside. Everyone was bursting for the loo so we rushed round with Dawn to the loos in the marina. When we got back to the boat we had hot chocolate and biscuits…note: Dawn’s hot chocolate is nicer than Max’s. After that we had spag bol for tea and now we are chilling out before bedtime.

Post Script note from Max the Skipper.

The engine problem we had turned out to be due to a faulty prop shaft. Due to the problems with the prop shaft, the voyage will likely have to be cut short this week. We will contact the parents of the students on board in the morning of Wednesday 5th October to confirm plans, which will most likely be a bus back to school to be back by 4pm. However this will be confirmed in the morning.

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

Monday 3rd October 2011

Today we got up at 7am, got dressed and had our first breakfast on the boat. We had cereals and toast.

We then got all out sailing gear on. Ian gave us our waterproofs and lifejackets and then we went up on deck. We then learned how to tie the ropes in lots of different ways which are all needed for sailing the boat. It was then lunchtime, and we had soup and sandwiches.

After lunch Rachel, Portia and Ellie learned that we weren’t the best washers up in the world, but we learned by our experience and will be better next time.

Immediately after lunch, we cast our lines off and went into the lock to take us to the outer basin. Once we left that, we waited for the river gate to open. The minute we could get through the lock, we got out into the river Lune. And motored down the channel we had seen on our walk last night.

The river slowly turned into the sea and the waves increased in size. We got to a point where we turned past some buoys and then all of a sudden we were motoring up another river called the River Wyre. After two bumpy hours, we pulled into Fleetwood dock and tied up to the pontoon, which is where we are now.

We helped Dawn cook a superb dinner of sausages, Yorkshire puds, gravy, mashed spuds, carrots and broccoli and then washed up. We have yet to devour the apple crumble which is cooking as we type this blog. Note to everyone…Hannah says that it is very hot in the galley!

Unfortunately, we only managed to upload one photo today due to technical difficulties, but we promise more shots tomorrow.

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

Sunday 2nd October - Arriving on Tenacity

Welcome from the new crew of Tenacity;

Louisa, Portia, Ellie, Eleanor, Rachael, Gabby, Hannah S, Hannah M and Johanna

Today we arrived at Glasson Dock and boarded Tenacity. We stayed in the marina this evening. Our jobs included sorted out and fitting our life jackets for the rest of the week. We also learnt the basics below deck about working in the kitchen – otherwise known as the galley, hygiene and using the toilet on board – we learnt that on a boat it takes a lot of effort to flush the toilet!  And most importantly we chose our bunks for the week. Later we went for a walk around the docks and the canal, before returning for our first meal on board.

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

Map of Girls' Voyage 2 - 7 October 2011

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