The crew

The final picture

Last day and all under sail

Today we woke up at the usual time but I still had some washing up to do which I wasn’t too happy about to say the least. At ten we set out sailing back to Glasson Dock we managed to get all the sails out and hit a speed of 4 knots.

 Apparently we had a close call with a big ship at this moment in time Callum was driving but Ian took over because it was deemed dangerous but personally I think it’s just Callum is just a bad driver. While this took place me and Luke were down stairs, Luke washing up and I was just keeping him company. Afterwards Callum, Dylan and Charlie were sunbathing up stairs on deck while Ian skippered.

 When we arrived at the docks we had to get all the fenders out so we don’t break the boat then we went and moored up and got settled for the night. Then Charlie split his lynx can and exploded and sprayed everywhere. Still waiting for tea fish and chips hoping its good hopefully so that’s the plan but there’s still time for more things to happen.

by Zac Newton

Pictorial story of the castle visit.

 





DON'T ASK!!



Wednesday is Castle day

Today we woke up to dry but extremely cold weather. Zac and Callum didn’t get out of their sleeping bags until forty minutes after we were meant to get up. For breakfast Dylan and I did the usual cereal and toast and then headed out to explore Piel Island.

We used the dinghy to get to the island but we had to go in two waves. Charlie, Steve and I went in the first wave, which was the right word as the waves soaked us on the way there. While the others came in the dinghy in the second wave, the first wave was greeted by an over-friendly dog. It kept leaping onto me but it was friendly and playful. When the others arrived we all saw the islands wildlife, (which included pigs, horses, dogs and snails) before exploring the 13th century castle on the island. After exploring the castle we went to a pub that was on the television, on a program called “Islands of Britain” where Dylan broke a century’s old tradition by sitting on the king’s chair and not buying everyone drinks!

After we got back it was a case of “many hands making light work” of the lunch rather than “too many cooks spoiling the broth” (or the sausages.) Lunch consisted of having sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs (prepared by Dylan.) After lunch there was a bit of indecision over whether we were going to go sailing or not, but we decided to. So it was, with everyone armed with their clothing (and me with sea-sickness pills) that we set of sailing. We all had a go at playing “skipper” and steering the ship, which is harder than you’d expect. This time, fortunately no-one threw up (but Charlie had his moments).

Then it was time for cooking dinner. As Spag Bol was Dylan’s speciality on Monday he took control of that, and for curry it was time to reverse the roles as that is my speciality. With the help of Zac we prepared the Turkey Korma (with me slipping a few Jalepeno peppers in). There was silence around the table as we ate, the only noise being forks scraping against plates. Soon there was nothing left in the pans, so I thought that meal went down well. As I write, the others are playing cards in great anticipation for the dessert (Rice Pudding) which, compared to last night’s fondue, will probably be not as good as the fondue as it was beautiful. A quick update we forgot to read that the rice pudding takes too long to prepare so for dessert we will probably just be having chocolate hobnobs. Then it will be relaxing before retiring to bed.

By Luke

Tuesdays Sailing

Today we woke up to a terrifying swan attack and, after that excitement had calmed down, we found out we would be sailing to Peil Island. Soon after a crash course in the ropes and sails we set off. However half way through the trip someone came down with a case of chronic seasickness and threw up twice which gave us a nice soundtrack to the trip.

Safety brief going down the River Lune

As we were approaching Piel we saw loads of seals and some of the braver ones, that could stand the stench of the Bow bedroom, came up quite close to the boat.

After we  anchored at Piel, where we are staying the night, me, Zac and Charlie made tea and we ate it up on deck which was a pork stir fry and for desert we had chocolate fondue which was finished off surprisingly quickly. We are now relaxing in the galley before going to bed.

By Callum



GREAT END TO A GOOD DAY!

Fun in the dinghy

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

Windy Monday

We woke up and had to have a shower so we went down to the marina and I was not looking forward to this but it was surprisingly nice and WARM!


After some safety briefs we had a walk to the shop.. Then we went to the park for a bit and played on the swings. Steve and Joe took us to the sea wall so as we could see where we are going sailing tomorrow. When we were heading back we were playing football as we were going along and soon we were passing a canal. Callum kicked the football in the canal and we had to run a head of it and wait for the wind to drag it to us and we were just about able to grab it.

Then we had a bit of spare time and Luke decided to beat everyone at chess as he beat Callum 6-0 and beat Joe 1-0 (so far) and he is on a roll.

Me, Zack and Callum made lunch and to be honest it was interesting as we forgot to mash the tuna and mayonnaise together and it was all right but we are making dinner tomorrow......

After that we went out on the dinghy and it was so fun we could only go 5mph it made a great sound we all go to drive it and we all got wet.

When we got back Dylan and Luke had made diner and I thought that his spag bol was very nice although Luke’s plate kept on growing in mass.

The weather is getting better and we will be getting out tomorrow if it doesn’t change.

By Charlie

A note from the skipper for the parents.

Good morning,

As I type this we have force six to seven westerley winds. This is in the marina and it will be a little higher out at sea, where there would definately be gale force gusts. I have therefore decided in the interests of safety to remain in harbour for today, hopefully tomorrow the winds will have abated. We will find lots of new adventures for the boys today and despite the fact that we are not sailing they will be kept fully occupied. You will get a blog from the lads this evening.

Ian.

The first evening

Today on the first day of what’s going to be a very exiting trip, we didn’t do much, but still had a good day.


After we had arrived at Glasson Dock, we started the fun. We commenced with grabbing all of the shopping, then unloading, then having some pretty fun trolley rides!

Once we had got on to the boat, because he was late, Charlie argued about which end of the boat he was going to live in for the next five nights.

Learning your way around the boat was pretty simple, because it’s not that big!

The next thing was dinner, and even though preparing it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, we all got on with it and had a good laugh about school life, which brought a friendly atmosphere.

Once we had prepared the dinner, we had to learn about the sorts of clothing we had to wear on deck (all the musts!) in that list was learning about lifejackets, which was pretty complex just for a little thing. Even though it would save our life if the water was warm enough for us to fall in!

After that important lecture, the 8 of us on deck came down and had some delicious dinner (even though Zac’s lumpy mash potatoes didn’t make everyone want to eat them!)

For dessert, we were planning to have chocolate cake or biscuits. That was, until Callum made a complete mess of the cake slices!

The weather hasn’t been the best at the start but then it took a turn and gave us nicer conditions.

By Dylan.