Gale force winds in Ballycastle!!

Cabin fever has struck!

Thursday 13th August

After a good rest, Port watch set the team up with an immense fry up before leaving Bangor at 9am. Shortly after leaving our berth we noticed gannets circling and diving, hence took the opportunity to slow the engine and get out our fishing lines. Luckily on her first go Kate (Starboard) managed to catch three mackerels. We also spotted the tall ship ‘Tenacious’ heading for the Belfast tall ships regatta. Meanwhile port watch was down below having a party of their own making brownies which kept the team going! Whilst on watch from Belfast Lough we had the opportunity to improve our navigation and chart skills by identifying lighthouses. In addition, we improved our skills by steering without a fixed compass heading. By doing this we unleashed our inner Jack Sparrows! Today along with completing the hourly log we learnt how to plot points on the chart which meant we could accurately calculate our position in the sea. We took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and had a picnic on deck. In the afternoon we had to ensure that we reached the Rathlin Sound within a two hour time window to guarantee that the tide was not against us. When nearing the marina we sighted the scenic Benmore Head also known as Fair Head and used binoculars to identify two climbers on the rock face. Upon arrival at Ballycastle Marina we came alongside the jetty which was a tight squeeze for the Tenacity. Luckily this was a doddle due to Mary’s expertise at the wheel and Port’s handy rope work, despite Zuleikha’s attempts to sabotage the plan by revving the engine to full power rather than just turning it off. We then received a friendly welcome from our Irish harbor master nicknamed Dougal by Lucy and Akshaya. The whole team took the opportunity to revel in the sunshine and took a stroll whilst eating some pricey ice creams. Three brave team members then embraced the challenge of gutting Kate’s catch of the day, which was soon to be served as an appetizer. Port then began dinner and continued to do so for a further two hours. Nevertheless the meal was a success when finally served up and the team wolfed down the fantastic variety of potatoes. After an eventful day we wound down with some fruitcake and a sing along to Maroon 5.

46 Nautical Miles

Wednesday 12th August

After a bright and early start at 3:30am we apprehensively started the day with a welcome batch of bacon butties. It was certainly a difficult task trying to drag ourselves out of bed at such an early hour, it was still dark outside and we were in store for a far longer day than yesterday as we had to sail 79 miles to Bangor Marina, Northern Ireland, which is 29 miles further than the previous day. As it was not yet light we had to watch carefully for other ships and lights on the horizon. The sea was much calmer, however we still could not get the sails out due to the direction of the wind. However it was colder and we had to make sure we were suitably dressed with many, many layers of clothing. The early start was planned to make the most of the tides. We knew that we would encounter three tides, and an early start would ensure that two would help push us in the right direction. We also found out how useful watches are. When not on watch (and thank goodness that the sea was calmer today) we could go below deck and have power naps. However, when awoken by a slap from someone (Kate), some of us didn’t go up on deck in a very good mood! We made good time across the Irish Sea and arrived well ahead of schedule. Many new skills were learnt, such as filling in the log book and recap on mooring up in the marina (made easier by Mary’s excellent parking skills – something some us could relate to as drivers,“I can barely park a car let alone a boat”- Helen). However more practice is required we think until we become slick sailors. The extra time meant that we could give the ship (and ourselves!) a good old scrub. Tasks were split between the group, two people to take the rubbish we had accumulated, one to hoover (which Helen took particular pleasure in!), one to fill up the water tank, one to wash the tea towels, two to clean the kitchen and one to do the best job in the world: cleaning the toilet. The Northern Ireland facilities were warmly received, one keen sailor (Helen) saying “they are the best showers I have ever encountered in my life, there are seats and everything!” Desperate for a shower, we all scrambled up the jetty, in search of running water. However once there, we found it strange to adjust to dry land, with many members of the crew stating that they thought that the room was swaying just like the boat. We had clearly become acclimatised to life on board. After our vitally important shower, the day finished on a good note with Mary’s hearty Chilli Con Carne and some “improvised” garlic bread. But tensions between members of the crew began to show on board, after all, it is a 10 day expedition with 8 girls and the end of a very long day (don’t forget we had been up since 3.30am and it was now gone 9pm!) Disputes were soon solved as we talked through our problems and after all, we are best friends and sometimes we do argue, but they get resolved quite quickly. It turns out that the real reason we were arguing wasn’t because we were angry or annoyed at each other, rather that we missed our home comforts and families and also because of the tiredness . Another job remained before we could get into our bunks; a shopping list. After seeing how much we had eaten in three days we realised that we needed more food to last the remainder of the expedition. Remember the endless amount of biscuits at the beginning of the week? Turns out that biscuits are a very good snack on deck, and with each watch eating one pack each every couple of hours, surprisingly we were running out of biscuits. We have also discovered that some foods are more ergonomically designed for life on board a ship, rolls rather than bread slices for example. After a long hard look at the food shortage situation and composing a list of other necessary items required (dry shampoo was a major component seeing as we didn’t know when our next shower would be), we made our way to bed and a good nights sleep. Today was a long day, according to our instructors the longest two days were now behind us. The journey from England to Ireland is a very long one only broken up by the Isle of Man (in the past two days, we’ve sailed 129 miles), so at least we can sleep knowing that we probably won’t have to get up this early again! Fingers crossed!

79Nautical Miles

Tuesday 11th August

Mary our skipper offers sailing advice.

Tuesday 11th August
One word sums up today – WET! We sailed form Piel Island to Douglas, Isle of Man, a distance of 50 miles. Waves constantly bombarded the boat, causing salt water to spray into our faces, temporarily blinding and drenching us. Fortunately, most of us had our waterproofs on and thus we avoided being completely soaked. Those of us who had forgotten to wear their waterproof trousers soon learned our lesson. We remained on deck when not on watch as again, it proved too rough to go down below. Two of our team members risked being whisked away by the mighty waves whilst trying to tackle some boat maintenance at the bow (thank god for safety lines which meant we were securely fastened to the boat at all times). Some of us thought the waves were great fun, however some of us weren’t so keen! However salt had seemed to form all over our faces, hands and hair making them feel a bit slimy and disgusting. We were in desperate need of a shower, but due to limited water supply, we couldn’t. Yet another sticky night! Clothes had also gotten wet, but we found it very hard to find any space onboard to hang them to dry, so we were greeted by unpleasantly damp waterproofs in the morning. A hard day’s sailing was followed by a dinner of fa-heeee-tas!! ¡Phenomenal! This was slightly messy and cramped, but delicious. We are definitely adjusting to the limited space on board but still finding it difficult to do everyday activities. The rest of the evening was spent prepping for lunch and dinner the following day, as we planned to sail on an epic journey to Ireland. The whole crew joined in with grating cheese, getting tuna out of the tin and making tuna mayonnaise and slicing up corned beef. It has become more obvious to us now, that organisation is crucially important to make life on board run smoothly, especially as we were planning to set sail at 4am following morning! Little things like putting out our clothes ready for the next certainly make things easier and quicker, even knowing where you’ve put your hat and gloves certainly helps when you have to dash below deck to try and stop your head and hands freezing. Especially in waters like today, the less time spent day below deck the better!

50 Nautical miles

Monday 10th August

One of the team practising tying a bowline.

After unpacking our belongings and extensive food supplies we were ready to set sail at 12pm. However there was some concern from the instructors, about the food situation. Despite the fact that we had filled two shopping trolleys at the supermarket, it seemed that there was a lack of certain foods, mainly fruit (but there were enough biscuits to last a month!) After restocking a little, we set sail. Unfortunately due to the direction of the wind we had to motor from Glasson Dock to Piel Island which was a distance of 20 miles. Along the way we each got an opportunity to have a go at steering in the open seas. Watches were taken in turns depending on where each person was sleeping, so there are 2 groups, port and starboard. Helen M, Helen S, Melissa and Kate are on starboard and Zuleikha, Lucy, Akanksha and Akshaya are on port. Watches last 2 hours and when not on watch we sat at the back of the boat in our waterproofs as the seas were too rough to go below deck (plus some of us weren’t feeling all too great anyway!)We also recapped our knotting skills which we will find very useful on our expedition. The highlight of our day was when Mary, our skipper, pointed out two dolphins and seals. Zuleikha particularly enjoyed sailing past wind turbines in the sea : “they looked like they were doing a Mexican wave.” After a good day on deck, there was a surprise waiting for us in the kitchen, one of our bags of flour had escaped and exploded all over the kitchen. After a quick clean up starboard cooked a delicious stir fry with quorn and noodles. We had anchored just off of Piel Island and with full bellies there was time for a quick game of bananagrams before we bunked up for the night ready for a 7am start. This was the first time that we had slept out on the water, which was a strange experience. Getting used to the boat swaying and rocking when ships went past took some getting used to!

20 Nautical miles

Track the journey to Oban here

The map below should track our journey to Oban, or use the link to the left.


Dont panic if there is a map of America above! the map will locate itself properly once we are on board.