Blog catch up

Sorry for the delay the daly blogs are now below. Unfortunately in the excitement of Tobermory and sleeping on deck the girls forgot to write Fridays blog. A shame to see them leave this morning they were a very special bunch of young ladies.

Sunday

There was a good atmosphere on Sunday morning as the sun was out and the sea was calm. However, morale dropped when the boat refused to move forwards. There were some who suggested we just reverse all the way to the Isle of Man, but after an hour of messing with the engine the boat moved forwards. We waved goodbye to the Piel Island seals and headed out to the numerous wind farms. This journey took a while as Sarah struggled to steer in the right direction and practically managed to write her name in the wake. We were fortunate to catch a brief glimpse of a dolphin.

On arrival in Ramsey, the dingy was lowered and the outboard motor set up. Everyone was excited to set foot on shore and invade the quiet streets of the Isle of Man in search of food. Unfortunately, the adventure did not start for half an hour. After much pulling, the motor started and we raced ashore only to find Ramsey a ghost town. Not one shop was open. Flora sprinted to the other end of the town and screamed with a great excitement ‘The Co-Op is open!!!’ Minutes passed as we ransacked the stock of the shop, especially the sweet and chocolate aisle. On the way back to the dinghy, Flora realised that her bandana was missing! She repeated her sprint, dragging Pippa along with her, and was lucky enough to find it. The night ended with a chocolate fondue and an early bedtime, as we were sailing at 4am the next morning.

By the Odds and Sods (Sarah, Gabby and Flora)

 

Monday

This morning we had an early start at 3 45 to leave before the tide went out, some were better at getting up than others. The sea was as flat as a pancake, most of us sat on deck and watched the spectacular sunrise. We saw some more dolphins. There was even a seal with a fish in its mouth trying to fend off seagulls.

 We started playing a new game of murder and people are dropping like flies, four have been murdered in one day. After battling through the currents and dodging the rocks we arrived at the island of Sanda where some swam and some had a dinghy ride to shore then spent the afternoon exploring the island. Another early start tomorrow.

The Old Girls

Tuesday

Today we set off for port Ellen with another early start, however the wind was not in our favour-again! A thought provoking game of charades keep the team awake till what felt like lunchtime, sadly not! Thankfully, the sun was shining for most of the afternoon. Some of the team were lucky enough to witness a school of dolphins. After turning the power off to prevent crossing paths with a ferry heading for Ireland, we arrived at Port Ellen mid afternoon. All of the team went ashore to de-salt hair at the local hotel. Everyone took advantage of the complementary shampoos’. The ell’ of a team went to buy a net for what turned out to be a very successful crabbing trip-until Mr. Beard and his Spanish influences tried to cook them! The odds’ and sods’ made a fantastic turkey curry for tea, well done guys!!! Mary entertained the village with a spectacular Irish dancing performance despite being in Scotland!! However, Pippa still believes she is superior!!! Much to our relief, we have a later start tomorrow being able to stop at an island for lunch, if the wind is with us. Fingers crossed!!

The ell’ of a team (Briony, Pippa and Jess)

Wednesday

We are now half way through the journey and we have all started to adopt different accents. There is a mixture of different ones, including Scottish, Scouse, Jamaican, Irish and of course BURNLEY (Charlotte). We set of later than planned as everyone was trying to get ready, ie. Briony with her rollers. After much trouble caused by the infamous strawberry milk we headed north to Eilean Mor. The views we captured were breathtaking including the towering heights of Jura and Islay. By midday the sun was scorching down onto the deck and more than one crew member took the opportunity to work on their tan and catch up on some much deserved beauty sleep. Meanwhile  Mr Beard (Sir John) also tried to do so , but he was frequently disturbed by the adventurous steering from Charlotte and Flora and the screams erupting from the card games being played. Finally we arrived to where we were to anchor however; even the muscle of Mr.Beard and Karen couldn’t clear the jammed chain. After much effort, dinner was served and as we ate we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a basking shark! All girls scurried across the island to get a closer look. There were many places to explore such as the bothy, the chapel and a hermit’s cave, which Charlotte managed to, get stuck in and needed Mr. Beard muscular power again to pull her out. Overall it was a great day! J

The Odds and Sods

Thursday

After an eggy bread breakfast, we set off to the Isle of Seil.  Unfortunately we could only see 100 metres ahead of us as the fog was so thick. The fog kept lifting and sinking so we didn’t know whether we would be able to carry on sailing, nevertheless we ploughed on through.  All was going well until we heard the sound of an engine not too far away.  This was quickly followed by the sound of a foghorn.  Luckily, the radar showed that the ferry was in fact going the same way as us so we wouldn’t collide.  We had baked potatoes for lunch followed by digestive biscuits.

                Once we arrived and anchored at Seil Island, we lowered the dingy and clamoured in.  We made the mistake of allowing Flora to row the dingy and we visited almost every boat in the dock.  Eventually we reached the island and explored.  We found a pub, a souvenir shop and a supermarket that was “just down the road” (about 3 miles).  It was a rush to get back in time but we just about made it.  After stocking up with more food we headed back to the boat to make flapjack.

THE OLD GIRLS

                                                            

Ahhh... Scottish Internet Access!

A quick update from the team at Patterdale Hall

The team on board Tenacity have been having a great time, although there has been a lack of wind for sailing, the blogs have been written for you all to read but unfortunately due to a lack of mobile internet coverage the team on board have been unable to post them.

As soon as possible, probably closer to Oban, the blogs will be posted so that you can catch up with life on board.

Kind regards

The Patterdale Hall team

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

Tacking to Windward

Greetings earthlings! (Mr. beards usual hello)

Everyone arrived at Glasson Dock safe, sound and on time J (except Flora), we saw some people from school who were sailing “STOP AND GO”, Utte Schmeitgen, to Scilly Isles. After a quick, but thorough, safety briefing we were able to leave Glasson Dock early and off to Piel Island but unfortunately as the voyage progressed the sea got slightly rougher and some suffered from sea sickness. Never the less we hoisted the sails and tacked the north wind. There have been a variety of eating habits including a celiac, vegan and vegetarian making catering a challenge.

As he has retired Mr. Beard has said that we should call him John. To this we replied “ok Mr. Beard” finally the poor behaviour award has been given to the anchor who despite the synchronised Westholme anchor wiggling team, insisted on tying itself in knots and causing difficulty. Over all a good days sailing which everyone enjoyed.

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

Our last days sailing

After a traumatic experience at 2 in the morning,  due to an alarm going off, Vicky, Ailish, Hannah, and Suzie woke up for 1 minute and went back to sleep putting all of our lives in danger. Luckily skipper Ian came to the rescue and our safety was assured. In the early hours of the morning, we had to bid farewell to our favourite port Fleetwood, with

 

warm showers and open spaces. Unfortunately the shoe clearance in the nearby shopping centre was closed. We anchored outside the lock gates and had breakfast, then decided our course for the day to put our knowledge of sailing to the test. All of us took part in tacking and jibing the sails, and the ride was more like a roller coaster. Fortunately it was a bucket free day, however there were times where we questioned whether some people were still breathing; Hannah in particular fell into a deep coma.  Unfortunately the wind was so strong we had to anchor and all of us were actually able to have lunch. But the sing song session was relived while we were making a good time out of the rainy weather. The musical diversity varied from the ever-so-classical Tchaikovsky to latest works of Beyoncé. During this time Juliet and Ananya also mastered all the knots in the book, being prepared for the Duke of Edinburgh prestigious examinations of knots which will be held on Wednesday 3^rd of July 2013. The results will be released two minutes later and we shall all fail (Skipper bets that they won’t!!). Well done parents, we congratulate you for educating us and for giving us the gift of failure. We were given a lot more responsibility today especially while approaching Glasson Dock. After the largest rain cloud in the history of the world hit the boat and blinded us all we had a lucky escape and set up all the ropes or as sailors call them sheets. Than failed epically when her roving Fender rebounded against the side of the boat and she was taken back, but with her swag she shook off the embarrassment. We would now like to announce an important message to the parents of Zoë; it would be much appreciated if you would reimburse the cost of the broken drinking implement damaged by your child. #LOL. Co-headchefs Ailish and Ananya produced a delicious quorn stew; apparently quorn doesn’t fully satisfy the taste buds of these ravaging carnivores onboard. According to Suzie her day has been less eventful than per usual #literally #mean #badboiii #shesnotlying #notevenjoking #doyouknowhatimean. Another near death experience occurred when Vicky had severe blood loss from a broken nail, it was very dramatic. A very busy day ended and we recollected our favourite moments of the entire voyage. We would like to thank our amazing instructors Joe, Skipper Ian and Michelle. We appreciate everything you have done for us and have made this experience the best we could ever imagine. Also Thank You to our parents and Scotts Trust for granting us the opportunity of a lifetime, we will always remember our time on Tenacity of Bolton.  #YOLO.

A very happy sail



This morning was an early start as we hoped to make it back to Piel Island. However due to weather forecast  anchoring there over night would have been very uncomfortable and rough so we continued down the coast to a marina in Fleetwood. Despite the wind making Piel Island an unfavourable option to anchor overnight in, the weather was much better than previous days, so far few people were seasick, and several of us even got sunburnt. Everyone was in much better spirits and the sing song continued from the previous day. The high spirits were helped along by seeing a funnily named boat, Prawn Star (proper banter). Over all it was a much better day sailing for most of us, ending with a delicious cheese and broccoli pasta prepared by Suzie, Vicky and Juliet (pudding was a bit of a letdown as Tesco value chocolate roll, whilst being a good deal, apparently tastes less like chocolate and more like crayons). 





The long sail to Whitehaven

We got up at 7:00 so we could make an early start from Peel Island to Whitehaven, and so we set of at 7:30. To wake us up we played the granny game, let’s see if you can have a go......... Granny likes knitting but she doesn’t like crocheting, Granny likes shampoo but doesn’t like soap, what does your Granny like and dislike? The weather was perfect for the more experienced sailor, but unfortunately for us newbies it was very rough. We managed to get all 4 sails up, and were travelling fast, our highest speed was 8.4 Knots, with wind speed gusting to a Force 6, which is the highest speed tenacity can handle. Sadly a lot of us got sea sick and felt deflated. So towards the end, the Extreme team had to come to the rescues, which included Zoe, Vicky and Suzie. During the journey Vicky lost a cup to the sea, which made her extremely sad. We finally all had a go at being captain and steering the boat, which was harder than the day before due to the weather. Finally we all got to have the much anticipated trip to Tesco’s and luckily we were well under budget with only spending £118.16. Due to the weather conditions we were all looking forward the tea as we had eaten little or nothing all day. For dinner we had a stir fry with a chocolate crispy cake for desert which was created by Ananya, Ailish and Hannah.