Tall ship 2017 Blog – No. 4

Today was our first full day on the the ship. After a surprisingly good sleep, we woke early and were soon out on deck where we did our first challenge which was the ‘up and over’ – climbing the rigging to the first platform on the mast, and back down the other side. Although this was difficult at the time as the first platform felt really high, I was glad I did it.

After an exciting morning, we then went over some knots and were ready to begin working aloft. After our briefing, we then climbed to the first yard arm were we put the sail into gear – to do this we undid the sail ties and let the sail fall. Thankfully, we soon descended – I felt a lot safer back on deck!

In the afternoon, we had our first full watch; we were the rjdve team which gave me an opportunity to helm the ship, which was amazing.

Finally, after a long day I am ready for bed – I can’t wait to get to my bunk!

Emma

Three words that created the one thing that I am most proud of today: Up and Over. We were challenged this morning to climb to the first platform above the first yard.  I climbed up to the ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ where I had a little cry.  But I kept going and got to the platform.  My scout leader told me that I had to get to the first platform and push myself; and I am thankful that I listened and did exactly that.

Second on the schedule was ‘going aloft’ and learning how to manage the sails. I didn’t go up on this occasion as my sea-sickness tablets made me too dazed to function properly so I stayed on the deck and had a great chat with Kim, the ship’s Bosun. After that it was time for lunch and the cheese and onion pasty made me a bit more alert.

Now it was time to set sail, we all had a go at bracing the sail (which caused many a blister) and we were able to have a go at helming (steering the boat) when we went on watch duty. I just hope that learning to drive a car is as easy as learning to steer a ship!

After we docked in Lamlash and had a look at our surroundings, we learned about the system of buoys and what we should look out for when on watch. Afterwards, we had a good discussion with Kevin, the headteacher of a school in York, about time-management and the education system. Needless to say, I wish he was my head teacher!

Signing off!
Bex