Tall Ships Blog 2017 – No. 5

Part of the Scout Law is ‘A Scout is to have courage in all difficulties’, or something along those lines. I felt that I related to this when I climbed to the yard (which was a few felt higher than the platform) to put the sail into gear. I held on tight to the yard and struggled to move. But again, I had a little cry and I was okay, I felt proud that I got myself a little but further.

Then it was my group’s turn to to be on watch. I was able to steer the ship out of the port and into the water to begin our journey. We set the sails at the front of the boat and did our watch duties. We had a laugh and tried to get the crew to dab. It’s surprising how many varieties of dabbing can be found on the boat.

Tonight, I played ukulele and we played some old songs from The Beatles and some other classics. We’re all sat in a giddy mood tonight after one of my watch members tried to describe Godzilla (or, as he called it, Dogzilla).

I know one thing now: I’m ready for bed!!!

Bex

Today is day 3 – the days seem to have flown by! After an early start, the rest of my watch climbed to the lower topsail to out the sail into gear. I watched from below, although I wasn’t complaining!

Later, our watch was on duty. This turned out to be quite eventful as there were many lobster pots to spot – hitting one of these could put the ship out of sailing! Midway through our watch were called to our bracing stations to set the yard arms on both masts. This was fun, although it was very hard work – my hands our covered in blisters now …

We later docked, and then came the dreaded moment – I’d have to go aloft to the second yard to stow the sail. Slowly, I ascended to the yard and made my way out to the end. However, after some encouragement from the rest of the crew down below, I managed to fold and stow my part of the sail. Thankfully, I was soon able to come back down to the deck, which I was very glad of!

Now, after an exhausting day I can’t wait to climb into my bunk – I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring though.

Emma