The A team report

Greetings Landlubbers, the A Team here (Emma B, Emma D and Grace R).   Today has been...eventful, starting with the way too early start this morning!  Walking across lazily to the toilets in our pyjamas wasn’t the funniest thing in the world.  Then at breakfast, with dried Frosties for Grace and Emma B, and some weird shredded wheat thing for Emma D.  Mr Beard got wedged between the table and the bench (with an interesting face on him), fun for all.  Then we set off for the lock.  It took forever to get through, resulting in us talking with an old guy in an army onesie and Fishermans hat on whilst eating bacon butties, nice! I think we all underestimated the sheer coldness of the open sea.  Once we set off, everyone (even Lucy!) went silent for ages, and then Emma B and Grace had a random chat about houses.  After the boat got rocky, most people (Emma D) began feeling slightly queasy and turned Shrek coloured.  Emma D then fell asleep in her bucket (not with sick in), whilst Holly sat at the other side of the boat hugging her bucket whilst snoring rather loudly.  Everyone is okay now though, no worries.  Eventually, we arrived at Piel Island, freezing cold and wet.  Only we didn’t, because the anchor decided to conk out on us, meaning it took us an hour, going round in circles, trying to lower the anchor manually.  Anyway, we got there, and we decided to take the dinghy out to Piel Island.  After the engine on the dinghy decided to have a paddy, we arrived on Piel Island.  After taking several attempts at Bolt photos (usually capturing feet, the sky or random bits of scenery and field, as the camera was on a timer) we headed off to the castle, mainly to freak out the other team.  When we thought we heard them coming, we dived over a wall into the castle, not thinking about how to get out, ending with Emma D on one side, Grace on the other, and Emma B straddling the wall while Grace pushed her over.  Then we went and sat outside the pub and bought some good chips, nice pub, classic, and took millions of pictures of the whole group planking in different places (e.g. the bin, the picnic bench and the flag pole, which just ended in disaster...), along with “lonely” photos and we had some failed attempts at cartwheels in wellies.  The Umm Umm’s were going to go back to Tenacity first, but disaster struck when they realised someone’s dingy had come loose, and drifted about 50m down the sea.  The owner of the said dingy came out and had to get another guy to tow it back to the jetty.  In this time, the Umm Umm’s made it back to Tenacity, and we began talking to the owner of the lost dinghy about the best alcohol he could buy in the pub. Then our dinghy came back, full of murky water, and we pushed off the slipway safely.  All was well. Until the engine decided to conk out on us...again. We decided to use the oars, after much perseverance with the motor.  This did not help, as we drifted past where we had been before.  Mr Beard looked on in dismay as we passed the pub.  Luckily, Emma B saved the day, by managing to restart the motor.  Unfortunately someone (at this point Emma D starts defending herself) dropped the oar, and we had to go about and get it back.  Emma D saved the day; the Emma’s were on a role.  Grace, of course, kept the boat calm and collected during this difficult time.  We all got home safe to a nice bowl of Spag Bol (our Shepherds Pie was way better though).  This is the A Team signing off from Tenacity, over and out.