First full day of sailing

As we got up, half of us cold, the other half of us freezing, we realized that the journey ahead was going to be a long and arduous one. As the two cooks (mentioned yesterday) made second breakfast, the others set up the sails to depart Millport. Originally planned over tea and biscuits the previous night, we hoped to reach Campbelltown by late afternoon with a short stop at Lamlash. Upon emerging into the more open channel, the lack of wind was noticeable. Despite the obvious setback, we pushed forward regardless under the power of the sails with no help from the engine. With a cloudless sky and grand views, we aimed our bow at the distant hills of Holy Island.

As was custom, every half-hour, the job of helmsman was swapped around. After elegant and skilful manoeuvring by Peter Mackin, Will Holt stepped up to the challenge. At first ,all was well, however after 15 minutes, Will’s concentration was well and truly spent and we began meandering across the Clyde. It quickly became erratic and all hope seemed lost until Sam Cordingly courageously stepped up the Helm and pointed us in the right direction once again. To be fair to Will, banging his head on every part of the boat did not help his focus to any taxing job.

Unfortunately, as we reached Lamlash, disaster struck as the winds died away to nothing while we were distracted by our delectable ham sandwiches and custard creams. After lunch, before embarking on our voyage once again, our team skills were put to the test when Ian scaled the main mast to fix a problem with the head sail. Although we tried gallantly to restore the head sail, our efforts were in vain and we were forced to motor our way to Lamlash harbour to anchor up for the night. As Hiren Patel smoothly guided the boat to rest, the crew took to stations to lower the anchor.

The aforementioned Hiren Patel and Alex Johnson then made a belly-filling meal of caramelised pork steak, stir-fried vegatables and steamed rice. Our crew mates, drawn by the enticing aroma of good food cooked excellently waited eagerly at the table for the palatable food set out in front of them. In true form, Abhinav Kumar managed to throw rice everywhere.

To round off the night, we are currently waiting for Morrison’s finest chocolate cake and rest after an enjoyable day of motor-sailing

Written by Hiren Patel and Alex Johnson

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