Writes Adam H. (Divs)
Having never sailed before the summer sailing trip, I was invited by Ms Scott to join the Small Ships Race last Friday to Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed the summer trip and couldn’t wait to continue my sailing journey in the Isle of Wight.
It was great! We started by going to Cowes as practice on the first day where there was lots of wind. This was just to get into sailing again, as well as to get to know everyone on board. I familiarised myself with my ketch (called the Donald Searle) and spent some time getting comfortable with sailing again. In the evening, we had some time to explore Cowes and stock up on snacks before coming back to play some games on the boat.
We then sailed the Solent. It was on the first day that I realised that I had completely forgotten seasickness tablets! Luckily, I can now confirm that once you get used to being on the boat, it just disappears!
On the second day – race day – unfortunately, there was insufficient wind to sail. Instead, we completed other challenges by motor instead of sail. One challenge was to go to specific places to earn points. We spent the day parading around the other boats with floats and costumes, and we did our best to intimidate the competition. We also tidied up the sails and travelled to places around the Solent. In the background, there was still plenty of baking (you apparently burn enough calories to justify eating a lot of cake and brownies).
In the end, we ended up back in Cowes where I got hoisted up the mast which is 90ft tall and had an incredible view! I had to be lifted as it was too high to climb. The photos were amazing – one of them is my new WhatsApp photo!
After, we received the results. The Donald Searle came second! We spent the rest of the night partying to celebrate our victory at a disco, enjoying a final fun time with new friends!
On Sunday, we returned to Southampton after a fantastic weekend. I would definitely recommend taking part in a sail training voyage when there are opportunities to do so through the school, as it might lead to an experience like this one. Thanks so much to Ms Scott for recommending it!
