In August 2021, 9 enthusiastic Officer Cadets from the University of London Officers’ Training Corps voyaged from Gosport to the Isles of Scilly and back. With many of the Crew it was their first time on board, so it was a quick process to build their skills up to competent crew level. This proved very rewarding, learning something new after a year of Covid 19. Leg 1 went from Gosport to Plymouth with a two day stop at The Isles of Silly, whereas Leg 2 went from Plymouth to Gosport, also travelling via the Isles of Scilly. This expedition challenged the Officer Cadets but gave them even more hunger to get on board again and try new adventure training.
Training And Sailing on the go.
After arriving from a long journey to the yacht for many of the officer cadets, the Skipper gave his safety brief and then the recently qualified day skipper took the lead in teaching the cadets knots, tacking, gybing and all the nautical language on board. For the crew it was either their first time on a yacht or they had a basic understanding, nonetheless they still picked up on it all very quickly even through being onboard was a completely different world. Whilst picking up on all of the terminology the crew managed to witness many pods of dolphins throughout the expedition, especially when passing Wolf rock lighthouse where a large pod was hunting a school of bait fish to then follow us back to Plymouth. A few more notable events occurred, including the crew having to manoeuvre in the dark to avoid a swimmer attempting to go around the Isle of Wright before our trip to the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
With the majority of trips being long legged night sails to give the crew as much time exploring as possible, the skipper shared some of his astronomical knowledge by teaching the crew the positions of various key stars such as the North Star, useful for both navigating at sea and land. One of the legs from Falmouth to Yarmouth took 36 hours of straight sailing, where the crew fully understood the adventure of sailing and by the end of the trip they had their sea legs.
Exploring Phase.
Whenever the crew could they explored the ports, trying to broaden their knowledge of the south coast.They visited the National Maritime Museum Cornwall which everybody enjoyed as there were exhibits which catered to all interests. Some of the crew experienced the famous Cornish delicacy of pasties for the first time, which went down exceptionally well. Over a couple of pints of local ales and beers, the skipper introduced the officer cadets to his famous mind puzzles which thoroughly tested their mental abilities and out-of-the-box thinking throughout the remainder of the expedition. Some nights the water was warm enough to swim in comfortably and several of the Officer Cadets enjoyed chasing after and around the boat. The voyage ended all too quickly as the sun set over the joint services marina in Gosport.
Mooring up in the harbour of St Mary’s, the largest of the archipelago, much amusement was found in the wildly varying levels of proficiency in rowing amongst the Officer Cadets. Although variety also describes the different amounts of sleep attained by the crew, all were one in their vigorous attitude to exploring this paradise. They did many hikes around the gorgeous bays, visiting several of the castles, ancient burial sites and remains of a pre-historic village that dates back more that 4000 years. Making the OCdts very thankful to have the opportunity to come onboard to see such a unique location, without the support of Ulysses Trust they wouldn’t of had the ability to come along. Especially when the coastal path itself had some unique quirks, one of which being the placement of a traffic light system as the limited space on the island has led to the building of the airstrip right on the edge of the cliffs. The crew even went to Old Town, which had a large church yard with some First and Second World War memorials and Commonwealth War graves that the crew paid their respects to. Then catching a ferry across to Tresco to see its Abbey Garden, complete with an impressive array of foreign flora, seemed almost like an alien planet, certainly far more exotic than one expects to find so close to home. ‘Valhalla’, the collection of figureheads from the wrecks of ships collected around the Isles was also a very interesting, although perhaps slightly morbid, point of interest.
Novice Crew Reflective Statement
Not having done much sailing in the past I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at Gosport on Monday. The day began with a short safety brief and an introduction to the vessel we would be sailing, HMSTV Teal.
After getting our foul weather kit and learning to get the yacht ready for sea. We set off for Torquay making this my first night sail. I thoroughly enjoyed sailing at night as compared to the day, the main reason being the clear sky full of stars using the moonlight to view our surroundings. It quickly become apparent how important the navigation equipment was in aiding our journey.
One part of the expedition that I certainly did not enjoy was the mild sea sickness I had experienced, which I originally didn’t expect that would effect me. However, using the sea sickness tablets meant the effects were lessened and I was still able to enjoy the trip.
As part of the living on board experience, I got the chance to cook for the crew whilst at sea, this was a totally different experience as the yacht bounced up, down and was tilted to its side hence the reason I had to be strapped into the railings. I was happy with how the food turned out and enjoyed cooking on board.
Other aspects of the expedition I really enjoyed was taking control of the helm, seeing the dolphins swimming alongside our yacht and exploring the Isles of Scilly. Which all made the expedition a week to remember, with a big thank you to the sponsors and everyone involved.
OCdt Jason Dosanjh Leg 1 Crew
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