Exercise Diary – OCdt BALGARNIE
Monday: The first day of our exped was all about admin. Various members of the crew arrived in Gosport throughout the day. Despite this, OCdt Smeaton, our skipper, was busy taking over the vessel and organising various repairs to well-weathered equipment. Meanwhile, the crew were unpacking, bonding and preparing a delicious bolognaise, over which we were briefed by our skipper of the plan for the trip.
Tuesday : For the second day of our trip, we remained in the local Gosport waters. Most of our crew had never sailed before so there were lots of things to familiarise ourselves with. During breakfast the skipper and mate pointed out the key parts of the boat and some basic functions they fulfilled as well as the safety brief. With breakfast concluded the crew were taught the essential knots and proceeded to practice them while the skipper and first mate concluded the necessary checks for the boat to leave the pontoon.
The weather was sunny and mostly dry shy of a few sporadic showers. It made for perfect conditions to raise moral and the confidence of the novice members of the crew. We repeatedly practiced coming aside drills for a few hours in the marina before taking off into the Portsmouth Harbour for some sailing and man overboard drills. We stopped at a buoy for lunch which allowed us to learn yet another new skill. So as not to overwhelm the crew we practiced some tacks and more coming aside but did not leave the Harbour. We returned to Gosport for the night.
Wednesday: On this day, we were ready to set off into the Solent. We prepared the yacht for sailing and completed all necessary checks with the rest of the crew being shown how and why these were done. The weather remained fair but with little wind, struggled to sail under sail alone. Still, the crew was involved and engaged as we repeated tacking drills and introduced jibing. The sail to Yarmouth was enjoyable and swift, arriving in plenty of time for some in the crew to go on runs while the remainder prepared dinner. After dinner we ventured into town to explore and OCdt Pangaro managed to purchase a harmonica, very much in tune with his time at sea so far.
Thursday: With the morning off in Yarmouth to allow the Skipper to complete a scholarship interview, the crew explored the town further. We found a gorgeous café with a sea view in which to continue our knot practice and witness the storm that had set in overnight. Soon it was time to set off and all the crew were indistinguishable in their waterproofs and snoods since the weather had taken a turn for the worse.
Fortunately, the sail to Lymington was swift thanks to the strong winds and enabling the crew to witness the harsher realities of sailing and operate in a measured manner under stress. We completed further MoB and sailing-back-to-a-fender drills before the Mate completed a few MoB evolutions, a steep but successful learning curve!
Once the weather proved untenable for effective learning, we tucked tail and set our sights for Lymington, dropping the sails just outside the harbour. Our arrival was incredibly wet but by now the crew was experienced in coming aside and did so with little trouble. The more experienced sailors had been shadowing the novices for these, helping them where they struggled to alleviate the pressure on the skipper, to great success.
Friday: Of all the days, this was the longest and most complex. We started off bright and early, spending a good couple of hours practicing our coming alongside drills in Lymington. The change this morning however was that after one demonstration from the Skipper, the wheel was handed over to the Mate so she could be guided through the process before repeating the serial again and again with progressively less instruction. Once the key learning objectives had been met, the rest of the crew had an opportunity to bring the boat alongside themselves under the direction of the Skipper, a great experience for those who had never stepped aboard before the start of the week.
As we finished up in Yarmouth, the weather was starting to turn foul, only wind was essentially non-existent. With the sail up, but engine running, we set sail for our lunch spot for the day – anchoring in a nature reserve in Newton Creek. Operating the anchor was a challenging serial with the electric windlass not working and thus requiring additional labour. Morale, however, was high – the Mate being a keen wild swimmer had encouraged the crew to join her in a midday swim which everyone was looking forward to. Despite the rain, all the crew joined in, even hooking up a buoy to act as a swing, which resulted in exceptionally high morale and an excellent time. Once we had all warmed up, we prepared to make off, which again involved a complicated process that challenged the Mate and her team leading abilities in a positive manner.
We ventured up Beaulieu River in hopes to find a pontoon for the night but alas, there was no space and the sun was setting. Dinner was prepared en route as the Skipper and Mate debated the options. In the end, night sailing to a pontoon in The Hamble was decided and the Mate took to planning the route, learning how to navigate by lights at night. As we navigated up Southampton Water and then The Hamble, the crew were taught the difference between various light colours, patterns and the meaning of a sectored light. Approaching the pontoon, the crew rallied to come ashore with little light but they were well practised and it went off without a hitch. By this point the crew were exhausted and it was straight to bed for all.
Saturday: The Skipper decided to surprise the crew with the help of one OCdt Watkins by sailing the yacht to the Isle of Wight in the early morning, allowing the rest of the crew to sleep in a little. When they awoke, they found they were anchored in Osbourne Bay, just aside Cowes. Breakfast was accompanied by some cold-water dips by brave OCdts, unafraid of the flight of swans that made their way to join in. The Skipper hoisted his hammock as he briefed the crew, and they all took turns sitting in it before it was time to move off and everything was made ship-shape.
Much of the afternoon was spent practicing our drills outside Cowes and we were quite fortunate with the weather considering the miserable downpours of the previous days. For a time, this was fine-tuning our tacks and gybes so these could be done without coaching from the Skipper before we practiced putting in and shaking out reefs in the main. To finish, the Mate and OCdt Watkins both completed a number of MoB drills before it was time to head in for the day.
Before long we arrived at a busy Cowes and we ended up having to come aside another boat which was in turn attached to two more boats which made our job of setting up electricity, water and even to attach to the pontoon far more complicated than usual, but the crew were ready for the challenge and accomplished it alongside dinner preparations. As it was the final night of the expedition, the crew ventured into town to enjoy a drink in The Anchor, enjoying the live music and all Cowes had to offer before clambering over the three other boats to get back aboard for the night.
Sunday: The final day of the expedition saw the first sun in a week, making the task of boarding the yacht and preparing to return to Handle Street harder! We set off early from Cowes, keen to get ahead of the long task of cleaning the yacht. The wind was initially non-existent for the return trip to Gosport but then picked up nicely as we approached Portsmouth. Not only did we arrive in good time but also had one of the best bits of sailing of the week to end! The crew split for the job of cleaning, one team inside and one team out. When the handover was complete, we were told we had returned the yacht in better condition than the club had seen in a long while and so morale was high when we all took the combi-van back to London. We had had a wonderful and educational sailing adventurous training opportunity and were all keen for more.
