We’re delighted to welcome Royal Navy recruits and officers on board Tenacious as a key part of the ship’s crew. You can read about their experience here in our ship blog.
Monday 18th January
Afternoon watch
Watch Leader Sam
Today has been an interesting day for the Voyage Crew. Pre scran the crew got our first taste of climbing and
were able to climb to the top (the first platform). It didn’t look too high from the deck but it was a
little nervy when you get up there. The crew of Red watch are in good spirits and having a lot of fun,
everyone is throwing themselves into all activities with gusto. Just after scran we set the sails
weighed anchor and left our anchorage to voyage to our next one. The weather is cold and dry at the
moment, but we are expecting rain over the coming days – I’m sure it won’t dampen our spirits.
So far during our journey we have learnt quite a lot. As someone who has never spent time on a ship
I have adjusted to life onboard very well. I have been able to learn about what different ropes are
used for, the names of each part of the sails and where they are situated. The food has been very
nice and keeps me going for when I need to hoist a yard or set sail. Overall, I have very much
enjoyed my time on SV Tenacious and would encourage anyone interested in sailing to give it a go.
Matthew.
Sunday 17th January
Our first day at sea. After a night at anchor off Bembridge, being rocked to sleep by gentle waves, we were all raring to go for our first sail. The sun was out and the Solent was looking good.
By 1500, we had 8 sails set, including a very colourful fore upper topsail (no one will miss us now!). The Bosun was heard to say, “well that went well, nothing fell off!”
Thoughts from the voyage crew in Blue watch:
Tenacious saw her sails debuted under the sun just off the south coast this morning. Far more man power is required than I’d first thought to achieve this and the experience of setting the sails was described by some as a good gym session.
It’s been a tremendous day getting the sails up after some time spent waiting to embark. The wait was well worth it, getting stuck in whilst learning loads about the ship’s parts and how it works. A great experience cannot wait to see what else is in store!
The work has been harder than expected so am very much looking forward to our Sunday roast this evening. The wind is not very strong so the ship is not moving very quickly. As well as this we are starting to go into the tide which makes our voyage even slower. However, the slower speeds meant that no one has been unwell yet which is a positive. Will be good when we get up to some faster speeds.
