On 9 March 2020, the Voyage Crew joined Tenacious in Antigua, expecting to go to Piraeus in Greece. We sailed on Wed 11 Mar as Covid started to become a pandemic and, as many of you will recall, returned safely to the UK. I took the ship away from Antigua then and now, three years later, I have just taken the ship away from Antigua again, following our first Caribbean runs in three years.
Many things have changed in the past three years and doubtless, much has also remained the same; the ship and the whole JST team are still hard at work. It’s a slimmer team, in numbers, if not in size – though I am trying not to eat too much of Cookie Ian’s lovely shortbread! The bureaucracy in the Caribbean may have increased – the prices certainly have – but that’s happening everywhere. One thing which has remained much the same is the mix of folk who sail – ages, abilities, backgrounds – and the enthusiasm they bring with them for their adventure. We’ve had some busy voyages over the winter; last trip, for example, was completely full and we even had the full 8 wheelchair users for the first time in a while. The ship’s currently heading North at about 5 knots, bound for Bermuda; the sun’s out and the sea is that lovely shade of blue.
After Bermuda, we’re due back into Portland in Dorset at the end of April for some maintenance. There’ll be lots to do, some of it requiring specialist skills, but there’s also a need for folk who’ll turn up and help with whatever is happening at the time. In May we start in Portsmouth, then move on round the UK as the Summer progresses. There are lots of voyages to choose from, or even daysails to try. We also have an Open Ship day in Cardiff, Liverpool, Greenock, Blyth, Chatham, London and Jersey; if you’ve sailed with us perhaps you’d like to help show people round and talk to them about your voyages with JST? If you haven’t, come and have a look, the dates and places are as follows:
- Cardiff: 16th June
- Liverpool: 2nd July
- Greenock: 14th July
- Blyth: 19th August
- Chatham: 27th August
- London: 16th September
- Jersey: 24th September
See you onboard,
Captain Simon.
