We gathered on board late Sunday afternoon, after some of us had a late night the night before experiencing the Gran Canaria carnival. An introduction to the permanent crew, our fellow shipmates, and watch leaders, and covering some of the “rules and regulations”. And we were off! Although not quite literally, as we remained alongside overnight. On Monday we were shown and then had a chance to go aloft, we had a few lessons on rope handling and also an evacuation drill- and then we really were off!

The next few hours can be summed up by three words so much vomiting! Affecting a lot of people – thank goodness for a plentiful supply of sick bags! There was a swell running But Captain Darren got us through it, and the following morning we moored alongside in Fuerteventura. After Happy Hour (cleaning the ship), the gangway was secured and we were all of to enjoy the sights (or the nearest bar).The 22.00 – 24.00 watch was very interesting as we counted them all back in!

Wednesday saw the highlight of the week, the assisted climbs. Everybody was brilliant and pushed themselves further than they thought possible- with Bosun Stu “incentivising” the ladies where necessary. We had another evacuation drill and then set sail for Lanzarote – no vomiting!

Night watch was excellent- clear calm and not too cold – although there was a bit of a debate about the quality of the wake up calls. We dropped anchor of Lanzarote on Thursday, when we went in we had an official photo at the marina office when Laura presented them a” thank you” Lord Nelson photo. A long lunch followed.

Ailsa Forward Port Watch