All over bar the shouting

After completing the challege of the last few months i feel i should reflect on what we achived.

We set out from falmouth and were face with a huge challenge right from the start when spirits engine gave way and saw us towed back to falmouth. After a strip down and semi perminant rebuild in falmouth spirit again made her way alomg the south coast of Britan to fail with a massive gear box failure.

After building relationships and being taken to heart the peope of the isle of wight will always hold a special place in our hearts. The mamouth leg round to newcastle was a thing of beauty the should have songs written about it that get sung in the halls of Valhalla. We crossed the pentland firth after great avice from locals that no chart or book could have given us. The Orkneys brought a glimps of how the world should be with community being at the heart of the islands. My faith in humanity was restored when the local fishing and diving community mobalised in the early hours of a sunday morning just incase we need help as sprits engine was again playing up. People stopped their lives in order to make sure we random weary strangers were safe.

We visited the westen isles and the hebrides and saw sunrises and sunsets on all coasts of the country. We ran fro. Storms and hid in an idelic loch where thousands of jelly fish sourronded the boat. We got caught in storms and struck by lightening. We saw dolphins and whales and killer octopus.

We visited random war graves and walked on beaches less trodden. We explored castles and woodland walked mountains and crossed streams. When the adventure was near someone went to find it. We spread the word about Turn 2 starboard and we made contacts and learnt tips and trick galour.

We did all this with a feeling of being part of something special. We did it with pride. We walked the walk and we talked the talk. We sailed for days stright to spend time in isolated locations. I have lived more in the last few months than at any time since i left the army. I owe thanks to the charity and bigger thanks to my amazing Michelle for giving me the chance to follow my dream.

At the start i was scared about how i would cope. About what would happen and about who i would be at the end of it. I was nervous about meeting people and not being liked. I was fearful of storms both physical and emotional.

I found new friends, a new family a new passion but more than that i found myself. I was there all the time just hiding in the corner of my eye. I have been happy , sad, board and exilirated. I have traveled a path that has led me to new place in my life. I'v become comfatable in my own skin.

Going back to the real world after this will not be easy. Thing will stay where you put them and the shop will be round the corner. I will have changed. I can already feel a need for adventure coursing through my veins.

Would i do anything differently? Well obviously there is one obvious thing that would need to happen next time. As we leave falmouth to travel around the country. Lets remember to turn to starboard and go the right way

Stay safe, Speak soon

Russ

Day 9

A spirit update - approching the Isle of Wight. Making good progress i think they will be caught up in a about 36 hours

Its been a bag of mixed fortunes since we slipped from Falmouth with some lovely sailing and some motoring through rough seas. There have been highs and lows in the weather and in mood. I have learnt so much on my way round and feel i am really getting the hang of sailing. I am understanding the complexities of setting sails for wind and helming under pressure. Tomorrow will tell as we will hopefully catch the wind and be well on the way to newcastle.

Day 8 go spirit go

Spirit update - fixed and on her way

Our update. We are going to shoot for ramsgate over the next few days while spirit catches up she is leaving with the tide today.

On Quivira we are a little gutted we wont be heading to the Azores. I think we were really talking Mike around to the idea.

Day 7

Spirit update - still poorly sick waiting for parts

Our update we have arrived in Brighton and are enjoying the weather. Its lovely and sunny we are in a georgous marina and i feel like as a crew we are really coming together. Yanto has decided to return to spirit as she will be setting off soon. I sort of want to go but really dont want to leave mike short handed if we press on.

There is a laundrey here so i can wash my pants and socks which is pretty handy as if it were any longer i am pretty sure the crew might keel haul me.

I am starting to feel like spirit might never set off.

Day 6 The Azores

Well lets say Spirit is not feeling great. She is a bit more poorly than we first thought. She need a bit of TLC and will be catching up soon.

The crew of Quivira have decided to sail to the Azores. Well all apart from Mike whos boat it is but its a work in progress. Maybe we can change course overnight without him noticing.

Its has been decided we will press on and spirit will catch us up in the next couple of days. I only have a couple of bits in my bag as i though it was only overnight but will be fine. I can always turn my pants inside out if it get that bad.

day 46

Day 46

Only dead fish go with the flow.

Bit of a heavy one to day with less octopi and dragons than normal.

It’s a very different experience having days off ashore and the general life aboard ship. That’s sort of obvious I know but its still worth some comment. We come ashore everyone has their own jobs. Yanto and Clive nip off early to get shopping in. Not because we are low on food but so Yanto can get out and explore the local area for a full recce report later in the day. Tamsin sets about project work making sure we have somewhere to go and arranging crew changes and spare parts (along with a million other tasks that I don’t even know about). Sort out the filming kit and set up the diary room. Dan tasks crew for any small jobs like putting up banners and such like. He is not having a great day today. He has pulled a muscle in his back and is trying to rest it. He struggles with that as he wants to be there doing everything.

I was left contemplating today the toll this must be taking on the 3 staff we have aboard. While it is a great experience for them their days are much longer than ours.  When we get to places they have stuff to do. When one of us is running navigation they have to keep an eye out to make sure it’s right.  They are running this part of what the charity is doing and at the same time planning and developing other projects. They are also away from their friends and family and like us Shaun and Dan have their own unique issues from service. We owe then a massive thanks to them and their families for sharing them with us this last couple of months.

Less of the serious stuff and onto court. This morning saw the 3^rd sitting of the Court of spirit. Any minor or even imaginary discretions can be passed to the captain where they will be tried in a court with prosecution and defence (I use the term defence lightly) at the end of the trial once your guilt has been proven punishments are dished out.  So far some examples of punishments are

The hand bag of shame: Yanto was accused of having poor admin and loosing things as such he has to wear a lovely gold handbag until we reach Liverpool.

The ships rat: Mo was accused of being involved in too many prosecutions and as such has too wear a stuffed rat for 48 hours. We are not to believe anything he says (unless it’s a point of safety)

There are plenty more but it would take too long.  Tonight we are having a family meal with the crews of the other 2 boats joining us which will be lovely. The plan was a BBQ but the weather has changed and its very windy and rainy. This will all be good for our journey to the isle of man tomorrow. It’s about 100 miles so will be a good passage back in watches. It should take about 20 hours I think. Then we will be in the Isle of Mann for a day or two before the hop to Liverpool.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

day 45

Day 45

The Brief Brief

Today one of the first thing I heard was Shaun(our skipper) tell Dan (the first mate) “can you just brief everyone that we are going to have a brief in 10 minutes. It was quite funny as we do seem to have lots of briefs on-board. It’s not a bad thing as we always talk through what we have done and learn from any mistakes. The most important brief of the day is also one of the highlights. After tea we have the skippers brief where everyone gets the chance to have a say about the day and discuss ongoing issues pass on messages. It’s a really nice end to the day after we have all sat down for spirit family dinner.

Today we have sailed down the Sound of Islay the island is renowned for its whiskey and we passed by a few distilleries on route. It is a beautiful and the remote locations gives it a gentle radiance that wraps you up and makes you feel warm and cosy. I think I could live here. It has been a really nice day. We spent the morning and early afternoon getting spirit looking her best. This is not a massive job anymore. The crew treat her well now and take great pride in making sure she looks good. Nobody ever walks past a job. We might not do it straight away as it could be part of a bigger plan. People do ask if it needs doing and then learn why not or crack on if it needs doing. She is our home and we love her.

We have been together as a fleet for the last 2 days which has been really nice Quivera took her turn at engine trouble today. As they thought they got it fixed they came on the radio to tell us. “the engine is runnin…….oh no its broke again”. They got if fixed a hour later. The skipper of Quivera Mike is an engineer and not really phased by any mechanical issues it took a while but he sorted it.

September shadowed Quivera in case they needed to return the favour of a tow that had been given in Tobermory. Tonight we are in port Ellen and are staying for the day. While on the radio today we were called on the radio by Pete and Nancy who are sailing up here at the moment. For them that don’t know Pete taught a few of the veterans how to sail and Nancy is an amazing chef who often supports the crew ass the spirit plods about on her adventures.

Today is day 45 in 17 days this will all be over. I am already feeling a bit sad about that. So far I am pretty sure I have changed and grown. I own that to Turn to starboard, the crew and this wonderful lump of wood that we call home. I think as we sail back into Falmouth it will be important I am not on the helm as if I am there is a really good chance I will hang a right, turn to starboard and go round again the other way. I doubt many of the crew would argue.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

day 44

Day 44

What A Day

Neptune was good to us today. We sailed from Oban to (according to the skipper) just over there. The wind was kind and after a faultless departure we got all the sails up with Chris running the deck. Spirit looked and sounded magnificent with the wind thudding through the sheets on the GIB allowing you to feel the force of the wind as Spirt harnessed the wind and pushed herself elegantly forward. We did not see the Giant killer octopus today but we think it’s out there somewhere just waiting to pounce. People have been on good form today with loads of laughter and plenty of fun. The crew are getting slicker than an oiled weasel down a greased drainpipe.  After the sails were put up people thinned out and talked with some napping on deck. I was having a lovely little nap right up till we got hit by a gopper and it washed over me. I was soaking wet and the rest of the deck was still bone dry and in the sun I got up and it looked like a crime scene silhouette where I had been lay. (It is ok to laugh, I did).

The new members of the crew have settled in and the fleet is still together. Spirit is sitting well at her anchor but from here quiveira and September look like they are rocking more than as and it does not look like great conditions for them. I think quiverias crew will be fine as they are all quite experienced sailors. September might not be fairing quite so well with some new sailors. They do have all on board though so at least moral will be high. Everyone is a bit sleepy today as last night we had a good catch up with the other crews and it was a late night. (No it was not alcohol fuelled it was just really nice to be together and people were talking late into the night) We are planning on a beach BBQ for all the crews which I am really looking forward to.

Thanks for engaging with the blog its really nice to read your comments and ideas.

We had homemade pizza and potato wedges for tea at about 9. The sun set is lovely and the waves are rocking spirit like a babies’ cradle which is making me want to go to sleep. We have no signal so you won’t get this for a few days.

Stay safe, Speak soon

Russ

Day 43

Day 43

Oban to Oban new crew

Well we have had less monster attacks overnight which meant we all got a good sleep. We are still a little worried the octopus will be back so we are keeping our eyes out for her.

Clive made us a wonderful breakfast which involved mackerel scrambled eggs and bacon. The Mackerel was caught last night by our own fair hands so your really don’t get much fresher than that.

The day brought new people which has been really nice. The new faces on board are just trying to find their place. 2 have come over from September and one has travelled up from Falmouth to join us all the way home. The crew welcomed them with open arms, part of that was due to the fact we had 70 meters of Anchor chain to pull up and many hands make light work. The hydrolics are due to be fixed in Liverpool so we are all making the most of the free fitness sessions in the morning. Anchor fitness. It might make a good business idea. Maybe we can make a fitness DVD for people to join in with.

“Anchorcise available Now. For just £9.99 you can have a body like mine.” (Well maybe a body like mine is not much of a selling point but you get the idea.)

We have moved from Oban Bay to Oban north pier and tonight we are moving back to Oban bay. This is not just for “Anchorcise” practice. We needed to fill our fuel and water up before we set off tomorrow.

We have a couple of short days followed by a couple of longer ones to get us to Liverpool in time for the tides. Moral is still high and life is still good (obviously, how could it not be. On a boat with amazing people)

I am going to get a bit personal now and talk about myself again. I seem to do it a lot lately but this one is very Turntosartboardy. Today has not been an easy day for me. There is not a reason for it. Sometimes like most people I just get low. Today was pretty bad and I let a couple of thing get to me which I shouldn’t. The Very special nature of the Spirit of Falmouth and the people on board make the worse days and the worst feeling melt away into nothing and life feels good. I am ending what started as a bad day on a high and I will take that as a massive win.

Day 42

Day 42

Busy Busy Jobs

To start with I would like to comment on the comments about day 41 pre blog about octopus and pirates. There seems to be doubt in some people’s minds as to whether or not this happened. Firstly, let me put things straight in your minds I did happen. We don’t have any proof as the octopus ate our cameras.

So Oban is a buzzing metropolis in comparison with the last few stops. It is a chance to get everything fixed up and resupplied ready for the next leg of the adventure. We have new people arriving tomorrow and crew swaps between the yachts and spirit. So it will be a bit of a swap round and a new settling in period as the crews bed in and get to know each other’s quirks. 

Tamsin has been her awesome self and arranged the Outboard to be fixed which means we will have out bow thruster……I mean tender back. Dan has been back and too in Septembers Tender which he can now steer without his hands. Not sure how he is doing it. Use your imagination to work that one out.

Yanto and a group of volunteers went to do the shopping for 16. This boat now has about an extra 2 tons of edible ballast. You can’t open a cupboard without a tin or packet of something attacking you like Kato Attacking Peter sellers in the Pink panther films. (I know it’s a olds reference but I like it) Me and Chris blasted the boat cleaning with more bleach and disinfectant than you could imagine making the whole down stairs smell nice for about 20 mins.

Not sure about tea tonight mince is great but it’s easy to just keep going back to the same old faithful spag bol and chilli (although we have not really had them) I’m thinking homemade burgers possibly. Any ideas for recipes are welcome. Everyone has been busy till 1500 and then gone to explore the new lands around us. It’s great to visit these lovely places many which I know I will never see again but will hole in my heart forever.

As the new crew come on board some people are apprehensive and some a little excited but while that is going on I am quite sad as big Al is off onto September for a while to build his miles and skills for his yacht master Qualification. It was always lucky to be on his watch as that’s when the Dolphins, whales, Seals and Mermaids. He will be back but I will still miss him while he is gone. He has been a key member of the crew.

Well its time I started making some tea for everyone. It’s a good thing. I love cooking and I feel useful while I’m doing it.

Stay safe, Speak soon

Russ

Day 41

Day 41

Sails Ho!!

Day 41 saw us depart from Tobermory and arrive in Oban. The events in-between involved a giant octopus having to be fought off by the crew and the emergency stitching together of underwear to make a sail. We fought off pirates and followed them back to their lair where we used our cunning tactics to steal their treasure. So a pretty quiet day really.

We left Tobermory with our hearts full of wonder as it seemed we might be in the right place with the right wind to get the sails up. We set off after a spot of tender relay. Out tender is a bit worse for wear but luckily a nice chap in Tobermory called Colin lent us his. After getting back everyone back on board and slipping lines we navigated a Cruise liner that seemed to have a unique style of anchorage and communication. I’m not saying it was wrong but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before.

We set out into the sound of Mull and the wind was with us we set about getting up a full sail set. Dan and Tamsin took the lead we had all the sails up in 28 Mins which is a record for us. (manly because it’s the first time we have had them all up) we were with the wind and sailing lots of other boats came to see us with September coming along side to take some pictures of us in all our glory. We did look pretty amazing and you could feel the power of the wind in the sails.

There was lots of learning done today by everyone. On helming under sail, on setting the sails, on navigation, and on life in general. We were a team that anyone would have been proud to be part of. (Team work does make the dream work). There was no slack today everyone was involved and the long sails with sleeping between watches has slipped into storage just in case we need it in the future.

On a personal note (which again I make no apology for even though it is a little self-indulgent).

I feel like I am part of something big, something special, something that will stay with me till the end of my days. While the crew are all very different with a wide range of backgrounds and needs there is something about this boat that builds moral and a sense of belonging. Dan, Shaun and Tamsin give us time and patience to ensure we go beyond knowing how to do something and onto why we do it.

Stay safe, Speak soon,

Russ

Day 40

Day 40

What’s the story in Tobermory?

I realise the title is somewhat of a clique but in all honesty I like it so make the heavy sigh and roll your eyes in my lack of creative flare and then get on with the task of reading the blog.

Well here we are in Tobermory on the isle of Mull in the western isle. “why are you still there?” passes through your head. Well keep reading and I will explain. Our passage yesterday was great fun even though people seem to have gotten themselves stuck in the watch pattern of longer passages and spent much of the passage in bed. We had Chicken curry for tea last night which was really good. Then we went ashore where I took the ships teddy bear Fraser to visit all the Balamory landmarks. This is for my daughter I sent her the photos and she was quite excited about it.

We then went for a social beer and after a pint a band came in and set up. It was a great folk band playing all the greats. The atmosphere was great as the crews of September and Spirit came back together. Stories were told and issues discussed and here we come to why we are still here. September is feeling poorly. The crew are working on her but until she is fixed we are stuck where we are. The boat has been dried out and a fix is underway. Spirit is waiting as if September cannot be fixed we can tow her to the mainland. Has anyone else noticed that every problem we have had as been on a weekend and on an island. It’s not ideal when you are trying to fix old boats. Except the Orkneys them guys have got this boat fixing down to a tee.

So we are still here. We have made good use of the time with lessons from Dan on marine navigation. I have sorted all my admin and baked some bread. I have spent the rest of the day sorting tea out just to keep busy. That’s the thing that gets you down when you are stuck. Trying to be useful and busy without getting in the way. It’s easy to go to bed but nobody wants to do that. Our collective attitude is to get stuck in and get things done. Below decks on spirt has never been so clean and tidy and she smells the same.

Well hopefully we will be on our way tomorrow and I will have exciting new stories to tell you.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

Day 39

Taller than we think?

“So quick question how tall is spirit?” “Lets see if she will fit under this bridge!” All conversations that were happening at the same time last night. We were not sure how tall she is so after some measuring we left the Figures in the semi-capable hands of Dan who after lots of planning came to the conclusion we might fit under the bridge. This effectively put nobodies mind at ease. He checked the maths several times to ensure that spirit would fit under using his best commando maths of one, some, and many being the preferred units of measurement.

We departed Broadford Bay and headed for Tobermory via the Skye Bridge. As we approached it looked low and spirit took a deep breath and stretched to her full height just to ensure nerves were on edge. We ensured we had plenty of cameras out to catch the bridge being hit but it never happened. With a sigh of relief Shaun told us he had never doubted Dans maths as he checked it himself!!

Todays passage is being run by Chris who is part of the Zero to hero scheme trying to achieve his Yacht master qualification which is the core aim of the charity to find. He upper the anti as skipper today by making bread and butter pudding. Now Carlsberg don’t do skippers but if they did they would all make Bread and butter pudding like Chris does. Some skippers on board really need to take a look at their priorities. The food on-board has never been bad but over recent days it has gone from preparing food out of necessity to what would make a great new TV show “The Hairy boaters.” (I stole the name from the crew of Quavira) The food is getting better and better which keeps moral high.

Tobermory is a pretty spectacular place only topped by the whole team being together again as we re-joined the Yachts who are also part of our fleet. We will be leaving in the morning for Oban where we will spend the weekend before we leave to start our slow passage to Liverpool for the 19^th.

Stay safe, Speak soon

Russ

Day 38

Day 38

Neptune seems miffed with us

After a night in Loch shell in the world of Dragons. While we never found a dragon we did find a need to mark our anchor chain more accurately. As we had a moment last night where the anchor might have been slipping. Good leadership from Shaun and calm reassurance from Dan made us feel secure and after a quick anchor watch all went back to normal.

The rain hammered all night and the boat swang on the chain as the storm raged outside of out safe harbour. We felt it even in this haven from the raging gales. The weather was broken on our radio as our signal was blocked from the guardian mountains around us.  It was decided we would leave later than the original plan using the best information we had the storm would then have passed.

The gale had left a legacy of choppy seas that as we approached the afternoon were swamping the deck and water rushed past the helm and off the back of the boat. As the weather reached its worse I was off shift. Some of the crew went to look and described the scenes as “something out of the deadliest catch” I decided my best option was to stay in my bed and adopt the foetal position. So while I could feel the waves and hear the rain I never made it back to the deck in time to feel the full force of the waves. To be honest quite glad about it. As evening approached the seas calmed and our normal routine took over.

We are heading to Tobermory but it looks like we will have to sit out the night at anchor again to wait for the tides. It will leave us with a shot hop tomorrow where we can catch up with the Yachts and bring the team together ready of our arrival in Oban on Saturday.

Moral is high. There is plenty of singing and laughing and I wrote a rubbish poem. Maybe I will share it at some point (it is deliberately rubbish we were doing rubbish poems about the sea on watch)

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

Day 37

Day 37

Here be Dragons

We left Stornoway early this morning with the plan of reaching a beautiful anchorage early evening. The journey started out with spirit gracefully pulling away from her moorings and the crew waving goodbye as he was still on the quay. This was intentional as Dan was todays skipper and we retrieved Shaun by Tender where he promptly went to sleep giving Dan the boat. It must be strange to stand on the land and watch your boat sail away.

We set off under motor in search of the wind and made a track that would give us wind for the best part of the passage. Then the weather report came almost laughing at the mocking I had made of cape wrath as a gale waring straight in our path seemed like a good reason to search for a safe haven and that we did. After a visit from a pod of dolphins and a shout that there were buoys ahead that turned out to be the kind that take off fly around and eat fish. That’s right the buoys were in fact Gannets. I am sure it is an easy mistake to make??

We sailed into Loch Shell on the isle of Lewis after only 25 miles as it was our plan for safe harbour. As we sailed in and visibility and the misty weather took hold of the water around us I am sure the Charts should have read (here be Dragon. As if there are still dragons in the world then surely they are here. We Anchored up and sent a shore party in search of signs of flying lizards. Shaun, Tamsin, Yanto and Tony jumped in the tender and climbed the hills that surrounded us. Then through the mist we heard the clacking of what sounded like a Dragon. Dan as skipper shouted the order and we prepared out water bombs only to discover just to late it was the tender returning the boat. Fortunately, the aim of the general crew was poor so the shore party got back on board without incident. (to be fair the weather was not that bad and we knew exactly what we were doing but Dan was the skipper and orders is orders)

We are tonight anchored in a gorgeous loch with no signs of life (except Dragons) it is a beautiful part of the world that most people will never see.

On a self-indulgent note for which a make no excuse. I have felt more at ease with myself today than I can ever remember.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

check out my sound cloud for the forcast

Day 36 – For real

Stornoway – Isle of Lewis

The spirit really attracted a crowed today. The Press on the Isle of Lewis were excitable about our visit and pushed our arrival across different platforms. This meant we received a number of visitors throughout the day which was really nice to see. People are really interested in us but Spirit is by far the star of the show. People have questions that most of the crew can now reel off parrot fashion having spoken about them on many occasions. People went out and explored the island today some staying close to the boat in local watering holes. Others went farther afield and a few went up to Stornoway castle. It is an old castle that is undergoing renovation and overlooked a lovely golf course and the spirit on her harbour wall.

The crew are upbeat and moral stays high we have created a moral forecast in a similar style to the shipping forecast. Have a listen and comment what you think about it. Its really just a draft and will get better.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

Day 35 part III

Day 35 – Part III

The Legend of Cape Wrath

We ended up with an Unplanned stop in Stromness. If you look at the tracker you will see we left twice. The first time we had a mechanical issue with the hydraulic pump and the gear box. This meant we were losing drive in very Lollopy (we are not sure if we made this word up or not?) conditions. As we realised the change in engine tone was not just the rough seas on the prop Shaun calmly took command releasing Dan to get some sails up with the rest of the crew. While we were getting ourselves sorted the crews of Quivira and September offered assistance but with things well underway the set off for a good days sailing. We were soon offered assistance by Shetland coast guard a local fishing vessel and a Dive boat. We did not need the assistance due to the first class “turntostarboardy” response from the whole crew. The knowledge we had the help on standby gave us a lift and we sailed back to where we had started only hours earlier.

After a quick conversation with a local engineer he came out and manufactured the part we needed on a Sunday morning. The Orkneys and the people who live there are truly wonderful. With our new part fitted we set out again with the fears of cape Wrath in the middle of the passage. This is an unforgiving headland on the northwest tip of Scotland, historically notorious for crushing vessels between it and the force of the Atlantic Ocean. We settled into shifts and conversations wandered onto music and we decided the art of the mix tape was dead. Nobody makes mixtapes anymore. We also discussed first songs bought. We had some really special songs in the mix. From Black lace and s club seven to Adam ant and Bob Dillion. Can you remember your first single? If so comment and let us know. We might create a Spirit of Falmouth mix tape which would be pretty awesome.

Before we reached that formidable beast of cape wrath the old man exposed himself to us. In the distance we could see the old man of Hoy. The plan to sail closer was scuppered due to the weather not being favourable and with doubts about the engine we had to admire the monolith of rock protruding from the Atlantic from a distance.

As we progressed Cape Wrath appeared dark and gloomy in the distance, while behind us unicorns were pooping rainbow leaving a colourful trail behind us. (What do Unicorns eat? That might be a questions for my next watch. Any Ideas??) The sea went almost dead calm and looked like smooth silky oil rippling in our wake. Again the planning of the skipper and first mate came together giving us a pleasant night passage. They are getting good at factoring in incidents to ensure we reach everywhere as conditions are perfect.  In the early hours we arrived in Stornoway with a full day to explore there will be plenty to talk about on day 36 as people get out and explore the island.  

Stay safe and speak soon 

Russ

Day 35 Redux

Blog Day 35 Re Dux

What day is it

OK so before any of you start I know its only day 34 and my blog has been labelled day 35 for 2 days but I have no idea how long we have been out here. Plus I really like 3 part trilogies so you will just have to bear with me for a while.

Well today saw us tucked up safely in Stromness in the Orkneys after having to wind the Anchor in by hand due to a small issue with the windless system. In true Turntostarboardy style we proved that team work really does make the dream work taking turns winging in 40 meters of anchor chain by hand. After a night of rest and knowing we had a day on the island people went their separate ways to explore the island. Some of the guys for Quivera and September made a 17 mile(each way) trip to one of the islands distillery’s. I am sure there is a separate challenge in there somewhere but i am not privy to the detail of the trip.

A group of 4 of us took a bus ride over to the far side of the islands to look at a few WW2 landmarks. Firstly, we had a look around a church that had been created by Italian prisoners of war in an old Nissan hut. They had used bean tins and boxes to create a fitting place of worship. (if that’s your thing). Then a short walk took us to Churchill’s barriers. These are massive blocks of concreate dropped between the islands with roads on them connecting the islands. The true reason was to stop the German navy sailing a u boat into the bay and sinking our northern fleets. The day brought everyone some much deserved rest and a chance to explore a place many of us will never return to. We all came together at the end of the day for a big “Turn to starboard” family meal. This is one of my favourite parts to the day. We all sit down and eat together banter flows and discussions about the strangest things flow. A recent discussion was about really rubbish super hero powers and what would be the most useless. Examples we had were.

1.       The ability to fly but only 1mm above the ground and only at the same speed you can walk

2.       The power to be invisible but only when nobody is looking at you

3.       The ability to read people’s minds but only outload

4.       The ability to make cans of coke go flat.

If you can think of any, please share them with us and we can add them to our useless justice league. Maybe we can design some outfits for them out of stuff on the boat who knows I’m just waxing lyrical now really

 After we have all finished eating Shaun will brief/debrief on the day and everyone gets a chance to speak. Passing any information or comments on. It allows people to get issues off their chest but more often than not there is praise in the mix.

We are pretty much caught up with the schedule now and leave for the buzzing metropolis of Ullapool in the morning.

Day 35

Day 35

A Jolly day of Piracy

I will start with an apology for the length of the post but loads happened and I like writing.

After the harrowing long passage to Wick we spent the night and set off with expectation for the Orkneys. Moral and excitement were high as we were about to cross the Pentland firth one of the most notorious patches of water around the British Isles. The Skipper and first mate planned a route and discussed it with local sea fearers who gave advice from their local experience. We slipped lines slicker than a wet otters nose and left the Sleepy village of Wick and Steve P.B behind us. We set off and some slight doubt about the tides and local knowledge ensured a plan B was in place before we crossed Pentland firth to the Orkneys. We could not afford to mess it up in unforgiving seas. As back up plans were completed we hit an expected eddy locals had told us about which sped us to the start line at Bang on 09:04 much to Dan’s delight as this was his time to be at the departure point for the crossing. This was all thanks to Chris ensuring we hit the deadline by taking his time getting himself back onto spirit from the tender. So well done Chris for your professional procrastination and ability to make the first mate look good (he needs the help).

We crossed the Firth with little issue and made it into Scapa flow with sunshine and fair winds all the way. We turned to see how the Crews of September and Quivera were doing, they had manged to delay slipping lines just long enough to ensure they could enjoy the squalling rain we had missed as they crossed the firth as the seas became rougher adding to value to the adventure.

We found a Bay and dropped our anchor for lunch. With moral high from a sound crossing and glorious weather our minds tuned to mischief and we deployed our catapult ready for the arrival of Quavira and September. If the next part sounds a bit childish that’s because it is. We have a water bomb catapult capable of firing 300 Feet and a Lt Col of artillery on board so it seemed rude not to test out our weapon systems. After a quick practice we waited patiently until our chance to attack arrived. Our initial attacks were successful but we soon found out that Quavira had the ability to return fire. It became a battle that will be talked about through the ages due to the fact that 25 fully trained Veterans were unable to land a single water bomb on target. As the fun from the water bomb died away the crew of spirit spent time in each other’s company. Friendships were made and strengthened, stories were shared and the day felt very “turntostarboardy”(I make no excuse for making up words and will be doing it again).

The round Britain challenge had always seemed like it should be like this. Due to challenges faced and the adversity overcome together we had a shared experience that allowed our bonds to grow. We had sailed through the long nights under the careful guidance of Dan, Tamsin and Shaun and we had arrived in the sunshine to the half way point of the trip with tales to tell. We lifted anchor and sailed into Stromness where we would stay the next day.

There is another post to write about over coming these challenges but I think it is best saved for a reflection at the end of this story.