This year’s voyage 2010, was the most successful we’ve had to date. Everyone learned so much and the value of this will be seen once the surveys come back in from everyone who went. Below is an outline of what happened on the days and I’ve tried to make it as descriptive as possible!

Monday
Monday was the first day of the voyage and everyone was raring to go. The voyage wasn’t due to start until 2pm; but due to the varied means of transport – people started arriving from about 11.30am. All of the staff were there from 10am anyway, so this was not a problem. After all the safety checks had been done by the Staff – the crew were allowed to come on board Alba Endeavour while Alba Explorer was being prepared. If crew arrived with their parents – the parents were allowed a quick tour, then they left their children to it!

When 2pm arrived – both crews split up, and the voyage really began! Due to inclement weather, the boat Staff decided not to leave Greenock until Tuesday as the weather wasn’t suitable (a force 9 is a challenge for an experienced crew – it’s a no-go for beginners!) Although the weather was bad; it didn’t stop us from doing all the safety briefings, winch drills, tours of the boat or oil skin fittings. By the time 10pm came on the Monday – everyone on Endeavour was tired due to all the work we had done, and the Staff were happy too. All of the safety briefings had been done – and when Tuesday came; we would waste no time in getting started sailing!

Location: Victoria Harbour, Greenock
Dinner: Spaghetti Bolognaise

Tuesday
Tuesday was the day that we decided to leave Greenock and set sail. We chose to set sail for Holy Loch, although this wasn’t a far away port – it was far enough to let the crew get familiar with the boat and how it worked and it allowed us to teach them in a safe environment.

The things we covered were; winching, names of the sail, how to operate the sails and how to helm the boat. By the time we got to Holy Loch everyone was tired and we all felt we had achieved something – and most importantly of all, the entire crew thoroughly enjoyed the sail! This was the only other time in the voyage we were able to moor up beside the other boat!

Location: Holy Loch
Lunch: Baked Potatoes
Dinner: Bacon Pesto Pasta

Wednesday
Once we had carried out happy hour (and be assured, it was very happy – who wouldn’t enjoy cleaning toilets?!) we decided that we would set sail for Loch Tarbert! This is a well known ‘haunt’ of the OYT’s and it is a very good place to visit, not least because it has showers!

Wednesday turned out to be one of the best sailing days as we hit winds at force 7. This allowed the crew to fully understand what ‘real’ sailing was like – and many of them had fun watching each other sliding around when the boat started to tilt, but because everyone was clipped on (!!) it was perfectly safe! Wednesday turned out to be many of the crews favourite day because of the ‘good’ sailing we encountered – and all loved it (especially the staff!!). We arrived at Loch Tarbert and everyone was tired!

Location: Loch Tarbert
Lunch: Pie & Beans
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas

Thursday
Due to everyone’s hard work, and the fact it was another force 9 outside, the crew got some shore leave in the morning – and everyone headed straight for the showers! (This, in actual fact, is false – they headed for the shop to ‘fill up’ on E-numbers… Wonderful!)

After the shore time, due to the weather being so bad – after lunch we remained in the harbour and carried out some lessons so that people could get their Certificates by the end of the week. The staff taught ‘courses’ on subjects; Dinghy Handling, Flares and Coms., Rules of the Road (a high-way code for boats), warps, ropes and knots and finally Good Seamanship. These lessons were all crucial and helped the crew throughout the week.

After our lessons, the weather cleared up a bit and by 2.30pm we had set sail for the Burnt Islands. The crew sailed the boat marvellously and really started to look like they knew what they were doing! When we arrived at the Burnt Islands we had dinner and then broke into a “watch” system for anchor watch.

Anchor watch is crucial and every member must do it for 1.30 hours each night. This gives the crew a real sense of responsibility as they are solely responsible for the safety of the boat and if it moves too much they are told to wake all the staff. This improves the crews’ sense of achievement and makes them feel proud. All members of staff were on watch!

Location: Burnt Islands
Lunch: Beef Burgers
Dinner: Chile

Friday
Friday was the first “challenge” day for the crew, and they had to organise things like pilot plans, passage plans, what sails would be needed, where we would go – and how long it would take us. The crews handled this in their stride – and did it like professionals.

At one point, while sailing up ‘the Kyles’ (a very narrow bit of sea) the crew impressed all the staff immensely when they tacked like professionals without any help, this showed how much they had developed. For 80% of the staff, this sole time of seeing them act so professionally and well without any help, it was one of the highlights of the week. We even got a compliment from another boat on how ‘good’ we looked.

We sailed to Carrick Castle where we would have another anchor watch – and we sailed there well with the crews’ passage plan.

Location: Carrick Castle, Loch Goil
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Baked Potatoes and Chile

Saturday
Saturday was our second last day, and our second challenge voyage day. The watches ‘switched’ jobs, and did the challenge that the other group took part in on Friday.

After some shore leave to Carrick Castle for the Crew (most of the staff stayed on board the boat for a break!) we decided to set sail for Rhu where we would moor for the night. It was a beautiful day and we took part in some brilliant sailing from the crew, every single member of crew was sailing like a professional and it was marvellous to see how they had developed from the first day. We arrived at the mooring point in Rhu and moored up beside Explorer; who had attacked us with water balloons that very day!

Saturday night was great fun – we played lots of games and enjoyed it immensely.

Location: Rhu
Lunch: Tomato Soup
Dinner: Curry

Sunday
Due to the time of leaving, the Staff decided to let the crew have a break and pack all their things while they took control of the vessel and motored back to Greenock (with the help of a few crew members who were really keen!)

When we arrived at Greenock we conducted a two-and-a-half hour clean up of the boat after breakfast and we then debriefed, handed out certificates and said goodbye to everyone! Everyone was sad to leave, and everyone commented on how good the voyage was.

Location: Greenock
Breakfast: Bacon and “eggy-bread”

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Summary

From a staff point of view, everyone throughout the week improved immensely from the start and we were proud of every single one of the crew on board. The highlight, as already stated, for all the staff was seeing how professional they looked at points and seeing how much they developed. All of the staff, on both boats, said how much they loved having MACS on board, how much of a credit each of the kids was to their parents, and how much they would all love to sail with them again.

All-in-all, everyone had fun – and everyone learned heaps! Bring on next year!!!

If you want to find out more about going away on the Sailing Trip please contact Robbie Crow - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .