Former pupil, Rory Turvill, developed an interest in sailing after an Activities Week trip in S3. Rory has kindly provided his diary entries for his time with the Tall Ships 2011 for all to enjoy. As Rory says, he hopes that other pupils "get the chance to participate in something similar in the future as it may change your life!"
Miss McPhee, Activities Week Excursion Leader for the Ocean Youth Trust Adventure commented: "I am delighted to see that Rory had such an amazing time onboard Alba Endeavour! The Tall Ships race really is an experience of a lifetime and I am very proud of his achievements with Ocean Youth Trust and hope that he will continue his love of sailing with the Trust as a volunteer."
My Time with the Tall Ships 2011
Day 1
We arrived in Greenock on Monday the 11th of July at 11.30 am after travelling for 3 hours by train from my hometown in Haddington. From the station the main event and harbour was a 20 minute walk. Greenock was one of the host ports for the Tall Ships and welcomed crews from the first leg of the race - Waterford in Ireland to Greenock.
The streets were mobbed with people all making their way towards all the tall masts which dominated the skyline from where they were. When I arrived there was a lot to see and people were milling about from stall to stall and ship to ship. In the whole fleet there were 62 boats of all shapes and sizes. I made my way towards the harbour, following my map which told me where to go. I arrived at the harbour wall and looked down at two Ocean Youth Trust, 72 foot challenge racing yachts. Both were identical in everything except name. I spotted mine quickly ‘Alba Endeavour’ and quickly descended down the ramp which took me onto the pontoon on which my boat was tied alongside. Although I had been on two trips on this particular boat before, I was still anxious because I had never been on a long voyage. I stood on the deck and soon was greeted by some of the crew I would be spending the next 12 days with. They were all friendly and welcoming and wanted to get to know me more.
At that moment preparations were well underway for setting sail the following day. I was soon helping out and very quickly got a feel for the boat again. By the time the whole crew was on board it was nearly 4 o’clock and preparations were nearly completed. We sat at the table and had a drink and a chat. Later on we were allocated bunks which were not at all spacious but I didn’t expect anything more when there were 18 people living in a confined space like this. As time pushed on to late evening the whole crew were briefed on the safety of the boat. Soon it was bedtime and I climbed into my 2x1 bunk and crashed out.
Day 2
We were woken at 7.00 am to get dressed, have breakfast and cleared up for 8.00 am. Today was the Parade of Sail and our boat was chosen to be first out and lead all of the other boats out of harbour. Before this we had to ‘prep the boat’. This meant we had to get the boat ready to sail which meant stowing our kit safely, preparing the anchor ready to be dropped if anything did go wrong and making sure we were all on deck to get ‘lines and fenders’ into the forepeak ready for the next harbour we were due to arrive at. But for now all I was concentrating on was the parade. We were squeezed in tight in the marina and had to get pulled out by a ribbed power boat. Getting pulled out to open water felt like forever but I knew exactly when we were left on our own because the vessels engine fired into life and the captain cranked up the revs. As we came into view of the huge harbour wall there were floods of people lined up cheering and waving flags. A few minutes later, behind us emerged the huge Christian Radish square rigger which was one of the biggest boats of the fleet. Time passed and we were soon out of view of the public but still dominating the skyline were the huge masts of boats which had come all the way from Poland, Cuba and France. After a short time the vibrations of the engines were halted and the first mate shouted, “Mains going up, ready!” This is the point I always look forward to because this is when the real sailing begins.
The main sail was by far the biggest of the set and weighed in at a huge 1 and half tons- a huge task, even for 12 crew members. One metre before the end of the mast the sail is very heavy because a lot of wind is adding extra weight, so winches are used to crank up the sail the last small bit. We were told the next port we would be stopping at was a 2 day continuous sail; I knew it would be gruelling but I was well up for it. We were split into 2 watches, each to carry 3 hours work on deck and a 3 hour break until work started again, normally spent sleeping or cooking! My first watch was 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm and was a pleasant sail consisting of ‘sail trimming.’ This means tensioning and slackening the ‘sheets’ which are the ropes that control the sails which give a good surface area for the wind to flow over. When I came off watch I went straight to the saloon and made myself something to eat and went straight to bed. After what seemed like a 5 minute snooze I was up, fully kitted and ready to work again. I was now on the 9.00 pm - 12.00 pm and by this time the wind had picked up and set a good cruising speed which lasted in excess of 3 hours.
Day 3
3.00 am - got up to start day break with a watch. Usually early morning watches (12.00 - 6.00 am) don’t consist of much work and we are often sent down below to make teas or coffees for tired crew members. By now my body clock had adapted to this unusual pattern of sleeping 4 times a day and working very hard the rest of the time. We were headed for Stornoway which was a small community of people on the isle of Lewis. Our ETA was 2.00am the next morning but for now I was concentrating on the next 23 hours of ‘on and off’ sailing. That night my watch was on from 9.00 pm - 12.00 pm.
Day 4
When I had finished my watch at 12.00 pm I only had the chance to get one hours sleep before having to get up for arriving in Stornoway - an estimated time of 2 hours from where we were. This consisted of cleaning, having breakfast and getting back out the lines and fenders we had put away only a few days ago. Not far from the harbour we brought all sails down and stowed them neatly as we wouldn’t be using them until we set sail from Stornoway. Each watch was assigned either the bow or stern, mine was on the bow. We had an important job as the lines we held were the ones that would reach the cleats on the harbour wall first. This gave time for mid-ships and stern to carefully throw across their big looped bowline knots to the welcoming community of Stornoway. I can remember stepping onto dry land for the first time in two days and it wasn’t a feeling of a relief I remember but the thought of being able to have a shower was too good to miss. We were due to stay here for one night and then set off early to let our neighbouring boat ‘The Swan’ – get away. The Swan carried on to journey with us till the end of the voyage - a very nice boat to be in transit with. Stornoway was a host port to the Tall Ships and a series of events was laid on for everyone that arrived. Although after getting a decent wash we made our way back to the boat where we all decided that after such a long sail, bed would be a good option as we would be getting away early the next morning.
Day 5
Rose at 6.30 am and away for 7.30 am. Our next destination was Scallaway (‘Scallawa’). We were informed by the skipper the crossing would be rough with high winds and up to 4 metre swells coming in from the Atlantic. An hour into the sail we continued with our 3-hour watch system and we were second watch on. The captain’s weather report really came into effect and this was the first real sail for many on the boat. People being sick all over the place were the main tell tale signs. We were hitting speeds of up to 10 knots and huge waves crashed over our bow soaking us all. It came to the point where we had to ‘heave to,’ a method used to slow the boat right down and make sail changes in bad weather. We were all asked to make the walk to the foredeck to change the stay sail for the storm sail; it was a gruelling 15 minutes but nevertheless a job well done. All the way through the day the rough weather continued and challenged all crew physically and mentally. We were due to arrive in Scallaway later that night.
On a later watch I was asked to go down and do the log for the past hour. This included making a note of - the distance you have travelled, the engine run hours (if it had been on), wind speed and plotting our position on the map. I remember plotting a point 5 miles out from Scallaway harbour and alerted the captain. It was time again to get up on deck for docking at another foreign harbour. This community was much smaller than the last and everyone knew each other. It was like a huge family. Scallaway was another host port and even though it was getting on for 12 midnight, we were greeted by many of the locals- playing guitars and singing us in. You could tell that this was a big occasion for them and that they had prepared greatly for us coming. We were the first boat from the Tall Ships fleet to arrive, closely followed by ‘the Swan’ and then, a new boat - ‘Moosk’. We chatted to many friendly faces before climbing into bed and again crashing out.
Day 6
Got up at 8.00 am - a slight lie in compared to other days. Over breakfast we arranged to stay for one day in Scallaway and one of the local committee members briefed us all on what would be happening during our stay. The main attraction was a ceilidh that night so we agreed we would all relax throughout the day until 7.00 pm. Because the island is so remote there wasn’t much to do except wander around speaking to the locals who were very nice and friendly and asked all sorts of questions about the Tall Ships. Scallaway is a big fishing town and is not used to hosting big parties for others. The ceilidh was to be held in the local fish sorting shed which had been cleaned up ready for the night’s events. The boat and venue weren’t far apart and we could hear the music burst into life. This was a good opportunity to take a rest from sailing and meet new people from a completely different background from mine at home. The night pushed on and so did the laughter and dancing.
Day 7
The ceilidh went on until the early hours of the morning which marked us being away for exactly one week. We all rendezvoused back at the boat – with not much time to sleep but this was part of the whole experience after all. Our next scheduled stop was a place called Cullivoe- another small knit community but this time on the Isle of Yell. It was an estimated one night’s sail and again the weather warnings were rough- sounded like amazing sailing weather to me.
As night pushed away day the weather did edge on stormy - holding the worst seas and fastest winds we experienced all trip. I knew I was safe at all times as the boat I was on had gone around the world twice and had been witness to much worse weather but I still felt on edge every time we heeled over more than 30 degrees or a huge bow wave smashed into the hull and shook the boat violently. The longest I had ever been away sailing before this was 7 days and I was going to be on board for another 5. This would test people as the cramped conditions were becoming more messy and smelly by the day. We were due in Cullivoe mid-afternoon the next day. Little did I know that by the end of the trip we would be the only boat in the fleet to visit all of the Shetland islands, a huge feat in itself. Roughly 40 miles out of Cullivoe we sailed through a shoal of basking sharks and dolphins. There were at least 30 sharks and 10 dolphins and this is the most amazing sight I have seen at sea by far! When the time came to dock it was 4 pm and again we were greeted by a crowd of friendly locals just like before- singing and playing guitars but this time with champagne. We were told by the skipper that he thought this would be the best place for a long stay and decided to stay for the rest of the day and all of Tuesday. Again the main event was in the form of a ceilidh the next night which gave us time to get a good night’s rest.
Day 8
Up at 8.00am. We were informed that every year there was the Yell Games for the community and that they wanted us to join in. This gave us a chance to meet the locals and get into high spirits for the ceilidh. The games consisted of the cardboard box game- a member of each team has to pick up a cereal box with their teeth as it gets progressively smaller. The tug of war- self explanatory, the slow cycle race- go as slow as you can on a bike and the assault course. The games ended at 5.00 pm - 2 hours from the start of the ceilidh. We located the nearest showers- it was bliss but unfortunately we didn’t have long to get changed and get a meal before 7.00 pm. I had been told that the bands they had lined up were some of the best in the area and we certainly wouldn’t be left disappointed. They were right, I certainly wasn’t. It was a much bigger ceilidh than the last one and I could tell a lot of preparation had gone into it. In fact I discovered they had been preparing for Tall Ships arrival for a year and a half. The whole night went too quickly and before I knew it, again we were climbing in to our tiny bunks and drifting off to sleep for another 7.30 am wake up.
Day 9
7.30 am wake up to be ready for 8.00 am. Today the captain had a bright idea. He asked our neighbouring boat in transit with us, ‘The Swan’ if we could swap crews for a sail to the small community of Whalsey - a 5 hour journey and time enough to give us a good experience on a totally different boat. Of course we all agreed to this swap over and were looking forward to it. The Swan was an old fishing boat converted into a gaff rigged sailing boat and not at all modern like our yacht with winches, it was all to be done by hand. For the next 5 hours we hauled and dropped sails all by hand. This gave each crew an experience of a different boat life and its workings. Although we had to haul by hand it wasn’t as difficult as hauling sails on our boat which weighed 3 times more. Our crossing was pleasant with a slight swell, nothing too major and we all got a chance to helm the 100 year old boat. Again a totally different experience from what I was used to- such a heavy rudder and also very difficult to keep on course.
Our stay in Whalsey was to be very brief with a changeover of crew back to original boats and then straight back out to be on course for our final destination- Lerwick, where we were due in that night. It was sad to think we would be departing the boat in a couple of days but there was still one thing to look forward to - the crew party the following night. It was being held in Fort Charlotte- possibly the only place big enough in Lerwick to hold all crews from the Tall Ships. As planned we stopped off in Whalsey for mere minutes before climbing back into our own boats and getting en-route to Lerwick. The wind speed had picked up when coming out of the harbour and eta in Lerwick was a couple of hours. When the time came to dock for our final time on the voyage we were guided in the same way as we were guided out from Greenock. A small ribbed power boat showed us where to dock. Five minutes later we were at a complete stop and tied up on Lerwick’s harbour wall where we would remain until we departed for the ferry home on Friday morning. Lerwick was buzzing with attractions and people had come from all over to witness the coming-in of boats and the tall masts which towered over the small Lerwick harbour. Many crews were doing the same as us- tidying every single part of the boat ready for the next crew coming on Friday. Tidying up took the best part of 4 and a half hours and we had to log every piece of food on the boat as well as scrub everything down including the deck. Luckily the harbour had showers ready for crews and it was an ideal chance to get a proper wash for the first time in days. Until the crew parade the following afternoon, all our time was down-time. This was the longest amount of time we had to ourselves all week. A lot of it was spent sleeping and some of it was spent wandering around Lerwick’s attractions. The rest of the day went too quickly but that night we all sat around the table and talked about the epic journey we had made from Greenock. We were informed that we had travelled a massive 650 nautical miles. The Skipper got the charts out and we tracked our sail all the way from Greenock and talked about all the experiences along the way. We sat up talking into the early hours until we called it a night as the next day was going to be busy and eventful.
Day 10
Up at 9.00 am - the longest we had been allowed to sleep all week! The first event of two - was the crew parade - held in the centre of Lerwick and was a hot spot for TV cameras and tourists. It was a two mile walk and the length of all crews stretched as far as the eye could see. This was a send-off to remember for everyone and we were all looking forward to the party later that night.
When our crew arrived outside the huge stone arch of Fort Charlotte I discovered that the party would be held outside-maybe the best option as the Fort itself did not look too big. Until the party ended at 12.00 there was music and a range of local DJs playing for our entertainment. It wasn’t so much a party but a large social gathering giving crews the chance to get to know each other.
When the time did come to go it was sad because I knew this was the last day of the journey and the next day I would be back in my hometown of Haddington - after a 13 hour journey by ferry and bus. So everyone said their final goodbyes and made their way back to the vessels they had been on for 11 days.
Day 12
Day of departure from Lerwick - up at 5.00 am to catch the ferry by 6.00 am - this was a task after such a late night! Nevertheless we all got up and for one last time said farewell to the ones who weren’t coming on the ferry. We made the 5 minute walk to the terminal where we sat until called. I knew undoubtedly that the ferry crossing would consist of me being asleep for nine hours, it did. Time flew by and before I knew it I was in the terminal of Aberdeen. This was the first sign of city life I had seen for over a week and it did feel strange. After this I had a 4 hour bus from Aberdeen to Edinburgh where I was picked up. Everything went like clockwork and it was good to be home but sad to have come away.
The Tall Ships is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if you’ve read this and have been spurred on to join the Tall Ships sometime, I assure you, you will not be disappointed by the outstanding adventure you will have- whatever leg of the race it may be. One charitable trust in particular ‘Association of Sail Training Organisation’ made it possible for me to do this and they deserve special thanks along with Haddington Rotary Club my grandfather and all my family and friends who helped me to fundraise along the way.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my diary entry and that you get the chance to participate in something similar in the future as it may change your life!
Rory Turvill
3 August 2011
