Maybe Voyage Hull Haslar Marina Gosport September 5th 11th 2015 All were to be on the Maybe at 15.00 on the Saturday, some had a few difficulties getting there due the Freedom Festival and road closures but most made it on time. After a safety briefing we reheated our evening meal which had been provided for us by one of the lad s parents, a curry. We all then went to visit the festival in small groups ending up in an area behind the PWC and Spencer buildings at the Marina entrance where there was a drama about a lighthouse keeper and a firework display. Due to inclement weather, a continuing bad forecast and big seas off Spurn we were in no rush to depart. After the issue of PPE and lifejackets and harnesses, we put all the sails on and rigged them apart from the staysail. This gave the lads the basic knowledge of what worked what, so when it came to the hoisting and trimming of the sails they had some idea of what to do. There was also time to practice knots and a whole long list was produced, some of which the lads had previously learnt from sailing at Welton: Round Turn and Two Half Hitches, Clove Hitch, Reef Knot, Rolling Hitch. Sheet Bend, Double Sheet Bend and a Bowline. As you can well imagine this took quite a while to get into the methodology and where it is used and why.
The afternoon was looking at the course and which route we were taking, inshore or offshore, and because of the residual waves, it was decided that we would take the inshore route, this delayed our departure until the Monday afternoon. We had to wait a while to be able to pen out from the marina and once in the river, we started to put the sails up. Once past Paull, there was sufficient sail-up enabling us to turn off the engine and sail down the river. At the mouth of the Humber we headed South East and, with the wind just east of north, it was a broad reach on a heading towards the top of Norfolk. The skies were grey, but no rain. We were split into two watches, each on watch for a four hour stint: 18.00hrs 22.00hrs, then 22.00hrs 02.00hrs, 02.00hrs 06.00hrs and continuing whilst at sea. We were not planning to visit anywhere on the way down, especially after a late departure due to weather, and the forecast was for the wind to slowly veer over the next few days and become easterly as we reach the Channel. So it was a broad reach and run all the way to Portsmouth. Some succumbed to the dreaded seasickness, most managed to get over it, and one struggled through, coping with the illness.
We had the Pride of Bruges pass us during the night, and saw lots of other ships, as well as watching the sun set at sea. The following day was blue sky and rain clouds, but luckily for our watch, it didn't rain. To our right is a ship further off shore travelling in our direction and a dredger to the south, all off the coast near Great Yarmouth. On the second evening we were off the Thames Estuary and were treated to our own little firework display. When we were cutting through the water, the wash and spray made waves and caused microorganisms to collide with each other and this caused a flash of light to be produced. We could also see the lights on the French coast which was quite eerie, whilst looking out for the flashing lights on different marks and buoys. The days on watch were kept busy with keeping a lookout, trimming sails and filling in the ship s log. All this continued during the night too. Two lookouts looking towards the land and Dungeness Power Station. Evening starts to pull in and we are on the last leg of the voyage, as we head towards the Solent with an easterly force 3-4, with the darkness and clear skies, we could go stargazing, although not clear, it is possible to make out the mast head lights. Then surprisingly, just after we had settled down after our watch, All Hands on Deck, we were in the Solent in Stokes Bay just west of Portsmouth and ready to anchor. Deck lights on; sails down, anchor down; and holding; anchor ball up along with anchor light. Turn in and sleep, the crew took on the anchor watch that evening whilst everyone had a good night s sleep. Breakfast at 07.00, briefing and all on deck for a sail down the Solent towards Yarmouth and the Needles.
After a number of days at sea we had a complete clean through Happy Hour, the boat was cleaned from Stem to Stern. Even the bunks were clean and tidy for skipper s inspection. From coiling ropes Spagetti Run to Wetting the Decks so as the wood does not dry out too much and split. We had an interesting downwind sail, nearly to Hurst Point. We saw the Waverly pass in the opposite direction (oldest Steam Driven Paddle Steamer in use today). We also had a hands on classroom session where the lads learnt about distress situations and how to raise an alarm and the processes to go through including the Disposal of out of date Flares (No! not Bonfire night!!). Having a break and chance to look towards the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes.
Time to chill Sunshine, pleasant breeze, fantastic time, great to be alive. Limington to the right (Starboard) and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight to the left (Port). Then we spotted one of the other Yachts that would be competing with Maybe in the Small Tall Ships Race in which we competed in last year and we tried to give them a run for their money but we just could not keep up with them, despite us putting all the effort in and working really hard pulling the Jib in as we tacked. We anchored up once again in Stokes Bay, and a night time anchor watch was organised where just two people were on for 2 hours. After the evening meal, there was another fantastic sunset, and plans were being made for the following day when we would lift the anchor and head towards Portsmouth and Haslar Marina.
With some of the funding we received we managed to visit the Historic Dockyards. So, taking the water taxi across to the other side, we started our journey back in time around HMS Warrior, learning all about this first steel hulled naval sailing vessel and about life on board, as well as some of the roles and jobs that someone their age would be doing on-board; a little scary and relevant considering that they had just had three days at sea! Considering its age and how she was looking one could not imagine teams of 15 people at each gun, and having to re-load and fire within 50 seconds. Their hooks could be seen from which the hammocks were hung. We also saw the huge steel watertight doors, which must have been a real problem when in a rough sea. After some lunch we ventured on to HMS Victory. This was smaller, more cramped and had restricted headroom. This did not affect some of us, however it did some of the more vertically challenged. The most surprising thing is that she is still a Naval vessel run by the Royal Navy and has not yet been decommissioned.
We also went round the Mary Rose Exhibition and this was fantastic to imagine how painstaking the cataloguing and preserving of the artefacts must have been. There were a few things that were quite surprising: the height of the decks and there was very little head room, as well as the stability and turning quickly in a rough sea, with cannon holes below the waterline, and the theory of how she sank, but also the preserved skeleton of the ship s dog. Next was a visit to HMS M33 which was the luckiest ship in the Gallipoli Campaign, reason being she was not hit and managed to survive. Although built on a shoe-string budget in a time scale of 6 weeks for the MOD she is a real testament to the shipyard. The presentation inside was very thought provoking considering the massive loss of life to the UK and its allies. Whilst there we witnessed HMS Iron Duke (Hull s own ship) returned to port after duties abroad, and it was lovely to watch the different flags being raised and her being Piped into port by the other ships with the Bonus's Pipes. After that we all went back to Maybe in the Marina and a well earned shower. Evening meal went without a hitch followed by a quick clean through and one of Chris s games, before the certificates were handed out. The final end of the journey was to meet up with the minibus and to go to visit the Southampton Boat Show. This was awesome not just for its size, but we had some additional helpers meet us there: the Lowish brothers. Caville the eldest has just recently qualified as a Marine Engineer after leaving school and studying at Warsash Maritime Academy. They helped to escort us round in small groups so we could make the best of the show. The whole show was Inspirational and Aspirational, I too could own a boat like that!! Thanks to one an all.
Curriculum and personal development areas covered by the Voyage: Personal development Team work, working with others of different ages, religions and abilities Conquering fear of the unknown and trusting in others Life Skills Performing daily chores to ensure that the ship is running efficiently and in good spirit Selflessness, working when tired and not feeling well for the benefit of all Perseverance with difficult and unusual tasks British Values History of maritime, dock development, local history and global conflict through the ages Geography: Navigation, weather, coastal/river processes and landforms Maths: Navigation and Ratios PE: Exercise when hoisting sails and trimming them SMSC RYA Competent Crew Qualification which is the first rung of the ladder towards a professional qualification. Tracking the Maybe on her Journey down to Gosport from Hull. A journey that took near enough 4 days and a distance of 325 nautical miles.