Adventures on the high seas...

The last couple of weeks I was sailing aboard the Wylde Swan for the tall ships cruise in company 2011.  It started in Greenock, on the West coast of Scotland - when I arrived it was a beautiful sunny day, the tall ships looking resplendent in their dressing of flags and multitude of masts and yard-arms.  Crowds of people swarmed around the stalls by the dock, leaning over the railing to get a closer look at the ships, which had come from all corners of the world - Russia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Columbia...

Here's a few snippets from my log (edited slightly)...

Monday 11th/Tuesday 12th July
So having wandered round the stalls several times, got sun burnt, and bought the customary bag of fudge and other very sweet and sticky things, it was with much excitement that I boarded the Dutch ship Wylde Swan for what was to be an action-packed 10 days.  After a red arrow display, fireworks (and a cacophony of hooting from the ships' horns), and plenty of (interesting) games to try and learn people's names, we left Greenock amidst cheering from the crowds, much chanting and Mexican-waving from us, and a lot of general good spirit.

At last, we were at sea.  We sailed out with the foresails and topsail, me getting thoroughly confused at the sheer number of ropes.  We sailed down the Mull of Kintyre, the sun blazing and the cliffs looking scenic.  There were about 26 of us trainees - mostly from Scotland, but a handful of people from Holland and Belgium.  Most of the crew were Dutch, and although the official language on board was English, there was a lot of Dutch banter going on between members of the crew!  They were, however, very friendly, and great fun.

Wednesday 13th July
Our next stop was Campbeltown, a small village tucked away almost on the end of the Mull of Kintyre.  We got the ship's tenders out and, having figured out how they were rigged, had a 'race' (although it wasn't much of one, it was flat calm).  The following day was spent in Campbeltown, as the ship was hosting the launch of a new brand to promote marine activities in the west of Scotland and Ireland.  I won't say much about that...(the fancy food they did for it was good, though...)  Having had to represent the trainees at the event and look decorative, I was relieved to be able to go ashore and have a wander round, before making use of the local free internet access...

Thursday 14th July
A pleasant sail to Oban today via the Sound of Islay, and for the first time got full sails up.  We moored alongside the pier, at which point 5 other boats decided to moor alongside us.  Had to go up onto the bowsprit to help furl the foresails - an arduous task, however we only had to redo one of them, which I gather was pretty good going!  Some small dingies decided it would be fun to zoom round in circles directly below us.  Shortly afterwards, headed ashore as a group and danced the night away in the local ceilidh (Scottish country dancing) house.  Lots of fun and hilarity had, especially on the part of the Dutch/Belgian trainees...

Friday 15th July
2am departure from Oban, however we were all sound asleep - no night watches tonight.  By the time I awoke we were well past the Sound of Mull and Ardnamurchan point, and just at the bottom of Skye.  Hoping to be in Ullapool tonight, as some of the trainees are swapping ships.  Motor sailing most of the day, with topsail, schoonersail, inner jib and outer jib up.  Pleasant surprise when a pod of dolphins came to say hello, jumping acrobatically in and out of our bow-wave.  Had the usual 'happy hour' of cleaning up the ship, before volunteering to climb up the foremast with two other trainees and one of the crew.  Slightly disconcerting on the way up, as the rigging was oscillating vigirously in the wind, and we were sailing at quite an angle...however we made it onto the lower yard-arm for the topsail, and sat and enjoyed the view, and took some pictures.  Got into Ullapool eventually, and we were serenaded by the bands playing in a huge marqee on the pier.

Saturday 16th July
Day spent in Ullapool.  Free breakfast rolls were provided for all the crews, as well as a local folk group playing for us... Shortly afterwards we headed out for an island-hopping cruise, which was pleasant, if a bit grey.  We were dropped off on one of the islands, where we climbed to the top and admired the view... This was followed by skiff racing in the harbour, our teams coming 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively, and a tug-o'-war, which we did well in, winning two of the contests!  Meanwhile the Wylde Swan took trips of punters out around the harbour...

Sunday 17th July/Monday 18th July
Another breakfast on the pier before sailing for Stromness, Orkney at 1100.  Cheered off by all the folk of Ullapool.  Surprisingly rough sea outside - despite never being seasick I took a cautionary seasickness tablet, just in case!  What followed was 24 hours of being tossed about in the Minch/Pentland firth.  I was on the 12-4 watch, the first of which was very wet, and quite cold, but passed quickly.  Got an early sleep at 8pm, then was woken for the 0000-0400 watch by my watch buddy.  On arrival on deck, we were greeted by one of the Radio Scotland guys, who decided it would be a good idea to thrust a microphone in my face when I had just woken up...!  Interviews and watch handovers complete, we got down to business, watching the sails, updating the ship's log, and playing games of 'who am I?' to while away the time.  Slept from 4-8am, then decided it would be worth getting up for breakfast.  Was glad I did as the cook had made a rather interesting 'porridge', but with rice, which was surprisingly tasty.  Showered then slept some more before my watch, and eventually we got into Stromness around 4/5pm.  The evening was spent bbqing on another tall ship, and disco dancing...usually it is quite a job to get me on the dance floor (unless it's Scottish ceilidh dancing), but somehow they managed... oh yes, and a singalong, accompanied by a digeridoo player and a guitarist.

Tuesday 19th July
They let us lie in till 10:30 this morning!  Then it was off for a tour of some of the well-known sites of Orkney, including Skara Brae (which I had seen before, but it was nice to see it again), the Ring of Brodgar standing stones, and Skaill House.  One of the locals who had been roped in at the last minute gave a great commentary, which, being into archaeology, I found quite interesting.  When we arrived back at the ship, we had a brief dinner, then had to go ashore for four hours while trips were taken out... At a slight loss as to what to do (all the shops were closed), we hung around, ate some chips, and chatted.  We didn't have to wait long.  Round the corner came a guy on a unicycle, juggling with fire (and eating it), and making fun of the passing traffic.  He was followed by a clown (on stilts), who proceeded to make balloon-animals for us...  Shortly after that we discovered that two of the others were busy entertaining people in the local inn (on fiddle and accordion), so we all trundled down.  I even ended up playing (somehow)... So when we got back to the ship, and the crew thought we must have been bored out of our socks, they were pleasantly surprised to find that we had actually had quite an entertaining evening...

Wednesday 20th July
08:00 start this morning, bound for Fair Isle.  12-4 watch consisted of setting forestay sail, inner jib and schoonersail.  Rough weather again - took a seasickness tablet just in case!  Heeling at a spectacular angle... Got into Fair Isle about dinner time.  Food fantastic (again).

Cliffs of Fair Isle

Thursday 21st July
On anchor watch from 1:30 - 3:00am.  Consisted mainly of updating the log, keeping an ear out for alarms, and of course making sure that we were staying within our anchor radius, and not moving.  It was very peaceful, save for the beeping of instruments in the corner of the navigation room.  So at 0200 and 0300 we duly recorded visibility, sea state, wind speed and direction, and pressure.  Headed for bed at 3, and shortly afterwards, the engine was started and we set off for the Shetland Isles.  Got about 3 and a half hours sleep before being awoken for breakfast in the pantry, which I reluctantly got up for, before going back to bed and promptly being woken up again by the shrill strains of our newly composed ship's song eminating from above, which was to be sung at the crew parade.  Had to get up anyway for 'happy hour' (this time washing the decks), then volunteered to go up the mast again and help furl the topsail, thinking it would be nice to get a bit higher than before...
When we came down, we were just approaching Lerwick.  We were all ready for our lunch and helped ourselves to the (delicious) chicken/salsa rolls (I really will miss the food on this ship), while we thawed out.  The crew parade followed at 3pm, and we all busied ourselves adding the finishing touches to the 'swan' head, and donned the ship's t-shirts and lifejackets (which clashed beautifully with the t-shirts).  We paraded down the main street (adorned with all the ship's flags, too), accompanied by Vikings, Romans, African drummers, you name it, they were there.  The prizegiving followed, and we all cheered when Wylde Swan won a well-deserved prize (to do with being one of the most welcoming ships in the host ports).  The crew party followed, and after dancing, hog roasts, and more dancing, we got back to the ship and crashed out...

Friday 22nd July
Time to say goodbye to the ship... having packed, all too soon it was time to say goodbyes, and lots of hugging ensued.  I managed to pull myself away in time to catch the bus to the airport...
One thing is for certain, I thought to myself, I'm doing this again.
So, till next time, Wylde Swan!