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Captain
2 months ago
Nippon Maru, Yokohama
How to sail on a tall ship
It made me
Laugh 
"It was so fun and exciting"
How I did it: I applied for a place on the voyage from London to Liverpool for the start of the Tall Ships race 2008. I got a place from the Tall Ships Youth Trust and after numerous meetings, we boarded the coach for London.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />My initial impressions of the ship was that it wasn't that big in the dock and next to the HMS Belfast, but this impression was soon shattered when we passed through the Tower Bridge and I climbed the masts!!!
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HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast next to Stavros The first night was the start of the watches, as we were in a port, only two people needed to man the Ship for an hour to check that nothing goes wrong and no one gets on the boat. However, at 2-3 in the morning it isn't too pleasant.The next day, we had our breakfast and I rushed out early to see the ship go under the Tower Bridge, it was an amazing experience and it made me laugh all the Londoners annoyed because they were getting late for work. Tower Bridge Opening Tower Bridge Open We also passed the Millennium dome and headed out of the River Thames towards Dover. The next night was our first night at sea. The whole of a watch has to man the boat at sea incase of emergencies, so this meant my watch, blue watch, having a 4 hour shift from 12-4 in the morning. Lucky me!!! However, passing the Channel was an amazing experience. Especially since we were passing through the opposite was to the rest of the Ferry’s passing from Dover to France. There were so many!!!We then sailed from Dover towards Land’s End and then towards Waterford in Ireland. We saw plenty of amazing things on the way such as dolphins, sunsets, sunrises, World War II Bunkers. But most importantly it was a real laugh. It really tested our trust and was scary sailing the ship and climbing the masts!!! At certain points, you aren’t harnessed on, and other times you are walking along the smallest piece of rope. Aaargh!!! Scary but fun.Dolphins near DoverDolpinsSecond World War Bunkers SunriseSunsetThe moonIt was very nice sailing into and along Ireland. I found Ireland to be very green and we had a number of spectators watching. Waterford Waterford After visiting Ireland, we had to reach Liverpool quickly for the start of the Tall Ships race. Thankfully we had some wind in our direction so this could add about 3 knots to our speed. It was an amazing feeling sailing along on a warm but windy day with all the sails up. The ship with Full SailsWhen we reached Liverpool, we had to stay on the ship for a few days until the new crew took over. It was very hectic trying to clean the ship and perform maintenance (such as cleaning the sick of the side of the ship!!!!) before the start of the Tall Ship festival. The public could come and look around the ship to raise money for the Tall Ship Youth Trust and also the sponsors had an evening to show them what we had done. It was a very proud few days representing your city in the race and having numerous TV reporters around as well as a visit from Prince Andrew!!!MaintenanceVisit from Prince AndrewPrince AndrewMexican Ship
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Untitled
4 months ago
I spent all my childhood holidays at the family home in Devon so I guess the sea is in my blood.
thequestion
15 months ago
I’ve never been on a boat, and I’d love to go for a night cruise on the One & All before the end of this year.
a working holiday with a difference!
21 months ago
Sailed on the Soren Larsen http://www.sorenlarsen.co.nz for a short trip. I think that a lot of us underestimated quite how much we’d be helping out with the running of the ship! Setting the sails, scrubbing the decks etc – but what a fantastic experience.
I've sailed for 17 years
2 years ago
I race in SF Bay and offshore, do tons of sailing on many new and tricked out sailboats. But nothing stirs the sailor in me like tall ships. I’d trade all the sailing on the new stuff for a long enough stint on a tall ship to become a sailing master.
6 Weeks, 2 and 3 day sails plus one voyage on the great lakes crewing and living on US Brig Niagara, a war of 1812 replica based in Erie Pennsylvania. Manila rope! No winches!
Be prepared for hard work and to start at the bottom. This is manual labor, and vessals like these (especially historic ones) do enforce a strict hierarchy for operations.
Worth it though. The romance you imagine quickly fades during the initial days scrambling, climbing, tugging, and hauling only to be replaced by a deeper, hard won association that is hard to break. And oh the language…total immersion in a new world of words!
If you want to know anything about getting started etc. (I had no prior sailing exp.), just ask. I love to talk about my Niagara days and even now sometimes can’t believe I actually did it.
Someday I hope to voyage longer than 8 days, salt water sailing.
ps Girl in the picture is not me, but Jamie, another girl on the crew.
Dream Holidays
3 years ago
Sailing on a tall ship was a dream of mine since my home town started orgainising tall ship meetings. This dream became reality a few years later and I got hooked. I have gone sailing several times since and loved it on every single occasion. It is much easier and much cheaper than you’d think. Here are a few links to get you started:
- Sail Training International
- American Sail Training Association
- Tall Ships Youth Trust
- Amis des Grands Voiliers
- Stiftelsen Fullriggeren Sørlandet
You don’t need any previous experience to sail on a tall ship and you don’t have to be in perfect health. Believe me, pulling ropes will quickly get you into shape! The ships of the Jubilee Sailing Trust are even designed for people with disabilities so check them out if you want a tall ship experience with a difference.
I was a volunteer on a tall ship in California,
4 years ago
she is the 60 year old brig, Pilgrm. On the cruise we reached 10 kts. in passage through the Channel Islands (California). There are three ways to accomplish this: 1)expensive, 2)moderate, but more work and 3)cheap, but more work. I went with #3 and it was great. Learned lots of skills and was able to go aloft and man the helm during the cruise, but also had to weigh the anchor and act as chain monkey (guide the anchor chain into the chain locker so that it is stowed properly). I also helped replace and tar the rigging, shifted ballast, and polished alot of brass. It was great we were able to sight blue whales and watch sea lions light up the water due to the biolumenescence. In N.C. the only program offering this option is the Elizabeth II in Manteo. If anyone from Raleigh is looking to go to the Elizabeth II for this, please let me know since I am looking for a carpool. There are other programs so check the ASTA at http://www.sailtraining.org. The most complete training/sailing program is the Picton Castle out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia which spends a year sailing around the world, with a concentration around the Pacific Islands (French Polynesia, etc.) http://www.picton-castle.com, but at $30,000 for the voyage you do have to save up for it. If you are just looking for a day trip the Spirit of Dana Point (http://www.ocean-institute.org/ )offers some at the $38-$44 range. Good luck.
sail on a tall ship
4 years ago
I did this 3 years as part of a pirate group for Jacksonville’s “Sail-Jax” festival. We started at the beach and sailed 5 hours to downtown Jax.
