Page 46 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

Exercise SOLENT SIREN
OCdts Cohu, Davies, Watson, Mileham, Mcclean, Stewart and Levett
On the 14th April 2019 seven intrepid OCdts from 8 Platoon, Waterloo Company, made their way to Fort Blockhouse, Portsmouth,
to begin an odyssey that they would know as Intermediate term adventurous training, navigat- ing tricky waters, even trickier marinas and an absence of much prevailing wind.
We took over the boat on the morning of the 15th April, and after loading our stores and allocating the smallest bunk, we set off. A little ‘gung-ho’ at first, but, after some remedial dry training, we made it out of the harbour, where we conducted some wet training – unknowingly in the last of the good wind for the week. As dusk settled in, we sailed back into Gun Wharf harbour for our first night, under the watchful eye of Spinnaker Tower.
On the 16th April we set off for Yarmouth; we made good time and were able to practice changing sails and man-overboard drills. We were also treated to a delicious lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, made by our cabin boy OCdt McClean. Then came our first challenge:
mooring up in an unfamiliar harbour. Radioing ahead, we identified our berth, and whilst avoid- ing the car ferry we comfortably made landfall to the relief of our neighbouring yachts.
The 17th April would see us cross the Solent again to Beaulieu and navigate the difficult tides of the river, conducting lessons as we gently sailed across, understanding the different points of sail and recognising different buoys. Once we landed, we were aggrieved to find out that the village of Beaulieu is a 40-minute walk away. As we arrived in the one-horse town, it shut. So, we walked a further twenty minutes to find any sustenance.
Our penultimate journey to Southampton on the 18th April was delayed at the river mouth due to the tides being ‘wild and unpredictable’; credit to the captain. This meant we could not leave as we would have grounded the boat, kindly dem- onstrated by another yacht. Therefore, a great opportunity to deploy the Bosuns chair, an expe- rience both the wincher and winched relished. Our final night on the boat was met with sadness as one crew member was unable to leave the cabin and confined to the sick bay.
Sailing back to Gosport on the 19th April was uneventful, except when TV Historian Dan Snow moored next to us in his amphibious boat. After I explained to the crew who he was, they were all sufficiently impressed. A deep clean and tidy followed with all OCdts walking away happy, healthy and with the odd left over jar of jam.
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