Page 15 - LBV 2024

who ensured that I was progressively physically and mentally challenged with new responsibilities, situations, lessons, and skills. As it was my first time sailing on a yacht, I got 70% of everything I did wrong and assumed that I was seen as a bit of a burden. Fortunately this proved not to be true, as when we pulled ashore in the Azores, I was invited for a quiet pint, congratulated on my progress, and offered a place on a small trip the first mate was running at the end of June, and which would allow me to tick off my comp crew and progress towards the day skipper qualification. For me, this affirmation was almost as important as completing the crossing itself.
I could write hundreds more words about the voyage, the ocean, and the time spent either side in Antigua and the Azores - and gladly will do for
the LBV and any other recruitment material. Sailing across the Atlantic
was undoubtedly the hardest and most exhilarating thing that I have ever done, and I will always be profoundly grateful to Cambridge OTC for allowing me the opportunity - especially at less than a week’s notice! I am now very keen to ‘beat the drum’ and do my bit to help out with recruitment whilst I am still in the unit, so please let me know what I can do.
OCdt Story
THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER 15