Page 109 - WishStream Year of 2023

Arriving in Gosport, we found the 42ft Saint Barbara V, on which we would be living for the next week. We learnt the basics before setting off in the afternoon for Yarmouth. As winter days are short, we arrived in the dark, a definite test of the skills we’d only just been taught and were still very unsure of!
The next day we set sail, again in the dark, to cir- cumnavigate the Isle of Wight. Our move was care- fully worked out with the tides; we went with the last of the tide west to The Needles, arriving as the tide turned so it was with us around the south of the island too. The sea was rough, leaving the crew feeling a bit worse for wear but as the day went on, we felt better, and Neil braved it down in the galley to produce multiple rounds of sandwiches as everyone was suddenly starving. Motoring up to Swanwick Marina, we felt a sense of achievement; on our first full day sailing we’d learnt a lot. We had had the opportunity to rotate around multiple dif- ferent roles and were finally starting to remember which sheet did what.
The following morning, we learnt about the tides, some of the many rules of the road, and practised rowing the dinghy. We set off to Lymington; this time arriving in the dark didn’t feel as difficult and it was evident how much we’d picked up in just a
OCdt King
few days. Our penultimate day was spent practis- ing our skills, mostly jibes which can be dangerous, and we managed to perform one without need for instructor input. In Newtown Creek, we spotted a seal! In Beaulieu River, we discussed plans for the final day; strong wind was forecast and we had to decide to either head into Gosport or risk the wind in the morning. We all wanted to keep sailing as long as possible, so we moored up in Cowes.
We woke in the night to the wind rocking the yacht. When we set off, we only put the genoa up as there was no need for the main and it made for easier sailing. The wind was less severe than expected, although some of the gusts were strong. We all had a fantastic week and learnt so much from the course. Thank you to the Sandhurst Trust for sup- porting this expedition.
Exercise CUTWATER CADET
SANDHURST 107