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We left from Luton airport at midnight on the tenth of August and landed in Porto in Portugal two hours later. Unfortunately, we were supposed to land in Spain but fog had closed the airport. Our transport was waiting for us in Spain and so we spent an uncomfortable night camped on the floor in the airport whilst it journeyed to join us. Later that morning it finally arrived to take us to our ship in Vigo. We had enjoyable trip across the mountains of Northern Portugal to Vigo. We finally arrived in Vigo about 10 hours late. We were all very tired and so took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Later, we ate out, trying some traditional Galician food. The Spanish warmth and hospitality was remarkable and we felt very much at home.

A traditional Galician Pipe Band on the Quayside

We also took the opportunity to look at the other tall ships and a remarkable sight they were. By day their masts towered over the dockside in a confusing tangle of rigging and sails. By night the large ships had lights throughout their rigging showing them up in outline. A delightful sight.

A figurehead from an Italian Ship

View up the mast of Kruzhenstern

The next day we set off for a parade of sail. The dockside of Vigo was lined by hundreds of thousands of people waving the 65 tall ships off. After this was over we were out of the harbour in the Atlantic, ready for the start.

The Class A start

The wind was getting up all the time and had swung around to the Northeast. This makes sailing towards the Northeast quite difficult and we were clearly in for a rough ride. So it proved and for the next two or three days we were driving hard into winds up to near gale force. Our boat was rising and falling through about 20 feet every few seconds. Sometimes, the bows would come down so fast that they would smack into the sea with a loud explosion of flying spray, which would drench us. As well as this the waves were hitting us slightly side on causing us to roll and yaw quite badly. These conditions caused most people to become very seasick.

However, we were making good ground and we were doing well in the race. After three days we got underneath a ridge of high-pressure and winds moderated. Eventually, we were becalmed and her son shone. We decided to take the opportunity to cleanup and dry our kit. When all was done we went swimming. At this point we were 250 miles from land and the water was five km deep. The warmth and the time to relax raised morale tremendously and everyone finally got their sea legs so that seasickness now became a thing of the past.

From here on the winds became rather fitful and progress was slow. The race finally ended after 7 days when the race organisers decided that we were unlikely to make Dublin in time. We started engines and headed out from underneath the high. Soon we were in a fresh breeze and bowling along under full sail. At times we were in rough weather with the back end of a gale catching us in the Irish Sea. It was splendid to see the young men and women, seasickness now in the past, revelling in the challenge of driving the yacht to Dublin as quickly as possible over 20 foot waves.

Changing headsails in Irish Sea

Finally, after 10 days and 850 miles we arrived in Dublin. We finished 11^th out of 27 starters in our class and overall 31^st out of 65 starters. I found this result very pleasing, as Ice Maiden was quite a slow, heavy vessel.

On arrival in Dublin we found a city agog with pleasure at the arrival of so many beautiful ships and their crews; a city that had spent £1m on entertaining and events and a city devastated by the Omagh bomb. Sedov, the largest sailing ship in the world led the two-minute silence in Dublin sounding its horn to mark the start and finish. All ships flew ensigns at half-mast. The next day all crews paraded through Dublin to Dublin Castle where Mary McAleese, the President of the Irish Republic welcomed us. At the start of her speech she said,

In between these formal engagements we were royally hosted by the city of Dublin with numerous parties, sports events, barbecues, concerts and dinners to attend. I wish to express my thanks to the organisers for their hard work.

One of the crew, Caroline Booth, decided to come on the race because she hoped it would be a character building experience. At the end she felt that it had lived up to all her expectations and then some. I asked her to tell me the ways in which she had benefited. She felt that she had learnt:

1. To be tolerant of others.
2. To be less selfish. At sea you think about the boat first and second, supporting the rest of the crew is your third priority and you think about yourself last.
3. To be more patient of others.
4. To be better organised. You have to have a rota and watch system for doing everything and this organisation carries over into real life.
5. To be braver. When all around looks dangerous and threatening it takes bravery to keep going.
6. To be more willing to do things. You can’t lie in your bunk and not get up when it is your turn.
7. To be more able to cope with many demands being made on you simultaneously.
8. To get shore life into perspective. There are times in the middle of a calm night, in the middle of an empty ocean when the trials and tribulations of school fade into insignificance.
9. To be more positive in outlook. We will get through this and all will be well.
10. To appreciate the privilege of your position in society and your education and background.
11. To be more resilient
12. To persevere when the going gets tough
13. To be more responsible
14. To be less fussy.

The above list was dictated by Caroline and is not my list. However, coming from an 18 year old girl on the verge of going to University I think it is a marvellous testament to the power of ocean sailing to improve us.

Next year we plan to do the Tall Ships Race again. Preparations are starting now. The race is from St. Malo to Greenock, Greenock to Lerwick and Lerwick to Aalborg, in Denmark. At the end we will be able to give a crew an opportunity to return the yacht to the UK. This may prove an opportunity to allow year 11 pupils to try their hand.