Royal Air Force Yacht Club

It is 0330 in the morning and a torch shines in my face: ‘Not too cold on deck’ the torch says. It only seems like a few moments since I went to sleep, however I haul myself out of my bunk, rapidly pull on sea gear and stagger up on deck. A dozen bodies emerge in the gloom: check off numbers, allocate watch duties and then climb to the bridge to relieve the duty watch. It is a clear night and the lights of Menorca are visible to port. Seven square sails and three foresails are pulling Stavros Niarchos along at 5 knots in a gentle SW4. Not much shipping around, so a peaceful couple of hours until the whole watch is heaving on ropes to wear ship – or gybe – as we turn north along the coast towards Mahon.

At last it is 0800 and dawn is breaking as the next watch relieves us and we turn in to warm ourselves with a huge fried breakfast. However there is no peace as we approach the entrance to Mahon harbour and it is time to hand sail. The ten sails can be handed from deck, but all three watches are needed to do this. Somehow we discover the relevant bits of string to pull – there are 184 of them running aloft – and the engines take over.

In harbour at last and time to climb the steep steps up into Mahon. With one tall ship in harbour, it is easy to imagine this port in Nelson’s times. An excellent tapas supper with a glass or two and then it is time to get back on board to grab a short sleep before harbour watch duties. The end of another perfect day.

The Ships: Stavros Niarchos and Prince William are two identical brigs commissioned six years ago. They are 60 metres long with five square sails on each of the two masts and eight fore-and-aft sails. They carry a complement of six permanent professional crew, a dozen trained volunteer crew and up to 48 voyage crew, or trainees, split into three watches.

Who is it for?: The objective of the Tall Ships Youth Trust is training people aged 16 to 25 not so much in seamanship – although Competent Crew certificates can be awarded – but in teamwork and facing challenging new conditions. The young come from all backgrounds – apprentices, graduates, care homes, gap year, Duke of Edinburgh gold awards etc – and many have been sponsored by social services or other organisations. Additionally there are frequent ‘adult’ trips for 18 to 65 or even 75 on some voyages. Again these attract a huge range of backgrounds, sailors and non-sailors alike.

Where do we do it?: Over the last 12 months the ships have been in Barbados, the Azores, the Canaries, Balearics, Italy and Ireland, not to mention the UK. Stavros Niarchos is presently in Mallorca and Prince William is heading for the Solent for Christmas where there will also be the chance for you to try a single day’s sailing.

More information: Have a look at the website www.tallships.org and come and join us.

Tony Boas