A Typical Day

• Skipper and first mate crawl out of their sleeping bags early (hmm - around 8am so only early for students), put the kettle on and bang about.
• A few of the crew emerge and help pull up the anchor or sort out the knots holding us to a pontoon.
• Some nice person makes breakfast

Early mornings are never good...

Where shall we go today?

• Activities during the day depend on the weather and any fixed arrival times or points. One or two people navigate or learn how to, everyone shares the helming (steering) and putting up the sails and then pulling on bits of rope to get them to look right and perhaps even . If it's windy or rough, everyone will be on deck enjoying the boat flying along, mending bits that break off, learning to helm in waves. If it's genetler then it gives an opportunity to learn about the technical bits of sailing or just chill out on the foredeck in the sun.
• Someone often bangs around below deck doing the washing up, stopping everything flying around or making hot drinks. The quality of lunch varies from quick sandwiches if everyone wants to be on deck enjoying the sailing, to extravegant feasts that have been slowly nurtured all morning.
• Calmer days are good for training and trimming the boat to get as much from it as possible. Reading a book or sleeping on deck in the sun is quite nice too :) If the weather's really good we've been known to anchor up in a bay and go for a swim.

Excellent long days of sailing

• Towards the evening we work out whether we're going to anchor in a cove or go into a harbour. Anchoring tends to mean we stay sailing for a bit longer and someone usually volunteers to stay warm by cooking some dinner. Working out how to avoid the rocks in the dark is often a good past time. If going in to harbour we tend to get in a bit earlier. Someone blows up the tender (or if you're on Hywel's boat you don't bother and nick someone elses) and we go ashore for showers, the pub and perhaps a meal out.
• Everyone is expected to give a hand with the jobs on board. Washing up, cooking and perhaps a bit of cleaning are often actually good fun when the floor isn't steady and there are normally plenty of volunteers.
• All boats have loos and showers on board. The showers are not exactly powerful but generally fine and people are often happy just to use the ones on shore when we are in harbour.
• The end of the day is usually spent round the table, often with another crew if they're nearby, drinking beer or coffee, playing cards, and having a good old chat.

Sailing into an nice anchorage as the sun sets

Safely in port, it's time for the beers!