Today it was our turn to be "mothers" again but given it was our last sailing day we basically did a "potpourri" of anything that was left to try to have as little leftovers as possible. After breakfast it was time to do the crew assessment. We started by having to tie some knots (bowline, admiralty and double sheet bend in our case), then we sat down individually with Stefano to answer a battery of questions and finally we went outside with Kym to demonstrate our handling of the winches. We then proceeded to do some agility tests that we had not done yet, like checking that you can climb on board with the help of a mooring line or that you can throw a mooring line. Finally we had to show that we were able to row a small dinghy. This part was a lot of fun as there was a lot of current and it was not particularly easy, so we had a good laugh watching the struggle of the people banging around in the dinghy. In all I think that the assessment was quite easy to pass and none of us had any trouble with it.
Today was the turn to learn about downwind sailing, use of the preventers and gybing. But, although we did practice all of that, this day we had the worst weather of the week, with lots of wind and rain, so we did not practice as much as I would have liked. By the end of the day you could tell that we were all exhausted after all the activity of the week. The return to dock in the late afternoon was silent, with everyone sitting quiet and reflecting about the week, also a bit sad that it would all soon be over.
During the day we had seen a couple of other Clipper boats which were doing training for other levels. We were practically alone in the water, it seems that no one else was willing to be sailing under the rain and a heavy wind. When we arrived we got a radio call saying that one of these boats was having a bit of engine trouble and asking us to be on standby in case they needed any help when mooring. So we took turns in going to the shower and waiting for this other yacht to show up. In the end they managed to dock without any need for assistance.
Since this was our last night, we went out for a group dinner. The dinner was not very good and they managed to cook my "medium-rare" fillet to the level of an inedible stone but we had great fun sharing all the best moments of the week that we were about to leave behind. An amazing group of people and I am sure that some of them will be friends for life.
During the day we had seen a couple of other Clipper boats which were doing training for other levels. We were practically alone in the water, it seems that no one else was willing to be sailing under the rain and a heavy wind. When we arrived we got a radio call saying that one of these boats was having a bit of engine trouble and asking us to be on standby in case they needed any help when mooring. So we took turns in going to the shower and waiting for this other yacht to show up. In the end they managed to dock without any need for assistance.
Since this was our last night, we went out for a group dinner. The dinner was not very good and they managed to cook my "medium-rare" fillet to the level of an inedible stone but we had great fun sharing all the best moments of the week that we were about to leave behind. An amazing group of people and I am sure that some of them will be friends for life.
