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Monday, 17th March
We met the ship at Poole town
quay on Monday 17th March, and had boarded by 2pm, or 1400hrs as we
had to call it, as work on the ship would be a 24 hour affair. We were greeted
by members of the permanent crew and the volunteers who we were to be living
with on board for the voyage. Upon boarding the ship we were told our watch and
watch number, and shown our bunk and locker.
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| STS Sir Winston Churchill |
There were three Watches with 13
trainees, a Watch Leader and a Watch Officer in each. The Watches were named
for the ships 3 masts, with their muster stations next to their mast: Fore
Watch, Main Watch and Mizzen Watch. I was Mizzen 11 (Z11) and my bunk was next
to the female toilets, or heads – yuk! I was in the top bunk, with Z12 and Z13
bunks below me, and opposite were the three Watch Leaders.
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| My bunk was the top one, lockers were below the bottom bunk and the ceiling was just a few inches above my bunk! |
Some of the trainees were late to
arrive, so the Captain’s briefing was postponed and instead each Watch did some
preliminary training. We learned some ropes, knots, parts of the ship, and went
‘up and over’ – climbed up one side of the ratlines, into the crow’s nest and
down the ratlines the other side. When the late trainees finally arrived
everybody signed on in order, F1 to Z12 (we were short of crew members and
there was no Z3 or Z13) and handed in passports and any valuables to the
Purser. We were also given our uniform smocks and each had a badge denoting our
Watch and number. While waiting, as our watch was last, we sat at our muster
station and all got to know each other a bit.
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The Captain’s briefing followed
the signing on, and we were formally introduced to the permanent crew and
volunteer helpers. We had an evening meal, and continued the training with
learning how to ‘make up’ and ‘let go’ the running back stays (runners) which
we need to do when tacking or wearing – turning – the ship. We also learned
about the ships routine: the watches, or shifts of working, the daily ‘happy
hour’ where everyone has to muck in to give the ship a thorough cleaning (“A
clean ship is a happy ship!”), and the additional duties working in the galley,
mess, or with the Boatswain.
Once training was complete we
were allowed shore leave in Poole to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. We found a
nice Irish Pub, but everyone had to go easy on the Guinness. Shore leave ended at 2300hrs, with lights out
at 0100hrs, but sleep did not come easy as excitement brewed about the voyage
beginning in the morning.
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