Alba Explorer voyage

The Ocean Youth Trust Scotland sailing trip on the Alba Explorer from Largs to Oban was a great success. S2 pupils Dean Miller, Reece Wigglesworth, Jack Allsop, Jordan Kane, Garry Anderson, Paige Collins, Shannon Rodger, Leigh Brown, Megan McCleary, Tyla Crocket with Mr. Tomlinson, Mrs Bax and the boat’s crew had a very eventful voyage. This is their report.
Monday 4th May
Arrived at the Marina at Largs. We were met by sea staff and shown to the boat. Our crew worked together to load all their bags and the provisions for the week onto the boat. The skipper, Dan, told us that the weather forecast was the worst he had seen in years. There was a major low coming across from the west and gales were forecast for the week.

Tuesday 5th May
We set off from Largs in a stiff breeze, which became much stronger after we were clear of Cumbrae. The wind continued to pick up and approaching Arran the jib sail split in two. This forced a change of plan and we anchored in Lamlash Bay for the night. Before going to bed the crew removed the broken sail and fitted on another smaller jib. All the crew participated in an anchor watch on a rota basis, taking turns to get up and check our position and the wind strength.
Wednesday 6th May
Due to a forecast lessening of the gale, we all got up at 5am to set sail by 5.45 in order to get around the Mull of Kintyre, which can be a very rough area of sea in a storm, before the weather worsened. We set off in a force 3-4 and made it round the Mull before the wind picked up too much.
Thursday 7th May
As the gale was forecast to pass over us on Thursday, the decision was made to stay put and let everyone recover before venturing out to sea again. Thursday morning the crew were on deck for a while in a freezing wind playing games to learn the parts of the boat that they needed to know for their Start Yachting certificates.
Friday 8th May
The crew had listened to our advice and eaten a good breakfast and wrapped up well to prevent seasickness. Megan had 10 layers on. We motored out of the shelter of Loch Craignish about 10 am. The weather was a bit better and we had a fantastic sail up the sound. Despite the fact that it was gusting up to force 8, with a swell running, the crew were all on desk and in high spirits, enjoying the sail. We managed to catch up and overtake another OYT boat, Alba Venturer. The crew were very excited to see Tobermory and keen to get ashore. They had not had a chance of a shower since the start of the week. After dinner they had time ashore to walk around before bed.

Saturday 9th May
In order to catch the favourable tide back down the Sound of Mull, we did not need to leave Tobermory until lunchtime, so the crew had time for showers and shopping in the morning. At about 8.30pm we moved off our anchor and motored carefully out of the Loch through shallow waters with a crewmember calling out the depths as we went. We sailed towards Oban as dusk fell and the final part of the trip was completed in the dark. We tied up at a mooring about 11.30 and everyone went to bed.
Sunday 10th May We woke to brilliant sunshine for the first time in the week, which made everyone feel more cheerful about the big end of voyage clean-up. At the end of every trip, the sails have to be stowed and the desks tidied. Below decks the galley and the cabins and the heads are tidied and thoroughly cleaned. The waterproofs are washed down and everything is made ready for the next crew to take over. We were debriefed by the skipper who presented everyone with their OYTS voyage certificates and their RYA Start Yachting certificates