We are Back from the Canaries
LORD NELSON 13th -20th January
We have returned from the Canaries ‘cruising’ on the LORD NELSON thanks to the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST). We were prepared for hard work and possible seasickness, but when friends asked how the ‘holiday’ went we had to correct them. It wasn’t a holiday, it was an experience! Seriously, an experience such as the one we’ve just had, sailing on board a tall ship for a week with half the crew able-bodied and the other half physically disabled is one that we will never forget and for sure, worth far more than countless non-descript beach bum holidays.
Jetting into Las Palmas, we were a little intrepid as the weather was looking and feeling horribly British. The palm trees were lashing around in the wind and rain….the promised sun and heat of the Grand Canaries was noticeably absent. Once on board the LORD NELSON we quickly discovered the sleeping compartments were a touch on the cozy side. The toilet-cum-shower set up took the meaning of ‘compact living’ to a new level. You could sit on the loo seat under the shower stream whilst scrubbing yourself with soap suds. Relief and excitement set in as the ship’s bar was discovered – complete with a stash of chocolate bars. Sorted.
The next day after a briefing by the permanent crew the sun started to shine out some cheeky rays. We were then all ‘encouraged’ to do the old ‘up and over’ whilst LORD NELSON was still peacefully docked in the harbour. This means climbing up the rigging which gently leans into the mast and then carrying on up the futtocks which leans away from the mast by a stomach churning 45º angle. Gravity is no friend on the futtocks. By the time Claire had plucked up the courage to climb up the rigging and venture far too far out on to a yard arm where the sails hang from, there was definitely some heat on her back (unless that was just nerve induced sweat…).
Not far behind, Jun was attempting to climb up the futtocks with her foot visibly shaking. Rob the 2nd Mate perched up above casually like a monkey in the jungle tops asked if her foot was indicative of her whole body. Jun nodded furiously whilst slowly inching her way up towards the platform, where she kind of collapsed quietly for a while. Once on the safety of the platform there really was no sense of relief as you knew you had to step out on the yard calling out “Stepping out!!” and then descend from the whole thing at some point. There were others of course who scampered up and felt right at home aloft, and throughout the sail were regularly seen in their harness and busy up on the yards.
During our first ‘up and over’ we faffed about with the sails for a bit, but please don’t ask what we did. Complete concentration was spent on holding on. In fact, every muscle in our bodies involved themselves in this common goal, and for the next few days we had trouble raising arms or legs and wondered at times whether it was still safe to class ourselves as able-bodied. The mere thought of climbing up the rigging again filled us with dread and thus we had to decline for the following couple of days, because we seriously believed, given the extent of our muscle fatigue our safety would be compromised. Did the crew believe us or sympathize? No!
Claire once again donned the harness and managed to climb back onto the yard to help haul the sails in and tie them up. Meanwhile, Jun decided to take her duty of recording memorable moments on the voyage very very seriously and with her feet planted firmly on the deck way down below, filmed her glorious sail hauling achievement way up in the sky.
The week was packed with action, whether it was clambering up to the yards (for some!), unfurling the sails, heaving on ropes and tidying them, trimming the sails, bracing the yards, cleaning the heads, scrubbing decks, serving meals whilst rolling around, practicing alarm drills, waking up for the dreaded 4:00am watch, taking the helm, doing starboard or port watch, checking survival suit standards and getting involved with the buzz of activity when bringing LORD NELSON into a harbour. Relaxation was not a priority we quickly discovered as we ended one task and launched into another. However we were able to catch a few lazy afternoons to snooze in the sun on deck, chat to fellow voyageurs and the crew, seek out the dolphins and pilot whales (successfully on a number of occasions) and take time out in bars and cafes in town. And of course, smoco time was always a welcome moment. Sea talk for a smoke and coffee. For a bit of high sea drama Claire dressed as a witch, Jun as a pirate and we tried to take over the helm as Captain George and a watch were “on guard”. No good – as a bunch of intended hijackers we just got laughter.
The final night was great fun with a full crew dinner in Palmas, drinks till very very late with the few voyageurs who had not retreated back to their hammocks on board the LORD NELSON and of course with the hearty permanent crew who are used to all this! They really are a good bunch – always up for a laugh and terribly patient with our questions which they probably hear time and time again from each new load of people.
We learned far more than we had ever expected to in our week with the LORD NELSON crew. Initially we thought we would just get an idea of what physical and mental challenges the voyageurs we select in Indonesia will experience. We were relieved and heartened to find, given the aims of ENCOMPASS and the use of the square rigged ship that the most important and memorable aspect of the voyage were the people.
On long watches, often stretching through the night and right into dawn, there was plenty of time to while away chatting and getting to know one another’s life stories and views, receiving and giving advice and joining in entertaining banter. At the end of the sail we were surprised how well we knew our fellow voyagers who had been total strangers at the beginning of the week. This rang especially true for the friends we made who were disabled or who had overcome life changing events. It was our first time really getting to know what a struggle has been, and still is for them at times, but their positivity and drive to live life to the max was inspiring and we came away from the trip feeling the voyage was an invaluable lesson to us.
Being stripped of most material possessions and having to live in the same conditions and to muck in with all aspects of sailing the ship and the housekeeping no matter what time of day or night, all of us literally lived up to the old saying ‘all in the same boat together’. We met on common ground where one’s background, beliefs and physical capabilities were regarded as equal to any other.
The trip also enabled us to highlight areas where more thought and organization is going be needed in order to make the trip a totally positive experience for the ENCOMPASS voyageurs. Our biggest realization of the trip was how utterly exhausting it was being on the boat with watches all through the night, meeting new people, seasickness, taking on mental and physical challenges, helping out our fellow voyageurs in times of need and living in a strange swaying compact environment. Even after day one we were extremely tired! So the initial idea of bringing the voyagers straight off a long-haul flight from Indonesia and bundling them onto a tall ship is not fair on them and we suspect it would reduce the enjoyment factor of their trip dramatically. As a result of our experience we have realized that there needs to be a ‘buffer zone’ at each end of the voyage. This transition time which will be for a day or two needs to be enjoyable but not exhausting. Our ideas for the pre and post voyage days are rather sketchy at the moment. If you have any bright ideas we certainly would like to hear about them.
We also realized the importance for a common language, which will inevitably be English. Talking to fellow youths, youth leaders and crew and exploring the diversity of backgrounds, beliefs, views and stories is half the experience ENCOMPASS hopes the selected Indonesian voyageurs will have. The obvious solution is to have a translator onboard, but that is not entirely satisfactory as the translator cannot be in more place than one when the youths strike up individual conversations with other voyageurs. The current idea is to have a translator and to pair up the selected voyagers from Indonesia, making sure one of the pair has a stronger conversational level of English than his less fluent compatriot and thus help out with communication when necessary.
Finally, the weather. The first ENCOMPASS voyage will take place in July. Although it is the middle of summer for us Brits, the Indonesians certainly won’t agree. Warm weather proof clothing and gloves suitable for sailing will have to be provided as we can’t imagine the youths will own such gear in Indonesia. We hope to find a clothing manufacturer who will be able to sponsor our ENCOMPASS voyageurs with gear to get them through the cold night and dawn watches.
All in all, it was a challenging week to get through in the name of research for ENCOMPASS. But it was worth it and we thank the JST for this opportunity. We hope the youths we select from different backgrounds, cultures and faiths gain as much on their voyage as we did in that one week onboard the LORD NELSON in the Canary Islands.
Posted Wednesday January 15, 2003
