I think I can safely say that sailing on board Tenacious has been the most amazing experience of my life! I don't think I'm coming back to the office, sorry everyone! :) Yesterday we sailed through the Corinth Canal, a tight squeeze - with only 5m between canal wall and ship on both port and starboard - with Stefan, one of the Cadets on board, steering under the watchful eye of Captain Simon. Once through we sailed towards Korfos, which is where we are now anchored. Calm seas made for a peaceful evening out on deck admiring the stunning scenery of the Greek coastline, that is until Cap'in Sparrow and his motley crew of pirate mates took over the lower mess for an evening of oooo arrrs and pirate fun. Dinner was spent selling raffle tickets to all the voyage crew for a Beanie Hat crafted by the talented Cap'n Sparrow and gathering together a little donation towards the cost of the canal crossing as a thank you to Jubilee Sailing Trust for the amazing opportunity - this voyage has meant so much to everybody on board, without exception.
But I digress; with the permanent and voyage crew gathered in their pirate best (eyepatches and cutlasses at the ready) Pirate Night started at 1930h with the raffle drawn by the (REAL) Captain (John from Aft Starboard watch the winner). A quiz followed and any tenuous questions were challenged with a cutlass fight between challengee and challenger - the most spectacular fight held between voyage crew Graham and 1st Mate Chris. Much fun was had by all and the resulting cheque presentation during crew photos this morning showed that fun wasn't the only thing gained from the evening. Cap'n Sparrow presented Captain Simon with a hand made scroll (in the style of a giant
cheque) for £448.00. I think I speak for everyone at JST when I say that it's a huge contribution from everyone here and we're hugely grateful to all the lovely TNS270 voyage crew.
DOTI boats to the sleepy fishing village of Korfos have been taking place all afternoon, where a family restaurant laid on a fantastic spread of traditional Greek food for everybody, now all we need to do is make room for Cookie Grahams yummy dinner! Some people are off climbing this afternoon having been inspired by the assisted climbs that took place this morning. I, and some others, (no, I'm not showing off) went up to the button of the main mast yesterday 130ft up is certainly exhilarating and I'll be making the most of the last day by cramming in a repeat of as many of the fantastic opportunities that a JST voyage offers as I can.
Aft Starboard Watch member (and JST Press and PR Officer) Jane