For two weeks in July, we had a number of young aspiring mariners who are at the beginning of their career, join us onboard Brian Boru. Their time at sea was invaluable.
Week 1
We sailed from Waterford to Dunmore east then on to the navy base in Haulbowline island cork. From there we went to Kinsale followed but Dungarvan and on to Kilmore quay where we linked in with the RNLI.
Week 2
We sailed from Kilmore Quay straight across the pond to a place called Caernarfon in Wales. The following morning we sailed though the Menai Straights, a difficult piece of navigation which the mariners planned and executed under our watchful eye.
We had hoped to go to Isle of Man but with weather conditions going against us, we decided to go to Holyhead for the night. The following night we anchored at a beautiful spot called Trearddur bay and shipped everyone into the beach on small dinghies.
Throughout the voyage the mariners got to use and improve upon the navigation skills that they have already have. On a vessel like the Brian Boru (or leader) teamwork is key and everyone has to chip in on every job. In this way the mariners got real hands-on experience in every aspect of being on the water from steering and navigating to experiencing difficult weather and narrow passages, and how to plan appropriately for this. We even had them cooking and cleaning.
It was a real pleasure for all of us to feel like we have contributed to their career paths and really look forward to having them out again.