Experiences from a tall ships adventure holiday.

Marcel and Julie joined the crew of Trinovante for the first time this year after finding us on the internet. Having previously completed an RYA competent crew course in the UK they were now looking for a unique and completely different experience. They found adventure onboard Trinovante crewing a traditional schooner around the fjords of Norway.
Check out a SchoonerSail’s Tall Ships Adventure Holidays or watch the Tall Ships Race Film ,
or read another sailing holiday blog by this crew.
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Julie on the jib sheet winch.

Julie –

Wanting to find a bespoke and unique sailing experience and knowing I could not find it in the back of a newspaper, Marcel left me with the daunting task of using the internet to find a holiday.

Using Google I thought deeply as to what I actually wanted, adventure, a challenge, something to give me a different perspective on life.

Julie gets to grips with helming.

I typed in the words Sailing, Schooner, experience, tall ships. Schooner Sail came up straight away, reading all the previous reviews I could feel the excitement and the enthusiasm with which they had been written . They were disclosing exactly what I was looking for . Having a telephone number I could call and talk through the details was reassuring, and reaffirmed that this was the trip for me.

There is nothing to compare the thrill and excitement of being at the helm of a tall ship under full sail. Having been passengers on a big cat in the Bay Of Islands, New Zealand we were looking for more adventure and found it in abundance on
Trinovante a 70ft schooner. Sailing and this time real
sailing, through the fjords and round the islands of
Norway.

On one of our walks ashore high above the fjord.

Marcel –

7 sails to be hauled up in standard trim. Out on the bowsprit for the jib, on the foredeck for the staysail, working as a team.

This was a chance to met new, like minded people, some like us with little or no experience of sailing. There we were heeled over in full sail giving the starboard port holes a good wash as we raced through the waters to the next remote Norwegian community.

This morning we walked along the edge of a fjord in Eivindvik looking at a stone cross erected in 945AD before leaving the harbour amidst envious
gazes from the small group of Norwegians who
had come down to the quay to see the boat.
Almost every time we dock a ‘ liaison officer’ is
needed as everyone is interested when a three
masted schooner comes to town.

Marcel furls the gaff mainsail.

Crewing on a tall ship has to be the best way to see Norway. The bits you cannot see on a cruise or in a car. The little isolated communities where we moored or anchored gave a sense of peace and isolation which is so hard to find anywhere. All that peace then it’s back into action putting up sails as part of the team, not quite a well oiled machine but after our next trip we might be ready to crew for the tall ships race (watch Schoonerssail’s Tall Ships Race Film).

We have loved it all from being at the helm, hoisting sail, fixing fenders and weighing the anchor.

We’ve learned to coil rope, tie knots, set sails and handle mooring lines.
It’s been a fantastic experience.

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