Stewart sails the tall ships
The crew of the Leila. From left to right: Ewan, Tom (the cook and his back to the camera), Ellis, and me (the one with ring). I was just about to learn 8 knots. That was “knot” fun! However, I did enjoy it, I just had to make the joke.
We left from Lowestoft a day late due to 10 litres of water in the fuel tank. We then set of for Esbjerg, but the engine cut out, so we made it to Den Helder, Netherlands, to repair the engine.
As the engine could not be repaired quickly, I then took a 16-hour train journey to Esbjerg, with 3 other people to get on the Santa Maria Manuela.
The train journey was mostly at night and went through the Netherlands and Germany (the only time our passports were checked). We spent a day in Esbjerg to familiarise ourselves with the boat.
We then met the Leila in Stavanger to race to Harlingen. We retired from the race due to a big storm as we were heading to the start.
I learnt that it is very difficult to be on watch for 4 hours in the middle of the night, especially in a TSS (traffic separation scheme).
The best part was trying to get my competent crew award, which I got in the end.
There are some photos below of the journey, which you can use, although I have not asked the rest of the crew of the Leila. Thank you so much for the grant. It was a great opportunity for me to do the race.
