Gold DofE sea survival guide – a student insider
So we’re sitting huddled together on a boat at Felixtowe Ferry admiring the sunset, listening to the sound of waves lapping against the side of our little cornish shrimper RHS Blake, mugs of hot choccy in hand. Sounds like the life doesn’t it?
Well before you rush eagerly over to Mr Rosser to sign yourself up to do your Duke of Edinburgh expedition afloat. Consider our top tips on how to survive your days at sea drawn from our own little adventure last week.
Firstly, no matter how tough you think yourself you will discover that you and your fellow members of crew have many completely irrational fears and you will find yourself in situations where you feel like the end is near, whether that be crossing a shipping channel with a massive container ship heading directly for you or finding yourself sailing along in a thunder and lightning storm in the pouring rain and raging winds which make the boat tip to nearly 45 degrees. Stay calm! We found a little rendition of the school anthem ‘for those in peril on the sea’ helps to sooth ones nerves. We should also point out that when driving a car if their should be a cute little bunny in the headlights and all passenger jump on to the wheel to try swerve out the way, it is more likely to result in the contrary and a rather flat rabbit, we very nearly discovered the same principal applies when onboard a boat, however instead of the occasional rabbit, you are dealing with extremely expensive boats at every turn (or tack in sailing jargon).
Secondly do not underestimate the usefulness of the humble Bourbon biscuit. These little rectangles of chocolate biscuit bliss do not only serve as currency between the boats of the RHS shrimper fleet but in times of desperation when we had no compass handy we discovered that a bourbon equates to exactly 1.5 nautical miles on the charts, they must therefore be an essential on the packing list of every entrapped sailor.
Here’s another biscuit related tip. Mr Rosser has a soft spot for club bars, if you find you need a little help from someone who actually knows what on earth they are doing. However we discovered he’s not bribed easily so we suggest you have a try at recruiting him as the fourth member of your crew, seeing that he’s technically young enough.
Our next tip is to remind you that you’re not Bear Grylls or Jack Sparrow, although sailing along balancing on the side of the boat, steering with one foot might make you feel pretty cool, watch out for the boom … I will say no more … Also bear in mind that allowing the gas cooker burst into flames is not an effective way to keep warm as we discovered, especially in a confined wooden cabin and that when cooking your evening delicacy of a steaming plate of coops own baked beans, ensure ventilation or as we discovered you will find yourself feeling a rather sleepy.
Finally we suggest you think up a few crew mottos. The phrases we found ourselves continually reciting were:
1) It’s better than walking. Why would you want to sleep in wet, smelly tent on a hillside carrying heavy rucksacks for hours every day? When you could be cruising along the beautiful Suffolk waterways,basking in the sunshine, watching baby seals play and then snuggling up cosy and dry with the luxury of a proper pillow at night.
2) Follow Ashley. Ashley Fretwell was the saving grace of our expedition without him we would all of been totally lost and would of probably ended up somewhere on the dutch coast.
3) It’s chilly. It really is, I mean whats the worst that can happen? See it as an alternative to one of those alpine health spas.
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