T.S. Royalist

Diary By LC James Jury

Saturday 4th October 2008:
Showery, Cloudy, Wet, Windy

Three of us from Rye & District Sea Cadets left Rye railway station at 10:54 heading for Portsmouth Harbour station where we arrived at 14:02. We then had to catch a ferry across Portsmouth Harbour as we had to be in Gosport. We then had a twenty minute walk to Fort Blockhouse where we found T.S Royalist.

When we arrived on the ship we had to sign in, we were then assigned a bunk and un-packed our bags into very small lockers which were under our beds.

We were shown how to fasten different lines to different fastenings around the ship properly by the bosun of T.S. Royalist.

The crew of the ship were then split into four watches. In these watches people had different jobs and this was written on our watch cards which showed which jobs we had to do. Below is my watch card.

We then had the chance to climb up the fore mast. I decided to try this although I did not like heights, it was wet and windy and I could feel the wind moving the rigging while I was climbing it.


Sunday 5th October 2008:
Very windy (Force 10), Showery, Cloudy

It was too rough for us to go out into the Solent and to sail so we had to stay in Gosport for the day.
We were taken on a trip to the Royal Navy action stations in Portsmouth Navy base which is like an amusement arcade based on the activities and the life of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines. We then went to visit H.M.S. Victory which was very interesting, we were told about the conditions during the battle of Trafalgar and we were actually seeing the ship that went to battle. We also took the journey from the deck to the surgeons where Nelson died. We were granted shore leave in the evening when we walked along the water side of Gosport.

Monday 6th October 2008:
Bright, Breezy, Cloudy Spells

This was the day where I had to do mess men duties which included serving meals and washing up.
We firstly had to go into Portsmouth Harbour using engine power to refuel.
We then left Portsmouth Harbour where we had to do harbour duties which was to stand on deck. While leaving harbour the whole ship did three cheers for a Norwegian tall ship that was in Portsmouth Harbour.

We then got out into the Solent where we put a few sails up but there was not a strong enough wind for us to use sails so we had to use our engines all of the way.
The sea was calm when we were behind the Isle of White but when we passed the Isle of White and was heading for Poole Harbour the sea got a lot rougher.
We were granted shore leave in the evening where we looked around Poole.
While we were along side in Poole, T.S. Royalist's sister ship Tenacious was also along side, the ship was built to let disabled people sail and they are able to go up to the first level of the mast. Below is a picture of Royalist with Tenacious in the background.

Tuesday 7th October 2008
Windy (Force 7) Wet, Cloudy, Dull

It was too windy for us to leave Poole so we were granted shore leave and were able to look around the local shops.
We later went to cleaning stations to tidy the ship and make it easier for us to clean on Thursday. We also had lessons about safety around water and on a boat. We were all given a work book to fill in about what the R.N.L.I. do.
We then had a visit to the R.N.L.I. headquarters where we looked around the reserve fleet and were able to look at some of the bigger and newer boats.

Wednesday 8th October 2008:
Dry, Hot, Calm

I was the Quarter Master in the colour party for Colours and Evening Colours.
Left Poole Harbour and went to Harbour duties, we soon found that the sea was calm.
On leaving Poole we saw the rock forms of 'Old Harry' and 'The Needles'.

Sailed most of the way from Poole to Cowes and did a man over-board exercise using sail power.
We moored up in Cowes on the Isle of White at about 17:00. Cowes is an important part of T.S. Royalist as it is where the ship was built.
We then had to tidy the upper deck including making sure that all ropes were secured neatly.
We were given shore leave during the evening where we were able to walk around Cowes.

Thursday 9th October 2008:
Sunny, Calm, Dry

We were given shore leave before we left Cowes when we were able to look around the shops and buy gifts.
We then left Cowes and set sails although we had to use the ships engines for most of the journey. We then anchored just outside of Gosport where we were given the chance to go swimming in the sea but I decided not to as the water was very cold.
We then travelled into Gosport harbour and we again went to Harbour stations.
Our shore leave for the evening was a game of football and rounders between all of the cadets on the sports fields.
We then packed our bags ready to leave. We also went to cleaning stations and had inspection rounds to check how thorough we had been.

Friday 10th October 2008:
Sunny, Dry, Breezy


We were presented our badges and certificates by the captain. We were also given a debrief by the captain. We then had our final photos and goodbyes from all of the crew and cadets.

We left Portsmouth Harbour station at 10:45 and arrived home to awaiting families at 13:50. I thoroughly enjoyed my time onboard T.S. Royalist and we travelled 91 Nautical Miles in total. It was a fantastic experience and made the entire crew bond as a team.