People often ask what the Lost Sailors do when they aren’t working on boats. Well the answer is they go and play on other boats. Our crew joined the Tall Ship Pelican for a day of buccaneering and fun.
Tall Ship Pelican
Pelican was built By Augustin Normand, in Le Havre in 1948 as an Arctic fishing vessel. She was reconstructed between 1995 and 2007 as a sail training vessel with a Mainmast Barquentine Rig. Or a pirate ship to you and me!
At a cost of 15 million pounds to refurbish to her current state she sits beautifully in the water and inspires dreams of distant Caribbean shores and Treasure Island. The money was raised through charitable donations and she currently works within the Adventure Under Sail charity.
She’s 148 feet long and 23 feet wide. Below her decks there is a main galley and communal eating area, seven cabins for guests that sleep four people each in bunks and a full bathroom for people to use. She’s also fully air conditioned!
Adventure Under Sail
Adventure Under Sail (AUS) was formed as a charity in 2008 and uses sail training as a medium for enhancing professional and personal development. This year they are taking part in various races and you can join them as they sail through Lisbon, La Coruna and Cadiz.
The money they raise goes towards the £2000 per day expenses of running and maintaining the Pelican as well as providing bursaries and sailing to disadvantaged youths. It just goes to show that by being a pirate you can be a good person too!
Life on Board for the Lost Sailors
The Get Lost Sailing crew spent a day with the Tall Ship Pelican and her friendly crew having jumped aboard at the end of the Poole Boat Show. Breakfast was laid on at 08:00 before some intense training began. You don’t have to climb rigging on a power boat!
The first task to break you in gently is called ‘Up and Over’. This involves climbing the rigging on one side of the ship to the first platform on the mast and then climbing down the other side. As you can see from the video the climbs get higher. The mast on Pelican is 33 metres high. In order to rig sails you have to climb out onto the yards so that you can tie them on and winch them tight.
Lunch and dinner are also included when you stay on board for any length of time and the Lost Sailors enjoyed the food and the friendly banter from the Galley and the rest of the crew. They were really made to feel like part of the team.
We can’t recommend the experience aboard highly enough and you absolutely have to add a voyage to your bucket list. Sign up to our blog so you can find out what we are doing with Pelican during the Bournemouth Airshow. We’ve got some amazing things in the works for you.
If you want more information on the ship and everything that’s happening this year then check out their website HERE
