Tall Ship Voyage 2026
Day
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Click here for Tall Ship Voyage 2025
Day 1: Joining Day
Sunday 2st June, 2026
Alongside Huskisson Dock, Liverpool
Charlotte, North Liverpool Academy: Fore Watch number 7
We arrived at school at 8:30 in the morning to begin our journey. Then we had a brief meeting about how our day would be structured and headed out of school towards the docks and to the Pelican where we were split into three watches and were assigned our cabins. We met our cabin mates and got to know each other and got comfortable as we were going to spend the rest of the journey alongside them. We were given time to unpack our belongings and make our bed. Lunch was served after a small period of relaxation.
The cook served us fajitas with mac and cheese and salad. The meal was very fulfilling and nutritional. Later we met the crew, the captain, chief officer, chief engineer and the rest of the volunteers in the ‘welcome onboard meeting’. They gave us a tour around the Pelican, taught us how to wear our harnesses correctly and safely as well as checking our personal information and details with Captain Darren.
Before dinner, we completed an emergency muster drill which consisted of the general alarm sounding across the ship and all crew mustering at their muster station and donning their life jackets- although this was a little bit terrifying it is very important that we all know what to do and where to go in the event of an emergency at sea.
In the evening, we were served dinner which consisted of sweetcorn, pork, broccoli and mash. After dinner, many games were provided by the Pelican voyage crew which entertained us during our down time. We sat with the other crew members who were from the Isle of Man, and they told us about their different culture such as their folklore and celebrations on the island. This was intriguing as well as surprising to us, students from Liverpool. Finally, both trainees and crew went to sleep at ten in the evening. Overall, the first day consists of settling in and making ourselves comfortable with the ship.
Day 2: Departure from Liverpool
Monday 22nd June, 2026
Liverpool – Anchor at Dulas Bay, Anglesey
Cyrus, North Liverpool Academy: Mizzen Watch number 5
I had a wonderful time on day 2, we woke up at 07.00, and after having our breakfast, we departed Liverpool at 08.00, locked out alongside the new Mersey ferry and motored out of the river into Liverpool Bay. As we passed though the lock system, the lock released some water, so we are at the same level as the river outside the lock.
As we got underway, we set up safety nets at the sides of the ship together and tied the ropes into a loop. We had some delicious cookies made by Shalom and Maciej, the messmen for day 2. For lunch, we had hotdogs with salad. Throughout the afternoon we attended 3 activities: The first one was steering and lookout; learning some knowledge of getting the helm, rotating the angle of the ship. Afterwards, we went to climb the first part of the rigging. This was to the first platform, known as the ‘tops’. We had to use our two clips on the safety lines. It was very exciting, but Louise was too slow, and I was stuck on the platform for 5 minutes (Louise approved that) but we all made it! Last but not least, we had a conversation with scientist Sam about the Ocean Science workshop, we went into great detail about tidal streams influenced by the moon.
We have made a lot of new friends already. Dinner was spaghetti bolognaise and mixed canned fruits. I took a shower, and we played scrabble, and I gained 32 marks with placing an X only. Jun, Maciej and I bought some snacks from the shop so I will not get bored and hungry whilst on watch at night. I went to my bunk at 23.00 and woke up at 0.00 for anchor watch, Louise made me a cup of hot chocolate because I was struggling with putting my harness on. Cameron and I stayed on watch on the bridge and anchor watching from 0:20 to 02:40, we saw a lot of tiny glowing jellyfish when we anchored off Dulas Bay, Anglesey for the night. It was a very busy day.
Day 3: Anchor at Dulas Bay
Tuesday 23rd June, 2026
Stevie Tyrer, North Liverpool Academy: Fore Watch number 9
I woke up at 3:50 am to do my morning anchor watch which consisted of me measuring the temperature of the sea and looking out for anything that could disrupt us while we were anchored. At 5am, I swapped with the next watch members who were taking over from us and I went back to my cabin to get ready.
We had lots of different workshops throughout the day such as knot tying with the cadets, in this I helped prepare one of the sails (T’Gallant) by folding it fan-like state and then tying it with a series of lines known as gaskets. I found it very interesting to learn how the sails work and I really enjoyed watching the crew put the sail on to its yard.
We then had the scientific workshop with the scientist Sam where we measured the ocean acidification by blowing bubbles into a beaker of sea water for 5 minutes, we used litmus paper to measure the Ph of it. We noticed the Ph changed significantly after blowing the bubbles. I enjoyed this because I found it engaging and interesting however, it was hard to blow bubbles for that long. This practical represented exactly what is happening to the world’s oceans- emissions from land are absorbed by the ocean, changing the overall Ph and consequently impacting ecosystems.
Our final workshop was with the Photographer Jacob where he taught us the different types of pictures we could take such as thirds, odds and negative space. He then let us go and tasked us to take pictures using these prompts.
The weather was glorious, and the Irish Sea was so still- apparently this is extremely rare and so we all embraced it. I then went on watch where we had taken turns on the helm and keeping lookout, I struggled slightly with the helm as I found it slightly challenging to keep course on track, but I managed to get the hang of it in the end. Whilst on watch we saw lots of different wildlife such as jellyfish, dolphins, seals and Minke whales- although this was a brief encounter it was so special. We didn’t Anchor this night so sleeping was a slight struggle as we were moving quite a lot due to the wind increasing and coming from the North which was the direction we were travelling, but I managed to get a couple hours of sleep before my watch at 00.00 to 04.00.
Day 4: Port Ellen, Islay
Wednesday 24th June, 2026
Dylan, North Liverpool Academy: Fore Watch number 6
Previously to my middle watch period, hours 0000-0400 I woke up a few hours before, as I had not adjusted to sleeping schedule. The calm waters from before had become more aggressive, causing the ship to pitch about. Despite the baltic temperature and winds, I admired the sunset on the horizon before preparing myself for my upcoming watch, which consisted of wearing more layers. During my watch, I spent my time at the bridge on the lookout for other vessels in the sea and anything that could possibly cause a hazard to the Pelican. Overtime the ship became encased by a dark, grey fog. After 2 hours into my watch, I was granted a 10-minute break, I spent this eating toast. As the swatch progressed, it become increasingly challenging, I spent majority of my time contemplating what I signed myself up to. However, I managed to find the will to push through until the watch concluded.
After 4 hours of sleep, we anchored off Port Ellen in Scotland. After lunch of burgers, we were informed that we will spend the day in the village of Port Ellen. We were given a briefing to ensure our safety off ship. I had a few minutes to gather any belonging and money I would like to take before the rib would take us to the shore. After landing on the beach, me and my friends explored the area while waiting for the rest of the voyage crew. After everyone arrived we had a scientific workshop, where we learned about the various types of animals and other organisms that inhabit beaches and shores. When that concluded, we were given permission to explore the island of Islay for a few hours, with this time me and my friends walked to the village in search for a shop to buy some snacks and ice-cream.
After a few hours ashore we were collected from the beach in the RIB, returning in the same order as we arrived. Heading back towards the Pelican at anchor was breath taking- sitting at anchor she looked very picturesque in the bay- it was amazing to think that in such as short time we had become the crew of the ship and had managed to get the ship from Liverpool all the way to Scotland. Once everyone was back onboard lots of voyage crew showered to remove the sand and salt from their skin- this dented the already dwindling fresh water supply. After our dinner we had a quiet evening were some of the crew played card games, sat and talked or even tried their hand at fishing from Pelican’s poop deck. We were scheduled to complete another 1 hour anchor watch between 20.00-00.00.
Day 5: At anchor Port Ellen and Sailing
Thursday 25th June, 2026
Tara, North Liverpool Academy: Main Watch number 5
Day 5 was another chaotic day on board of the ship; I woke up at 6:30am and got ready for 7:00am for galley duty because it was my day to be on the duty alongside Zuzanna and Cyrus which was fun and calm at the start of the day. Around 8:00am is when we weighed anchor and set sail up north. Two hours into my shift, we called out onto the well deck to get training on the seamanship; this is where we learnt how to pull the lines, make fast and learn key sailing vocabulary such as, “well” this means stop or freeze whatever it is we are doing. Another term I have learnt on the 5 days on this ship is “2…6…heave” which I think is fun when pulling on the main yards when bracing.
At 10:30 my shift in the galley resumed as normal, this is where me and Zuzanna were tasked with making sausage rolls using turkey meat as it is healthier than pork. Zuzanna and I got straight to work and impressed our chef Jules by working quickly and yet being very precise on how to fold over the sausage into the pastry. Whereas Cyrus had egging and making the lines on the sausages for airing it. This is where things got a little rough as it, we were rushing to get everything plated up for first sitting of lunch and prepare rest of the food for second sitting. First sitting ended being smooth and we moved on to second sitting which resulted in more chaos however, it ended up being smooth and this meant that we could eat as well. Later, we washed, dried and put away all washed dishes and had a break from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. During this break we loosened headsails on bowsprit, set 2 square sails and sailed for more than 2 hours without our engine being used.
However, after the break, we got an announcement telling us that the wind was 20 knots strong; so, we had to turn back and go to port Ellen and anchor there again for the night and wait out the thunderstorm that was on the way. This was basically the end of my galley day shift and finally showered. Finally, everyone met up on the main deck and we were just talking which was so fun, and I had a great time.
What a week it's been for the North Liverpool Academy crew aboard the Pelican! Our young voyagers have experienced a truly unforgettable journey, as documented in their own words.
.jpg)
.jpg)