At the end of July, we welcomed a group of cubs, scouts and their leaders, who were on a camping trip to Somerset from Staffordshire. The group spent a couple of hours onboard learning to send messages using Morse equipment, led by our very own Morse expert, Mike. They were also each able to make and take away a length of rope – they also decided that the rope made perfect moustaches, who were we to question this?
In total, there were 21 young people and 6 adults on the visit and they had a great day for it – warm but not too hot; which was fortunate as they had lots of questions to ask in the engine room! One adult commented that she would make a good stoker as she is ‘nesh’ (a phrase used to describe someone who likes comfort, avoids any hardship).
The young people engaged enthusiastically with all the activities, asking lots of questions about the ship and maritime history in general. As always, starting off in the crew quarters makes the captain’s cabin appear very luxurious – one young man lay on a bunk and did not want to get up, commenting that it “is much more comfortable than a roll mat!” Sleeping in a tent for a week has made the Freshspring accommodation appear even more appealing!
The group were also able to see how fast the tide rises in the estuary whilst moving around the ship, taking the opportunity to find out about how best to keep safe in this area when by the sea.
A special bonus at the end of the afternoon was having a group photo taken by Graham Hobbs, a local photographer! Thank you, Graham, for your wonderful photography as always.
And lastly, a big thank you to our dedicated team of volunteers: Mike Mills, Mike Greener and Richard Ker for helping with the visit today, and of course to Pete Gillet for opening the ship as well as our Community Learning Officer Sam Roberts for organising the day! These visits could not happen without the generous help from our team.
If you are a school, group or community and would like to pay us a visit then please contact us at learning@ssfreshspring.co.uk