Applying, Training, Yachting!

This is the first post, and it's going to be a monster, but there's a lot to fit in!

Right now, myself and 23 other people across the country are anxiously waiting to hear on which yachts, and in which corner of the globe we will be spending the next six months of our lives. Getting to this point has been a mini (albeit rapid) adventure in itself!

The application process involved some good old fashioned self-promotion. It included personality tests, video profiles, and ultimately pineapples at the top of the Milbank tower in London. It quickly became apparent that this was no usual 9-5 job! After the most nerve-wrecking weekend of my life, an email dropped into our inboxes telling us we had made it. The lucky ones were being whisked off to glamorous Plymouth for three weeks of intensive *cough* training at HMS Raleigh, the Royal Navy's initial training facility.

In the pub on the first evening it was quickly discovered that the guys and girls at Ultimate Crew had done a fantastic job at picking a pretty similar group of people. (Without generalising, the kind of people that find the closest bar on the first day, rinse it 'till closing time and still come up smiling the next day!)

The next day was a crash introduction to the thrills of Navy life. The bosun's whistle piped into every room at 8am (yes, even at the weekend) did it's best to kill those smiles, but was quickly forgotten as we discovered the mountain of Full English waiting for us at the prestigious Oasis pay-and-dine facility. Hangovers quelled, we threw ourselves into the first day.

A typical day of training at Raleigh is a strange but instantly enjoyable experience. Instructors with mythical nicknames like Shady Lane, Ropey Knots and Blood Ried guide you through weird and wonderful activities, comfortably broken up by the occasional teabreak. We covered everything a budding sailor could ask for; fire-fighting, sea safety drills, teabreaks, first aid, helmsmanship, rope splicing, teabreaks, knot tying, SMS and ISPS, heli opps, RYA powerboating, teabreaks...you name it, at some point we coverd it....I mentioned the teabreaks right?

As for everything a budding Yachtie could want, we were allowed 'ashore' at anytime (a privilege at HMS Raleigh!) and Plymouth city center was a short ferry ride away. That, and the criminally cheap senior ranks' bar ensured that (this is the family edition so i'll keep it clean) good times were had!

So, after three weeks of the above, we emerge! More enthusiastic about the job than when we started, we've survived trial by fire, water and PT. Lost a few brain cells, but made more than a few new friends. But most importantly of all, we're all still smiling. If the job is half as good as the training im sure it'll stay that way for a long time to come!