Our crew of 12 arrived during the afternoon and were duly kitted our with life jackets, waterproof salopettes and jackets and we completed all the necassary safety & orientation briefings.

The engineers had great fun re-familiarising themselves with the systems and checks and Expedition Commander cooked an excellent chicken curry. 

With the weather forecast looking breezy but manageable we repaired to the Commissioners pub for a pint of Seven Seas (the port real ale for which 5p a pint goes to Blyth Tall Ship) and found they had run out!

We are really excited to begin our expedition.