FROM THE CREW OF WINDSHIFT

Hello All. We have arrived in Norway after a chavy North Sea. Thankyou all from the comments they are great and we enjoyed reading them. Hopefully you will see some photos we have sent home shortly . All doing well and enjoying the experience. We have even learned some Norwegian from a nice old lady on a bus eg Hi , Ya and Nae , they mean Hello , Yes and No . Everyone is keeping a log of the trip and there experience here are some extracts from the log .
Danny
I was sick and a bit of pie came oot ma nose.......I could not eat anything....I went bonkers when i arrived it was magic.......I caught a purple fish ( anyone have any idea what kind of fish it could have been) ?.....we went to the zoo in Norway ,Hamish was excited seeing the 2 humpit camels there was massive goldfish and the water park flumes were magic

Tye
I was sick in a bucket for 2 days but got my sea legs now.....i saw heaps of dolphins swimming with the boat for ages it was magic and cured my seasickness..when we parked the boat Danny caught a weird purple fish......we went to a magic park in Norway there was a scary ride iwas scared but still went on twice....I am trying to catch a fish for bar b q.

Logan
In deep sleep after leaving Peterhead , woke to Tye spewing and a lifeless Shaun....managed my first watch with Danny who spewed on and off.....the rest of the crossing was a blurr of excitement ,fear , laughs ,sick , dolphind , pot noodles and bowls of beans......A magic sunrise approaching Norway although sleep deprived very happy delighted.
On arrival had Discos fine mince n tatties .......upand away to zoo/park an ace day highlights camels and hot tubs

Shaun
Not alot to say I was in bed suffering badly , i was feeling seasick , home sick and down but everyone in the boat was supportive and helped me get through it ...thanks guys.
Had shower in dark by tourchlight! We went to the zoo liked seeing all the animals.....Hamish tried to speak to a Norwegian wifie in the bus about camels it was funny.....water park was ace.

Stevie
Crossing the North sea was good....had plenty cups of tea from Davie.....managed all my watches fine

Davie
Made good progress across the North sea despite weather being against us......everyone did well considering some were feeling ill........plenty cups of tea and Red Bull ! for some kept us going .....good to be in Norway the kids had a really good day yesterday......they are so hungry and eating as fast as i can cook

Hamish
The camels at the zoo were cool

Norway

Arrived in Norway the early hours of this morning. 

Tye, Danny and Shaun were all sick.  Stevie and Logan managed a bit better.

Saw an oil rig while crossing the North Sea, also saw dolphins which Tye was really excited about.

Busy playing cards.

Danny caught his first fish which looked a weird colour.



Having an early night so ready for going to zoo and theme park in the morning.

On the way!

All the stores and gear onboard, everyone excited and looking forward to the trip.  'Windshift' and crew left Peterhead at 1am this morning.  The crew were all sleeping by 3am while Hamish took on first watch.   Enjoy the trip!!

Whitehills Harbour

Danny's grandparents and Sarah from Brighter Horizons over to visit the boat

and pack away all his fishing gear.  Hopefully he catches some good fish on the way across so Davie can make them fish and chips.

Jim Allan

'Windshift' was visited last night by three special guests.  Jim Allan who passed away last year was a special friend to Hamish.  He taught navigation and seamanship at Banff Academy and put many young men through their skippers tickets.  (see link on http://www.bachlawprojects.co.uk/).  Jim remained interested in the work Bachlaw undertook with young people, particularly the work on the boat.  Indeed this was inspired by him as a number of staff when younger did similar things with Jim.  Jim was on the Bachlaw Projects Board of Advisors, his role has now been taken on by his wife Elaine.  It was great to have Jim's wife Elaine, his daughter Adelaine and his grand-daughter Elise across to visit the boat.  Jim was part of the initial planning for the Sweden trip and in his memory and honour a plaque has been put up on 'Windshift' saying

This boat was inspired by

JIM ALLAN

Our work here nurtures friendship and guidance

motivating independence, helping young people

to achieve their full potential.

Thanks to Elaine, Adelaine and Elise for coming over to the boat.  I am sure Jim will be sailing with us in spirit.  Particular thanks for the big jar of sweeties which Davie and Hamish got stuck into whenever you left.

'Windshift' on the move

Leaving Clachnaharry sea lock

Going under Kessock Bridge



Some of the crew moving the boat on the first leg of the journey from Inverness to Whitehills before leaving for Peterhead on Wednesday.

Tye with his dad up to see 'Windshift' at Inverness before sailing to Whitehills on Sunday, then on to Peterhead for leaving on the 11th June.

The Crew

STEVIE WATLING

Stevie is Disco's right hand man, he has spent lots of time on the boat helping Davie organise and prepare the boat for the trip.

TYE PEEL

Tye has had some experience on the boat from various trips and he has sailed on Loch Ness. He is very good at listening to instructions and following them through, a natural at the wheel. Thoroughly looking forward to visiting Legoland!

DANNY SMITH

Danny is a local boy from Macduff, he is looking forward to catching the remaining fish that are left in the North Sea and to catching and eating sea food from the Baltic Sea.

HAMISH MCLEAY

Hamish is an ex-fisherman who is extremely skillful in the operations of the yacht. He has taken part in the Fastnet Race, skippered the Smiling Round Britain saliling trip and various other trips.

DAVIE DUTHIE AKA DISCO

Davie's knowledge of the sea is second to none. He is highly skilled and experienced having spent more years than you can count at sea. An expert at the mechanical/engineering side of things and a master chef, his corned beef hash being his speciality.

DAVIE CLUBB

Davie is originally from Lerwick, he works at Hassela in Sweden and is looking forward to going back to his hometown to see the Tall Ships.

LOGAN MACAULAY

Logan is looking forward to the adventure. He has a keen interest in all outdoor activities including surfing. Logan undertook a bike run last year for charity cycling from Lands End to John O Groats.

SHAUN MACLEOD

Shaun is 18 and just finished his exams, he is looking forward to his first major boat trip, he reckons this is his gap year. Shaun has been a young volunteer at Brighter Horizons for a few years.

The Trip

This trip is a joint venture between Bachlaw Projects, Brighter Horizons and Hassela, Sweden.

We will be sailing from Peterhead on the 12th June and will be visiting three countries, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, before returning and arriving back in Lerwick at the end of July to hopefully take in the sights of the Tall Ships.

There will be various activities/trips along the way; in Norway we will visit a theme park and a zoo, in Denmark we will visit Legoland and we will also be visiting places and learning all about Swedish culture as we cross Sweden by canal. In addition to this we will be spending a few days living at the Hassela Community in Gotland, two young people and an adult from Hassela will even be making the return journey with us.

We have set up this blog about the trip so that people can be kept updated and fully informed on our progress and also so that you can comment and leave messages for the crew/young people, we will really enjoy reading these so please leave comments/messages if you can but be aware this is a public website that anyone can read and we will be approving posts before they are uploaded on to the site.

Organisations, Sponsors and Funders

ORGANISATIONS

All three organisations involved, Bachlaw Projects, Brighter Horizons and Hassela, Sweden, have a background in working with young people.

BACHLAW PROJECTS

Bachlaw Projects is a dynamic set of services based in rural Aberdeenshire, which truly meet individual, family and community needs. There are five strands to the service namely; Bachlaw Intensive Support Unit, Bachlaw Crisis Care, Bachlaw School/Education, Bachlaw in the Community and Bachlaw Training and Consultancy.
Bachlaw Projects have a wealth of experience in social work and are motivated to improve the outcomes for children and young people who have complex needs or who have experienced trauma or other difficulties.

www.bachlawprojects.co.uk

BRIGHTER HORIZONS

Brighter Horizons is a charity for young people aged 11 - 21 in the Banffshire area. Through a programme of planned sessions and diversion activities they aim to provide a safe and supportive environment where young people can relax, socialise and be diverted away from anti-social and risk taking behaviour in the community.  In addition Brighter Horizons provides specialist 1:1 support for young people involved in or at risk of becoming involved in risk taking and anti-social behaviour.  Alongside a core programme of activities they have an active volunteer recruitment and development programme, that supports  and includes individuals within the community to develop their skill set, gain recognised qualifications, and gain valid work experience.

www.brighterhorizons.org.uk

HASSELA GOTLAND
For many years Hassela Gotland has strived to work with youths with social problems. The background is shifting as well as the solution, but the goal remains the same - that every youth has talents and aptitude that can be developed. Here both adults and youths live and work together – some live here permanently, whilst others come on a daily basis. We want to take an active roll to shape a society that does not close the doors on our youth at such an early stage, but instead give an opportunity for the young and old to grow in accordance to their own abilities.

www.hasselagotland.se

SPONSORS

THOMAS GUNN NAVIGATION SERVICES
Thomas Gunn Navigation Services Ltd is the world's market leading International Admiralty Chart Agent and specialises in the supply of navigational products and associated services to the shipping industry on a worldwide basis.

FUNDERS

AWARDS FOR ALL/THE NATIONAL LOTTERY, BIG LOTTERY FUND

http://www.awardsforall.org.uk/scotland/

The Boat - 'WINDSHIFT'

'Windshift' will be crewed by experienced and qualified adults.

It is a 36 ft sailing yacht that is Lloyds class A registered and commercially coded by the Royal Yachting Association. It has a certificate of British Registry through the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

It has a full itinerary of navigation safety equipment on board and is inspected every year by the Royal Yachting Association which insists on commercially coded vessels such as 'Windshift' to be equipped to the highest standards.