As of 4 May 2009, Tenacity of Bolton, the boat built by boys,
became part of the curriculum at Bolton School. Nine lucky Year 8
boys and a crew of three braced themselves to face the Irish Sea as
they prepared to learn sailing, team working and leadership skills.
Tides dictated that the boys set sail at 7.00am on 5 May in quite
choppy seas. The plan was to spend the day in the Irish Sea
and to harbour in Fleetwood at high tide (7.00pm) the same night.
Over the coming weeks, both boys and girls will be utilising the
boat as they sail and live on board in one-week blocks.
Mr Philip Britton, Headmaster of the Boys' Division, commented:
"We have always prided ourselves on offering an incredibly diverse
range of activities at Bolton School but this really does add an
extra dimension to our extra-curricular provision. It is very
exciting to think that boys and girls will now sail regularly out
on the Irish Sea. As you can imagine, there has been a lot of
interest from the pupils and this will be a very popular addition
to the timetable. It will provide a wonderful experience and will
help forge strong, rounded personalities - as well as offering a
unique addition to their CV when applying for university and
jobs."
Andrew Keat, aged 13, was one of the pupils that joined the boat
on 4 May. He said: "I am really looking forward to it, I know it
will be a great experience. I've done a little bit of sailing on
smaller boats on Lake Ullswater with Bolton School but this is
something different. Besides teaching me how to sail, I think it
will help develop my team working skills."
The boat will be run by staff from Patterdale Hall, the School's
Outdoor Education Centre, and Mr Colin Wright, who will skipper the
boat, said: "The pupils will receive training in all aspects of
manning the boat. This will include lots of hands-on deck work,
trimming the sails, steering the boat, handling the mooring warps
as well as involvement in other areas of life on board such as
navigating the boat, keeping her shipshape down below and catering
for the whole crew. It's a wonderful opportunity for the boys to
learn how to sail but, also, to develop their team-working and
self-discipline skills."
The 48 foot sailing ketch was built by boys, both in their
Technology lessons and as part of a lunchtime club. The project
began in 1998 as the Technology Department strove for an original
concept to celebrate the millennium. Head of Technology at the time
and Project Coordinator, Mr Mike Whitmarsh said: "We wanted to
offer something to the boys that stretched them beyond the confines
of the curriculum and this project certainly did that! Over 1,000
boys helped with the project. The boat is built to the highest
specification and her construction was overseen by a Lloyds
appointed surveyor. Besides all the hard work put in by the boys,
the successful building of the boat also came about through the
hard work of teachers, parents and friends of the school. The boat
was a real community effort and without the largesse of local
companies - both material and in terms of labour - the boat would
never have been completed."
The construction took longer than expected and it was not until
2007 that the boat was ready to be transported by low-loading lorry
up to Glasson Basin Marina, near Lancaster. The School held a
launch party and the boat was officially named by the Rt Hon
Richard Caborn MP. Since then it has been undergoing rigorous sea
trials and was utilised by a group of Bolton School Sixth Form
Girls, who undertook their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award last
August.
From the week beginning 4 May, the boat will be "on timetable"
for boys and girls and the school moves to a new level in terms of
its extra-curricular provision.
You can view blogs posted by pupils sailing on the boat by
clicking here.
You can view Channel M's tv coverage of the launch
here.
View a gallery of photos
here charting the progress of the boat as she locks out of
Glasson Basin Marina.