Here’s a chance for teenagers in Cork with an interest in life at sea to give it a go on board and experience a replica of a 19th-century sailing tall ship.

As CorkBeo writes, the youth sailing charity Sail Training Ireland is looking for those aged between 14 and 17 to take part in a 'training voyage' aboard the 91-foot Spirit of Falmouth between Monday, July 1, and Friday, July 5.

A second similar training voyage for adults aged between 18 and 30 is also to take place for the following week between Monday, July 8, and Friday, July 12.

Both of the voyages will be departing and returning to Cork Harbour.

The trainee sailors on the voyage will take the 1985-built timber-constructed ‘Spirit’ along the south coast to get to grips with life on the open sea. The vessel is based on the design of a traditional Mersey pilot schooner built using traditional methods in Liverpool.

The 88-ton schooner has a core crew of six with the capacity to carry 12 trainee passage crew, according to its operator, Turn to Starboard, based in the schooner’s homeport of Falmouth, Cornwall.

The voyages say Sail Training Ireland is designed to get "young people undertaking voyages on tall ships, effectively as part of the working crew."

Successful applicants will be able to undertake several tasks, including setting the sails, navigation, and climbing the rigging and masts. Accommodation is based on 18 bunks and two cabins, along with two ‘heads’ (toilets) and a purpose-built galley and saloon.

The schooner has the capacity for 12 trainees, and the fee for both the teen and adult voyages is €280.

#Tallships - During stage 1 of a 7-month voyage of the Atlantic Ocean, a UK trainee tallship diverted off the Irish coast, having picked up a fishing bouy that could of compromised the barquentine's propellers, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As Afloat reported yesterday, the Pelican of London had departed Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Tuesday to begin the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and to the Caribbean and return to Europe in April, 2019. The tallship operated by Adventure Under Sails is on charter to Ocean College, based in Berlin, Germany, following embarkation firstly in Dublin Port of youths aged between 15 and 20. They will learn nautical skills in addition to use of a school teaching core subjects.

Since the voyage began, Afloat had tracked the vessel and noted on Wednesday an anchorage call took place off Rosslare Harbour, and on the next day, Thursday a call was made to the Wexford ferryport. Further research has since revealed as to the reason for this unexpected call to the south-east port, as the ship's next scheduled destination is Vigo, Spain.

It transpires that a fishing buoy made contact with the hull, this forced a diversion to Rosslare Harbour to check that the propeller was not compromised, however divers gave the all clear. The incident between anchorage and port call totalled 36 hours, however this did not disrupt students taking seaskills classes. In addition the call also provided an opportunity for the students to take a trip to nearby Wexford during down time.

On Pelican of London's arrival due tomorrow to Vigo, this will mark the completion of the first passage of stage one of the 10 stop voyage of the Atlantic and back to Europe in the Spring of next year. The remaining legs of stage one are scheduled to feature calls to Lisbon, Portugal and Tenerife on the Canary Islands. 

The second stage of the voyage is across the Atlantic via Cape Verde and using the trade winds to reach St. Vincents and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, before continuing on to Costa Rica.

On the return journey to Europe, the ship will pass Cuba, Bermuda, the Azores before finally returning in April 2019. These are only the main destinations, as many more port visits will take place, depending on weather conditions.

The ocean voyage is to facilitate every chance for the pupils on the school trainee ship to realise their full potential. In addition Ocean College projects are also planned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals in mind. This is to see students carry out volunteer projects in various ports that are to focus on sustainable environmental and societal iniatives.

#Tallships - A UK tall ship that embarked youth trainees in Dublin Port this week followed by a call to Dun Laoghaire Harbour is from where a 7 month charter voyage started of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The tall ship, Pelican of London is owned by Adventure Under Sail, which until recently was based in Sharpness (on the River Severn) England, but now relocated to Weymouth, Dorset. They are a charity organization which has worked with youngsters for many years.

In the chartering of Pelican of London to Ocean College, based in Berlin, Germany,  the vessel will be used for their winter 2018/2019 sailing programme from this mid-October until next year in mid-April. Students on board the voyage will age from 15 and for gap year students, not more than 20. 

The voyage across the Atlantic involves a 10 stop sailing programme from Europe to the Caribbean Sea including Costa Rica, central America before returning to Europe.

Ocean College aims to bring high school students and graduates through educating them in nautical skills – from sailing, navigating, cooking etc. In addition, the sail trainees on board the 45m ship will also have a school on board teaching core subjects. 

Pelican of London is a 70-year-old ship dating to 1948 and was built by Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre. The former Arctic trawler and coastal trading cargo ship was in 2007 converted to sailing and is the only Mainmast Barquentine in the world. The veteran vessel according to Ocean College website has just undergone comprehensive renovations.

Prior to the Atlantic Ocean voyage, Afloat monitored Pelican of London depart Dublin Port on Monday to make the short passage across Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire Harbour. On the evening of that day, the ship returned to the bay so to introduce the trainees in the basics of handling sails, steering and keeping a look-out and at this early stage. This involved those brave enough to climb aloft of the rigging.

The repositioning sailing across Dublin Bay was to enable the tall ship's trainees to make a much clearer exit and quicker departure of Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the start of the voyage bound for Vigo. This compared to Dublin Port where the vessel would have to make a transit of the Tom Clarke (East Link) toll-lift bridge and then through the rest of the nation's busiest port.

On Tuesday, Pelican of London set sail to start part of stage one of the ocean voyage when bound for the north-western Spanish port.

Today, the trainee tall ship is well underway in the Bay of Biscay with an arrival to Vigo expected next Monday. This will be followed by calls to Lisbon, Portugal and Tenerife on the Canary Islands.

The second stage is across the Atlantic via Cape Verde and using the trade winds to reach St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. On the return journey, the ship will pass Cuba, Bermuda, the Azores before finally returning to Europe next Spring. These are only the main destinations, as many more port visits will take place, depending on weather conditions.

The Ocean College is to facilitate every chance for the pupils on the school traineeship to realise their full potential.

In addition, the college has projects planned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals in mind. During the seven months, students will carry out volunteering in some of the places visited through several local projects with environmental and social objectives.