It was ship ahoy for five Goodgym folk this sunny Saturday morning.

We were all on board at the Pioneer Sailing Trust as we battened down the hatches after Storm Eunice's attempt to steer the ships off course! A quick cuppa courtesy of Phil and we launched into action.

Captain Mike dutifully delegated our missions which included bailing rainwater out of the boats, fixing tarpaulin, sweeping the warehouse and organising cupboards. He certainly ran a tight ship.

It was all hands on deck and none of us were down in the doldrums as the mission was plain sailing. Andy was back for his second task this week and taught us some nautical knots and it was marvelous to see Denise and have a catch up.

Before we knew it, it was time to abandon ship and become landlubbers again.

Three dedicated Goodgymers made their way to Brightlingsea this morning to help one of the UK's most unique charities. The Pioneer Sailing Trust restored a VERY old Oyster Smack that dates back to the 1860's...they created apprenticeships and then use their beautiful boat to provide opportunities and trips for under-privileged youngsters and other charities like Royal Association of Deaf people.

The task looked like a lot of fun and hard work and I look forward to hearing more about it. We return in July for round two...

Enjoy the photos of Andy, Phil and Toby aka Charlie's Angels. Well done and huge thank you to the Felicity at The Pioneer Sailing Trust in our build up to the return of group runs.

It was a pleasure to get out to the boat yards in Brightlingsea this morning. We were met by the beaming smile of Felicity who manages the Pioneer Sailing Trust and a familiar face as Alison from Level Best got stuck in too. Our tasks were both familiar and new. Whilst Emily, Alison, Felicity and I weeded along the boathouse, Ella, Ros, Naomi and Phil went to hammer away the tar coating on the deck on board the historic Pioneer. Once the weeders were done we moved inside to sand down the hull of one of the sailing trusts rigs which they build and sell. We did look a little like smurfs afterwards due the the blue paint.

Felicity was very pleased with the progress made on a necessary job after a busy and strange summer of trips.

A big thank you to the Pioneer Sailing Trust for what they do to help people in the local area. A task that highlights a great partnership and how satisfying working and volunteering at goodgym is. There is a job going for thr Area Activator to come in and help Goodgym to help others.

It was a coastal morning of running and cleaning for Ella, Marcela and Tav(that is me). Marcela got a big cheer as she announced she was from Chile to the parkrun crowd and after completing Clacton Seafront Parkrun, we had time for a quick coffee before we got to work.

Last time out we managed to get some work done around the stormy weather and today we found Shari, Tariq and The Pioneer in grey but amicable weather conditions. The Pioneer was in her winter coat and our task was to clean the bunks and kitchen. Armed with sponges, clothes, a variety of detergents plus a vacuum cleaner, the five of us set to the task with a little musical accompaniment from the soundtrack to The Boat that Rocked. We scrubbed and wiped our way below decks as well as we could with gusto!

It was a pleasure to help out and we look forward to helping again and also taking up the offer of a sailing trip for Goodgymers when the weather gets warmer!

Saturday 2nd November brought us a community mission out at Brightlingsea.

We arrived at the Shipyard estate ready to do some good for the Pioneer Sailing Trust.

The trust provides learning opportunities for young people to equip themselves with skills for life, both at sea and on land.

They believe that every young person should have a fair start in life whatever their circumstances.

The trust was set up in 1999 with the idea of restoring a 70ft Essex Smack Pioneer boat which had fallen into decay after years of dredging oysters in the North Sea. The boat was restored in 2005.

The weather was quite frankly horrendous as we arrived at the Trust’s HQ to meet some members of the Trust so a lot a lot of the things which were planned had to be abandoned due the very very windy weather.

We instead went onto the boat and went below the main deck .One of the members of the trust explained about the boats use.

We then set about doing what we could given the awful weather. We tided up some seating ,took down some curtains and removed some lee cloths.

Brief history lesson-Lee cloths are sheets of canvas attached to the open side of a bunk and are usually tucked under the mattress during the day or when sleeping in harbour .The lee cloth keeps the person sleeping in the bunk from falling out when the boat heels during sailing or in rough weather.

After this we went back to the boat house and had a look around the workshop and learnt a bit about he skills involved in boat making.

Sadly due to the weather there was a limited amount we could do today but they appreciated us coming and hopefully its something we can be involved in for many years ahead .

Massive kudos to everyone who came today. The weather was just horrible and I can only begin to imagine how uncomfortable it would be on a boat like the Pioneer out on the open sea in such weather.

Next time hopefully we will be in a better plaice with the weather, but we had a reely good day.

After saying our goodbyes to the members of the trust we headed to the Rosebud pub in Brightlingsea for some warmth, good company and food .

Happy weekend everyone .

As ever,

Ian