Eight Manx teenagers have undertaken sailing training around the Isle of Man as part of a tall ship initiative.

The six-day event was organised for the second year in a row by Isle of Man Maritime, giving local young people a rare opportunity to sail and work on a 93-year-old TS Phoenix tall ship.

The all-wood constructed vessel, which was docked in Victoria Pier, arrived in Douglas last week and the Isle of Man Examiner went along to have a look at the two-masted brig and to speak to crew members on board.

Whilst on board the teens, who are either police or sea cadets, have been making video diaries and logging their journey, as well as using an app called EYESEA, allowing them to log any pollution they come across during their voyage.

This is the second time the Phoenix tall ship has arrived on Manx shores, however some might recognise the vessel from popular films such as Poldark, Outlander, Part of the Sea and Conquest of Paradise.

The initiative is run by Isle of Man Maritime to grow the island’s maritime sector and to encourage people to consider a career in sailing, and general manager of the not for profit organisation, Lee Clarke, believes the maritime sector is in a healthy position but they want to keep driving it forward.

He said: ‘The Isle of Man maritime sector is huge on the island, we have all the biggest shipping companies in the world and a thriving super yacht sector here.

‘What we’re trying to do is drive interest into maritime, it’s not just about going to sea it’s also about the industry that it supports here on the island.

‘The tall ship initiative started last year, we had five police cadets and that was a huge success so the board said we want a full ship, and we’ve achieved it because we’ve had 10 Manx kids over the last two weeks coming on board.

‘The kids have been absolutely fantastic, there’s been no trying to get them out of bed because they have been up and ready, and they’ve had a go at everything, and that’s what it’s really all about.

‘We’ve had a number of sponsors, and they’ve seen potential in this and they want to make sure Manx youth are having a fantastic week, and even if they don’t go into maritime, it’s always fantastic to look back on the great week you had’.

With the ship this year at maximum capacity, Isle of Man Maritime want to go bigger and better next year, hoping to fill two ships with young local people.

The captain of the vessel, which was built in Denmark in 1929, said the crew are fond of the island and are impressed with the cadets who have come aboard.

Captain Joel Foot said: ‘The eight of them have done well even with the stuff that I would think is miserable, like completing jobs in rough seas or rain, but they have really sucked it up and it’s a very good ship to learn traditional seamanship and good standards on.

‘We have in the realms of about 300 lines on board, so if we’re getting eight trainees on board they’re never short of work.

‘Learning where each individual line goes and the specific pin is difficult, nothing is labelled or coloured and everything is natural.

‘The professional crew don’t helm [steer] when we’re at sea, we just supervise the trainees and most of them do pretty well.

‘This particular group from the Isle of Man are pretty sharp and have learnt all the lines really quickly and can set sails by themselves in just a matter of days.

He added that, although unsure of where the Phoenix will head to once finished on the Isle of Man, he said that it can often be very short notice work and they could end up ‘anywhere’.

Ann Mary Thomas, a Manx trainee police cadet who’s on the Phoenix tall ship for the second time, said: ‘For me the first couple of days were quite intense, with lots of ropes we needed to memorise, but it’s been good fun.

‘I’m part of the Isle of Man police cadets so I got the opportunity through that. I did it last year as well so I have experience, but I thought it’s a good opportunity so I may as well do it again. I’d recommend it, and I’d say you don’t know until you try it, because last year I was really lost and now I think it’s just great, easy and chilled out.’

Those interested in being involved in initiatives such as tall ships can email Isle of Man Maritime at [email protected]