STUDENT Rob Keogh has returned after a voyage on the Lord Nelson tall ship.

He set sail on a week-long trip to Cherbourg with the Jubilee Sailing Trust charity.

Rob is a student on the work preparation course at Weymouth College.

He said: “It was exciting and very different from anything I’ve ever experienced before. “There was quite a lot of physical work involved so you had to be quite fit to be able to do the tasks.

“On a typical day the crew would spend ‘happy hours’ in the morning scrubbing the decks, polishing rails and cleaning the facilities. “The rest of the day was spent opening up the sails and taking it in turns at the lookout points which sometimes involved getting up at 4am to go on shift.

“It was cold in the morning, especially at Cherbourg, which was freezing.” Rob added: “I was a watch leader for the lookout shift which is why I got a T-shirt.

“Working on the ship itself was enjoyable.”