TALL ship Pelican welcomed more than 30 people on board for an evening talk and tour.

The visitors were all cadet members from Weymouth Sailing Club accompanied by family members.

Proceedings started with an informative talk from the Pelican’s marketing and fundraising officer Becky Simmons.

The group was then split up and taken around the ship by Simmons and regular crew.

Visitors enjoyed finding out facts about the ship, including the names of all the boat decks and the length and height of the vessel.

The evening ended with a gathering in the mess to find out about opportunities available and the experiences had by the crew. This time also gave cadets the chance to ask questions.

One cadet was keen to find out how Father Christmas boarded the ship to leave presents, while others wondered how long all of the rope was.

It was also an opportunity to find out a little about the history of the boat. Pelican was originally built in 1947 in Le Havre, France as an Arctic fishing trawler, very different in appearance from her look today.

Sold in the 1960s, she was re-named Kadett and worked in the Baltic Sea. It was in 1995 that she was bought by a local man and brought to Portland for her conversion to a sailing ship where wooden decks, three steel masts and 11 sails were added.

Everyone agreed it was a great evening and many of the cadets are now keen to get involved and try a voyage aboard the majestic vessel.

TS Pelican is run by the charity Adventure Under Sail and anyone wanting to get involved should contact 858274 or email enquiries@adventureundersail.com