Two Orkney youngsters are getting used to life on dry land once again after gaining a wealth of experiences during an adventure on the high seas.

Chris Tait and Linda Johnston won places aboard the tall ship Prince William for a sometimes stormy passage from Aberdeen that ended with the vessel taking part in the International Festival of the Sea at Leith.

Life aboard was both scary and exhilarating and Chris and Linda have returned to Orkney feeling they have benefited greatly from taking part.

Orkney Enterprise offered two places on a youth voyage operated by the Sail Training Association as a way to boost the personal development and team working skills of youngsters taking Modern Apprenticeships.

Chris and Linda secured their berths on the Prince William after telling the Kirkwall-based development agency about the impact they hoped the voyage would have on their lives.

Chris, a 20-year-old car mechanic, works at the Ayre Service Station, Kirkwall, where he is working towards a Modern Apprenticeship as a mechanical and electronic service technician.

"It was an amazing experience, I would recommend it to anyone," he said. "I have got so many memories but the one I will never forget is taking the Prince William in and out of Dundee.

"The captain and a pilot were giving the orders and I was spinning the wheel and shouting back to them to show that I understood. It was scary but I managed it.  It was brilliant to have had the chance to do something like that."

The twin-masted brig - the newest vessel in the Sail Training Association fleet - set off from Aberdeen in heavy seas, the wind speed increasing from Force Seven to Force Nine.

Many of the 48 trainees on board were seasick and Chris, from Kirkwall, was one of the youngsters put on toilet cleaning duties.

It was not the most pleasant of experiences but it was all part of the challenge, like climbing the rigging to set sail high above the vessel's decks.

Chris added: "It has given me a lot more confidence.  We were all really nervous about talking to each other when we first went on board but we soon got to know each other and got on really well."

Like Chris, 18-year-old Linda came home to Orkney having made many new friends.

"It was a great experience.  I found it physically and mentally challenging," she said.

"I have gained a lot from the team work, from the physical effort of pulling ropes and from the strength you need to keep going when you are up at four in the morning to go on watch."

Linda, from Harray, is confident that this will all be a huge help as she tackles the challenge she has taken on in her working life.

The teenager is employed by Orkney Builders (Contractors) Ltd and is the first young woman from the islands to learn the skills of joinery as a Modern Apprentice in the very male world of working with wood.

She rose to the challenge of climbing the Prince William's masts - working on roofs will be part of the trade she is learning.

She continued: "It was fairly scary at first but the view was great and I will always remember seeing the sun rise out of the sea when I was on one of the early watches."

Doreen Rendall of Orkney Enterprise said she was delighted that Chris and Linda had gained so much from the voyage.  Commenting on the scheme she said: "We saw it as a valuable experience for Modern Apprentices because it involved team work and the need to get on and work alongside other young people - skills they can use in their working lives.

 "We thought it would be really good to give young people from Orkney an opportunity like this.  It was an added bonus that they got the chance to take part in the International Festival of the Sea."

Two more youngsters - Skillseekers Ian Chalmers and Thora Aitken - will take part in a second Orkney Enterprise sponsored voyage later this year.

Ian, from Evie, and Thora, from Kirkwall, will fly to Germany to join the Prince William for a voyage from Travemunde to Aberdeen.