Next stop America

Toy vessel launched on a new voyage

A TOY pirate ship which sailed from Scotland to Scandinavia is heading off on a new nautical adventure. It’s hoped the Playmobil boat, named Adventure, will reach the US or even, fittingly for a pirate ship, end up in the Caribbean. The boat originally travelled under its own sail power to Denmark, Sweden and Norway after being launched by Ollie Ferguson, eight, and his brother, Harry, five, in May. It was then picked up by the Norwegian sail training ship Christian Radich, who carried it down to the coast of Africa before dropping it into the water about 100 miles off the coast of Mauritania.

The brothers’ dad, MacNeill Ferguson, from Turriff, Aberdeenshire, said: “The Christian Radich have been sending us regular photos with our boat and have been really getting into the spirit of the whole adventure.

“Between the Canaries and Cape Verde, they decided it was the best place to put it in the ocean to give it the best chance of getting to America or the Caribbean.

“It would be nice having a toy pirate ship get to the Caribbean. The boys love it. When they come home from school, they ask if there is any news about the ship.”

The team on the Christian Radich did some restoration work on the Adventure before launching it on the next stage of its journey, giving it sails of real sailcloth and adjusting its balance.

MacNeill, 44, said: “It was lovely and I really appreciate it.”

The boys launched the pirate ship as part of a bucket list of 500 adventures which they are working their way through.

Their exploits are charted on their own Facebook page, called The Days are just Packed, at www. facebook.com/tdajp.