Rain has never put a pirate off his day's work and it was just as well in Falmouth last week when more than 50 children, carers and teachers, went on board the Dutch Tall Ship Wylde Swan when she was docked alongside Port Pendennis Marina.

The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club Sailing Trust and Rachel Perris, of Carnelian Coaching, invited children from local schools and charities, including Truro & Penwith College, Richard Lander School and Green Light Autism, to visit Wylde Swan, which is the largest two-mast topsail schooner in the world.

The wind and rain lashed down but it was smiles all round as the crew from the ship, dressed in their pirate gear, gave the children a wonderful experience about the life of a pirate at sea.

After a tour all around the ship the "young pirates" were taught knot skills and magic tricks before receiving a certificate and a pasty, generously donated by Choak’s Pasties, of Killigrew Street in Falmouth.

“It was a marvellous morning and the children could not have been happier,” said organiser Rachel Perris of Carnelian Coaching. “We are so grateful to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club and the owner and crew of Wylde Swan for giving up their time and working so hard to put a smile on everyone’s faces.”

The RCYC Sailing Trust was set up to encourage and provide opportunities for young people to experience sailing in the waters around Falmouth.

Since the launch in 2013 the Sailing Trust has taken several hundred children out on their Get on Board days.