Reports from the 2003 exchange
Kate Kynvin
Kate was nominated by the Sail Training Association (now Tall Ships Youth Trust) and selected by ASTO. She did two voyages on Young Endeavour, 2 - 12 June: Mackay to Cairns, followed by 16 - 26 June: Cairns to Townsville. This is her report.
ASTO Australian Sail Training Exchange 2003
A few weeks ago I started my final year at university. As I was meeting up with my friends for the first time, we were chatting about our summers. How could I begin to describe mine? While most had stayed home and worked, I was lucky enough to have been given a scholarship that enabled me quite literally to have the best time of my life. When I was backpacking, I picked up a card with a quote on it from Mark Twain, that now sits by my bed, and reminds me how lucky I am. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. so throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER."
Kate with Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, and Australian exchangees Joseph Mortimer and Nick Brockhurst at an Australia-Britain Society reception
I have only just begun. How can I best describe to you the effect of my scholarship and experience aboard STS Young Endeavour? Maybe, you'll understand if I explain that before I left England I had never been away on my own before, never taken a long flight, or been further than France. When I came back, I had negotiated my way across to the other side of the world, taken 14 separate flights, experienced the most amazing world of the Australian tall ship youth projects, conversed with the Australian Prime Minister and independently backpacked across Australia and New Zealand!
I honestly don't think I have ever had so much pure, simple, fun in my life! Whilst the programme aboard the Young Endeavour covers a serious issue of maximising youth development and potential, it is cleverly hidden beneath a charade of singing, cross-dressing and joke telling, as well as pushing each individual to their personal limits and questioning the personal boundaries we all inadvertently set for ourselves.
'Staff Crew' as Assistant Blue Watch Leader
for her second voyage
From the moment you join the ship, you become part of a team. And with your team, you are pushed to new limits of physical and mental exhaustion and form some of the most intense bonds. With both voyages, watching some of the youth crew cry as they left the ship, it hardly seems possible that 10 days earlier not a single person came aboard knowing anyone else. It is through the tried and tested structure of the voyage programme, individuals can gain so much personally.
Sea sickness was generally the first problem that many of the youth crew encountered. It is interesting to see that youth crews the world over have similar responses, and a general inability to believe they will ever overcome it! I remember particularly, one girl, from my second voyage was in floods of tears on the shoulder of a friend she had met just 3 days ago, believing things could not possibly get any better. A few days later, she was the first up the rigging, and generally buzzing with a new-found energy and confidence in herself.
For many of the youth crew, it is the accomplishment of personal goals which stands them in good stead to achieve so much from the voyage, and the programme run by the navy is perfectly set up to accomplish this. From the moment you join the ship, each watch has a group chat with their watch leader and are asked what they want out of the voyage and what their aims and goals are. This is repeated half way through the voyage with the purpose of finding out if there is anything the staff can do to help the crew achieve any of their goals, and how they are finding the voyage. There is also a talk at the end of the voyage to review how it has impacted on the individual, and the group, and what lessons the crew can take with them into life.
(just before it bit her on
the chin) whilst touring
Alongside all the fun and games, one of the most important features of the voyages is Command Day. At morning brief of day 7 command of the ship is turned over to the youth crew for a period of 24 hours. Essentially, the crew have to navigate themselves between various way points in watches, and accomplish different tasks such as a mural of their voyage, getting more than 20 people aloft etc along the way. Points are awarded as a basis for encouraging participation. The two Command Days I was lucky enough to witness were thoroughly rewarding. Some people made super human efforts, others, relatively little, and it was interesting to see people's reactions when tired and under pressure. The following day, the de-briefings I found produced some extremely valuably points as well as the discussion on how the previous day had taught lessons that were transferable to normal life.
Yet I found the youth development was a subtext to, and usually produced from generally having fun and working as a team. There were many occasions when I found myself literally floored from laughing so hard. One such occasion was on 2am of Command Day. I had been put on port lookout and finished looking through the binoculars. 10 min later I turn around "Can anyone else smell vegemite?" Greeted by blank faces, someone ventures "Oh, Kylie had a vegemite sandwich a while ago." Pacified I let the subject drop. A while later I can still smell vegemite and realise my face is sticky. I kid you not I had been walking around the Bridge for a full half hour with a full set of vegemite goggles from the rim of the binoculars I had been using. We were all laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our eyes.
I have learnt so much from my voyages. The methods used for youth development were fascinating, but mainly the best results were achieved through having fun, and showing faith in individuals. Everyone is different, but by working as a team, individual potential is maximised, and the best results achieved.
Thank you ASTO, I had the time of my life.
For more of Kate's photographs of the voyage from Mackay to Cairns go to Mike's Photo Gallery.