Reports from the 2004 exchange
Jenny Mellows
ASTO selected 18 year-old Jenny Mellows to be the UK exchangee for 2004. Jenny has sailed a good deal with Ocean Youth Trust North East, including the 2003 Tall Ships Races on James Cook. Jenny is currently studying Economics at Newcastle University and went to Australia to sail on Young Endeavour between 19th July and 12th August. Before joining Young Endeavour she spent a week in Borneo sightseeing and then went to New Zealand to sail as a volunteer on Spirit of New Zealand. This is her report.
ASTO Australian Sail Training Exchange 2004
I've never felt as apprehensive as I did when I arrived at the airport in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. I was just 18, alone and a long way from home. The bigger picture was even scarier, 3 months of travelling alone, on the other side of the world.
During my week in Borneo I climbed a mountain, visited a mosque and spent a couple of nights at an Orang Utan sanctuary in the jungle. Experiencing a very different culture first hand was very inspirational and made me realise just how lucky I was to have such an incredible opportunity to see parts of the world I may otherwise never have visited.
I then moved on to New Zealand where I had arranged to sail on Tall Ship Spirit of New Zealand as a volunteer watch leader. I joined the ship a couple of days before the end of the refit to give me time to learn my way around the ship and get to know the crew. Once the refit was complete we delivered the boat to Auckland where we picked up 40 young trainees for a 10 day youth-development voyage. The trainees had come from all over New Zealand to share a truly life-changing experience. The voyage was about far more than sailing. As well as learning how to sail a tall ship the trainees climbed a mountain, raced rafts, sailed dinghies, learned about navigation and seamanship and even flew eggs from half-way up the mast to the deck. The voyage had an emphasis on teamwork and personal development. All 40 trainees and many of the crew left having learnt something about themselves, how to live with others and the importance of being a part of a team. They also left with a great sense of pride for what they had achieved as well as memories and new friendships that would last a lifetime.
It was hard not to cry when I left the Spirit. I felt emotion similar to when I left the James Cook after my very first voyage. Young Endeavour had a lot to live up to. I couldn't imagine how anything could top the previous 10 days.
I had nothing to worry about. Young Endeavour had plenty in store! It was interesting to see how the Australian ship took a very different approach to achieving exactly the same objectives. Both methods were extremely successful and it would be impossible to say that one was better than the other. Young Endeavour also has an emphasis on Teamwork. The moment the youth crew step onboard they are encouraged to have faith in people they have only just met. Initially this is done with a trust fall where they have to depend on the others in their watch catching them. Over the following 10 days there would be many more occasions where we would have to trust each other.
The Young Endeavour staff have a range of exercises they use to prepare the youth crew for Command Day, when the ship is handed over to them. The communication exercise emphasises the importance of effective communication within a management structure. The 'Bear Exercise' challenges each watch to perform a task they have never attempted. This highlights the need for teamwork. The debrief from each exercise re-inforces lessons learnt. By the time Command Day comes round the youth crew have made the incredible transition, from 24 individuals who had never met to a well oiled team with outstanding communication and teamwork skills, the like of which can only be developed in such a short time through sail training. The sea is a great leveller. Your personal space is taken away, there's no way off the ship and nowhere to hide. You inevitably learn the tolerance necessary to live together and the teamwork essential for running the ship. The simplest tasks can become huge challenges at sea, especially if sea-sickness is a factor. Everyone is pushed beyond their comfort levels and without mutual support the ship will not function.
The youth crew were nervous about taking over the ship on Command Day but were reminded by staff that no one person was capable of running the ship. As a team, they were well equipped with the skills and knowledge to sail the ship. The elected Command Day team did an excellent job of running the ship and were well supported by the rest of the crew. It was encouraging to see that even those not elected for a position still supported those elected whole heartedly and helped immensely with their own suggestions and advice.
End-of-voyage talks were extremely productive. One girl commented that she had always had her own bedroom and bathroom and had never even made her own bed before. Having to queue for the shower and sharing a room with 11 others had been really hard for her. She said that she had learnt a lot and vowed not to take things for granted as much when she went home.
Another crewmember talked about how withdrawing from the daily routine at home had given her the chance to get some perspective and think about what she wanted to do with her life.
My experiences on Spirit of New Zealand and Young Endeavour reinforced how influential and life-changing a time at sea can be for young people. I cannot begin to imagine how much I have benefited personally through my sailing experiences. It's wonderful to think that every day young people all over the world are embarking on similar life-changing adventures. Long live sail training!
Once again I would like to thank ASTO, Young Endeavour and the Spirit of Adventure Trust for the best 3 months of my life.