Reports from the 2003 exchange
Nick Brockhurst was selected by the Australian Sail Training Association (AUSTA) for the 2003 UK exchange and sailed two voyages on Lord Nelson. This was his first trip outside Australia. The following article has been extracted from the AUSTA Newsletter.
Lord Nelson Exchange 2003 - Nick Brockhurst
First of all I must thank AUSTA, the Australia-Britain Society (NSW) and the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme for this opportunity to experience the sailing, culture and a totally new experience to the UK.
I flew out on 7th June 2003 from Brisbane International with a stop over in Kuala Lumpur then on to Heathrow arriving at 5am Sunday morning 8th June. Chris Hurst, a former award winner, met me at the airport, which was lucky for me as I had never seen an airport, which I could have sworn was bigger than my home town!
We headed down to Portsmouth where Chris lived. I was set to join the boat on Wednesday, which gave a couple of days to get over the flight and used to England's sunset, at 11pm. We had two days of rest and recreation. On Wednesday morning we both headed for Southampton for Chris to join his ship and for the first time for me to see the Lord Nelson. Catching a cab to the dockyards, the Nelson stuck out quite well. The three masts peering over the city and overall size of the ship made me think twice if it was the correct ship for me. I went on board with all my gear. The ship was in maintenance period and there were quite a few non-crew people on there.
The Nelson was not to go until Friday, so up until then we basically painted the masts or got our hands dirty in the engine room. Friday arrived with a mammoth total of people coming to join the ship, I then realised they really will fit 64 on board. We motor sailed out of Southampton and anchored near the Isle of Wight for the night. For the next couple of days we would be cruising through the English Channel over to France to a small coastal town called Le Treport. This was an absolutely beautiful little town, a typical French town everyone told me. We were free to go out the night we docked in Le Treport thus all of us went out to dinner. I still don't know what was on the menus but I went the safe option of getting a pizza.
We left Le Treport and headed back up to the Thames River and went right into London's heart, West Quay. There the majority of people left the boat, but I still had one more exciting trip left. The next day the JST sent two girls from their office in Southampton to show me around London.
This worked out quite well actually as they were both 21, funny thing they expected some older gent. When they found out my age and nationality, they were more than happy. Lauren and Rachel were absolutely fantastic and are a big credit to the JST. We did all the touristy things like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and more. After a huge day all three of us unwound in a little Aussie bar in the heart of London.
Afterwards it was back to the ship to get some sleep because the next day our new crew was to come on board for the Amsterdam voyage. Saturday 19th June was the start of our second voyage from London to Amsterdam. It was quite exciting to go back down the Thames River and back out into the English Channel and then into the North Sea. Lack of wind kept us to a minimum speed and it was still very choppy conditions. Two days of tough sailing saw us in Harlingen.
Harlingen, situated 160 km north of Amsterdam, was like Le Treport in France; much bigger but still very Dutch, windmills all over the horizon, plus you could even buy those wooden shoes. It was a very pleasant surprise that the majority of the Dutch people speak English.
Holland is a very beautiful country, the people are even better and it is one country I will definitely return to. The situation was the same, all the crew were free to explore and go out in Herlingen. Before I knew it, the next morning had come and we had to set sail, after the Dutch Customs spoke to me to make sure I had a passport. No worries, off we went. We were to head south and go right into Amsterdam. Two nights of very calm weather made the captain decide to get the big 400hp diesel motors running. Sailing up into Amsterdam is something I will not forget for a long time; just like Harlingen, it was stunning.
We all had our last night out in Amsterdam. There is certainly a lot of culture there and many different people. I was unlucky enough to get held at knifepoint at an ATM machine in the city centre. Everything turned out as best it could for me. I was safe and had somewhere to go. This is the most important part that stuck out for me. The crew on board were simply fantastic and supported me a lot. I can remember saying to a friend, "As soon as I get home I will probably have a laugh about this." I am glad to say that is the way I see it now. A very interesting night.
The next day was my last on the ship, got phone numbers and addresses of many people, said my cheers and thank yous to the permanent crew. A close friend I made whilst onboard organised a tour of Europe for me. In just 14 days we covered Amsterdam, Bastogne in Belgium, Munchen or Munich in Germany, to Salzburg, to Berchtesgaden in the Alps, this is the home of Hitler's Eagle Nest, then straight down to Rome, back up to Venice, jumped over to Milan for a day then up to the City of Lights, Paris. Of everywhere we went, Germany and Austria were easily the best by far for me. I could also spend a few more days in Paris. I went to Lille in France then over to Dunkirk and Calais, jumped on a ferry and headed back to England. Caught a bus into London then headed to Abergavenny in Wales. This is where Alistair, the Welshman who was out in Australia in May this year lived. Caught up with him and shared my trip with him. Next I was on the bus to Manchester then onto the town of Accrington, which is where I spent the last few days of my trip overseas.
Once again I have to thank AUSTA, the Australia-Britain Society (NSW) and the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme. Simply, if it was not for these wonderful people, I would never have had the opportunity to experience anything like this - a great experience.