Jack Carlson

“I recently took part in the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme V20/18 from Sydney to Sydney. Over the 11 days on board I learnt so much about myself, other people and about life at sea in general! With no previous sailing experience 24 of us set off out of sight of land to learn how to sail a tall ship.

Life at sea started off tough. The first three days consisted of a lot of sea sickness for pretty much everyone. A dozen boys sharing one room with triple bunks and mandatory 6.30am wake ups (after working our first night shifts) left me wondering if I was cut out to be a sailor. Nonetheless after the baptism of fire, we quickly got accustomed to the routine and were able to thrive and enjoy the rest of the voyage! Throughout the journey there was a load of leadership activities that focussed on both team building and leadership development. This made our group of “youthies”” a super tight knit bunch by the end.

Particular memorable moments of the trip was of course command day where we as “youthies”” took full command of the ship for 24 hours with the “staffies” stepping back for a “holiday”. If the tasks we were given weren’t intimidating enough, a storm rolled through the night clocking 40 knot winds and 4m swell. In what felt like scenes belonging to Pirates of the Caribbean, all hands to deck were called to tack the ship through the wind and head for harbour. I was lucky enough to be on watch for the moment we sailed into a very calm Sydney harbour at night, the view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House were once in a life time. I would definitely recommend to everyone, the bonds I formed and lessons I’ve learned will last a lifetime and would go back in a heartbeat!

V20/18″