Running Away To Sea

This blog will now be dedicated to those adventures

The one question I get asked when people find out I work on a tall ship is “you must really enjoy scrubbing the decks then?”. I always then smile and meekly say "we actually need to scrub the decks every day to keep the timber healthy”. As part of our morning clean every day, we alternate between simply rinsing the decks with salt water or doing a scrub with salt water to ensure that there isn't any debris or dirt on the deck and to treat the timber with salt to prevent it from rotting. It is always a much better job if you have someone fun to do it with!

Today I was sanding. It is essential to keep the shop in tip-top condition, so we don't need to pull her out the water very often to fix her up. On our days off, Monday and Tuesday, somebody needs to be on duty watch to ensure the ship is ok and usually, they are also given some maintenance tasks to complete. Today I needed to sand the capping rail of its varnish so we can bleach the mould out of it and reseal it with SeaPro and Varnish. In my overalls, I feel like a ghostbuster!

While we were out on day sail today, I was ordered up the shrouds to cast loose the t’gallant. Usually, we cast loose before we sail, and today we did, but only the upper and lower topsails. The wind changed, and it meant that we should use the t’gallant so up I went and take off the timber hitches and gasket coil the lines. Our main mast is 25 metres high, so once you’re up there, you feel on top of the world. Unfortunately, the shrouds become only one step wide, as opposed to four when you first climb on from deck, so you’ve got to be a lot more careful and be very precise about where you put your feet.

The SV Rhona H is another tall ship that docks near us in Hobart. They are much small than the Windeward Bound and fore and aft rigged instead of square-rigged. One of our casual volunteers also volunteers on Rhona and he said I could come for a twilight sail on my day off if I wanted. It was a great time out on the Derwent River and the sailing was a lot different than on Winde.

Tonight we had the Rotary Clubs from all around Hobart come and have their first meetings for the year onboard. We had to dress up in our nice uniform and serve some platters of food. It was a really nice way to give back to the Rotary Clubs as they are big supporters of the Windeward Bound Trust and we wouldn’t be here without them. Thanks Rotary!

I love going aloft. I think I have a particular affinity for being high up. It makes me feel calm and at peace. Sometimes I struggle to reach the foot ropes, but otherwise, I’d say being aloft is the best place on board.

Whatever the duty person cooks

OK so, onboard there are two liveaboard crew members (including me), the captain and the first mate. The captain and first mate aren’t always living here, so I definitely haven’t bonded as much with them, but the other liveaboard crew member is great. I am struggling a bit with the fact that I am the youngest by twenty-odd years, but hopefully, I make some friends soon that are closer to my age and that live in Hobart. 

I’m going to be very honest. I have been feeling vastly alone and scared to be by myself. Just before I left, I met the most amazing bunch of people, we instantly gelled and they became like my new family. There was a boy. I asked him out and we got so close, so quickly. It was wondrous! Leaving him behind was the worst, heartbreaking feeling but we agreed that long distance is too hard and we would live our lives apart until I get back in 6 months. Anyway, this was my first visitor, one of my new friends from before I left, who was on a family holiday and had some spare time to come see me on the ship. I can’t wait for the rest of my family to come to see me.

My first experience aboard the Windeward Bound was three years ago on a school camp. We spent 8 days aboard and ran the ship with three watches.  Therefore, I have technically been aloft but this was my first time aloft since being back and as a crew member.

I was so lucky to have a beautiful sunset on my first night! My 6am flight from Melbourne to Hobart had me very tired by the time bedtime came around. We spent the day cleaning and doing maintenance, so my muscle were also very tired from a physical first day.

The Windeward Bound was launched in 1996 and is model after an 1848 Boston Tops’l Schooner of the same name. She was built in Hobart by volunteers and is mainly crewed by volunteers as well.  Winde is a 33-metre symbol of enterprise and commitment to providing youth with an opportunity to enjoy and learn skills otherwise out of their reach. We provide a space for self-development and a great opportunity to make new friends and skills all on board working as a team with other kids.