BENDIGO’S Jess Hill was fresh from an overseas trip to Japan and ready for another adventure when a post on Facebook caught her eye.
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Fast-forward a few months and now the 22-year-old is home after spending nearly two weeks living on the ocean.
Miss Hill was one of 21 young people crewing a traditional tall ship as part of a Young Endeavour Youth Scheme.
When she saw the Facebook post late last year, she’d never heard of Young Endeavour – and she’d never sailed before.
But she looked into the scheme, which teaches young people to sail while aiming to help them develop self-awareness and teamwork and leadership skills, and decided it was time to try something new.
Miss Hill joined her fellow youth crew members and a staff of about 10 as they left Melbourne on January 17 and sailed to Sydney.
Miss Hill said the experience exceeded her expectations.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said.
The voyage lasted only about 11 days, but in that time Miss Hill went from being a sailing novice to a pro.
Within two days of starting the journey, she and her peers were learning how to set sails, and soon they were tackling navigational skills as well.
Along with learning how to sail, Miss Hill was learning about her limits – and how to break through them.
“On the first day everyone had to climb a 30-metre mast up to the top and down the other side,” she said.
“That was a big thing for me.
“On the way up staff were sitting on platforms saying “you can do it, even if you think you can’t – physically, you can do it’.”
It was only her mind that could hold her back.
Miss Hill refocused her thoughts and scaled the mast, as did every other member of the youth crew.
“It was important to show you could do this thing that was out of your comfort zone,” she said.
It was more than just a mental challenge though – it was a practical experience.
“They do need people to climb up to each level of the mast to set sails up or untie them,” Miss Hill said.
But it wasn’t always smooth sailing on board the ship – literally.
Miss Hill said on the second night, only two of the youth crew members weren’t sick as the ship rocked on the rough seas.
“Hardly anyone got any sleep,” she said. “There were canvas nets on the sides of the beds that you had to tie up so you wouldn’t roll out of bed.”
In the moment, Miss Hill questioned what she had got herself into.
But there were no regrets as the experience continued.
Towards the end of the voyage, the captain handed the reins over to the youth crew for 24 hours.
The team nominated a captain, navigator and sail master before successfully navigating their way through two different checkpoints.
But nature threw a curve ball at the team for the final part of the challenge – making it to Sydney.
Miss Hill said the wind died away, leaving the ship still in the water.
“I wasn’t nervous – it was more frustration, looking off the side of the boat and seeing we’re not going anywhere,” she said.
Luckily, after a few hours the wind picked up and the crew was back on course for Double Bay.
Miss Hill encouraged anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 to consider applying for the Young Endeavour.
“It’d benefit anyone who’d interested in meeting more people, developing leadership skills, or anyone who loves the ocean,” she said.
“Even if you’re not super interested in sailing, it’s still worth it for everything else.
“It was interesting to see what I’d learnt over the 10 or 11 days.”
Now, Miss Hill is keen to continue learning sail theory and take any opportunities to sail further.
She has also extended her Young Endeavour experience by signing up to be an ambassador.
Miss Hill said other possibilities with the program included a return voyage for past youth crew members, and a chance to do a leg of a ‘round the world’ voyage.
“I’d be really excited to do that in a few years,” she said.
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