Logan teen sails on voyage of a lifetime

He considers himself to be fortunate indeed.

Bailey, from Logan Village, met the tall ship in the southern NSW port of Eden and along with 18 other young Australians set sail on an 11-day voyage to Sydney, exploring the coast line and beaches along the way.

During each voyage in Young Endeavour, youth crew experience the joys and challenges of life at sea. They are encouraged to pursue personal and team goals and challenges in an unfamiliar environment as they learn to sail a square-rigged tall ship.

Sailing the brigantine requires many skills; including how to navigate, keep watch, cook in the galley, take the helm and climb the mast to work aloft, setting and furling sails.

During the voyage, Bailey fell in love with sailing.

“What I really love about sailing is that it’s hard work, but when you start moving just by the wind, you get a real sense of appreciation for what you’ve learnt and what you’ve done”.

While undertaking the youth development program on Young Endeavour, youth increase self-awareness, develop teamwork and leadership skills and create a strong sense of community responsibility.

For Bailey, the key takeaway from the voyage was learning to work as part of a team.

“I’ve learnt that in order to work in a team you have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each person and then apply it, especially in a sailing environment. I should be able to apply that in my studies and my team projects,” Bailey said.

Since 1988 the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme, in partnership with the Royal Australian Navy, has provided challenging training voyages for over 13,100 young Australians in Young Endeavour, and day sails for a further 11,000 guests from organisations supporting young Australians with special needs.

Youths aged 16-23 years old can apply for a chance to set sail on the voyage of a lifetime here.