This week we
celebrated World Kindness Day, which provided the perfect opportunity to
reflect on many beautiful moments we have witnessed here on Leeuwin over the
years.
One of the many
that came to mind was that of a young visually impaired trainee who had set a
personal goal to climb up to the first platform of our foremast by the end of
her voyage. Climbing our masts can be quite daunting and sometimes difficult at
the best of times, let alone attempting to climb without the advantage of
seeing what you are climbing and where to place your hands and feet. However,
this did not seem to discourage the girl who was determined on reaching that
first platform.
When climbing
our foremast, there is a section right before you reach the first platform
that leans outwards, requiring the trainees to climb, leaning back and
supporting their own body weight. Although the young trainee was accompanied
and supported she experienced quite a lot of difficulty navigating this
section. After witnessing the young girl try without success on multiple
occasions, her Watch Leader took the initiative to attempt to understand her
challenge by climbing that section again whilst not relying on visual dependency
in order to find a way to better instruct the young girl to climb. After the
Watch Leader successfully climbed the section, she found herself needing
to shift her thinking as to how her years of experience could be conveyed differently to
provide supportive instruction. So with a new frame of mind, she climbed the
mast again, taking note of everything she could use to provide a more tactile
description to support the trainee’s goal to climb the mast.
After climbing
back down, she accompanied the young trainee back up the mast with specific
instructions as to what to feel for, and where to place her hands and feet.
This time with success, the young girl made it all the way up to the first
platform and achieved her goal. As the Watch Leader and trainee made their way
slowly back down the mast to the deck, with the Watch Leader helping place the
young girl’s feet into the right rungs, the ship had entered Fremantle Port and
was almost alongside. As the ship slowed in front of B Berth, there was now a
crowd of parents, and onlookers awaiting the return of the voyage and their
children. This young trainee’s amazing achievement was witnessed by all
alongside the wharf and celebrated with loud cheers and a few tears.
We have an amazing
crew and volunteers here at Leeuwin and every voyage and sail we are lucky
enough to witness moments like these where we have made a difference in young
people’s lives. Thank you to our many kind hearted crew and volunteers that
embrace the principles of World Kindness Day - EVERYDAY!
