WHAT'S NEW IN THE WORLD OF REFIT

It’s been the start to a busy month down here on the wharf. A ship in maintenance has seen the B shed buzzing with volunteers, contractors, crew and staff seven days a week; all giving their time, effort and skills to repairing the ship that has, at some stage, played a prominent part in each of their lives. 

With five weeks down and just over three more to go the refit troops have finished, as some would say, “de-fitting” the ship and preparations for “putting the pieces back together” are underway. Progress so far has seen:

• The galley floor been repaired and being painted as you read, with all cupboards and sinks yet to be put back, lino to be laid and final ‘plumping’ to be done.

• Main mast work has been in full swing with welders aloft all week, every week, working hard to repair rusting and wear. The main mast will be soon ready for a final lick of paint.

• The water tanks in the main saloon have now been patched up with the companion way back in and ready to be bolted down. Lots of woodwork has taken place with everything wooden now sanded, varnished and looking sleek.

• A few of our cabins are currently getting a lick of paint and will be back to ship shape in no time

• The Leeuwin laundry is in the process of getting a revamp with everything having been stripped down and now ready for rust treatment.

•  Our beloved Lioness figure head has been given a well needed coat of paint and a shining and is now looking fantastic.

• In addition to all of this there has been plenty of tarring, oiling and painting all around

A big thanks to the team behind the scenes. They are doing an amazing job and will have our beautiful blue canoe, looking the goods and ready for the upcoming voyages to and from Bunbury at the end of September. We can’t wait to have her out on the ocean again and start the next sailing season fresh!

THE RED RIBBON PROJECT

"Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

 indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

This week at Leeuwin, we have been dragging all of our volunteers into the back office to sign a giant piece of red ribbon. If you are one of our amazing red shirts or volunteers and haven't yet signed the ribbon... pop in to say hi in the next two days to be part of the Red Ribbon Project.

To celebrate 25 years, Volunteering WA is inviting all volunteers of Western Australia to sign  a piece of their red ribbon. At the end of the two weeks, our section will be collected and sewn to other volunteering organisation's sections to create one long red ribbon.

Once completed, the finished product will be wrapped around Government House on International Volunteer Day, December 5th, with thousands of signatures as a symbol of how volunteers make the world a better place.

Without volunteers, the Leeuwin would not sail and our amazing ocean adventures would not be an opportunity available to so many young Western Australians. The Red Ribbon Project is the perfect opportunity to show off some of our amazing volunteers.

Meet some of the team... 

ANOTHER CHANCE TO TOUR WONDERFUL VISITING VESSELS

It has been a busy few weeks with the arrival and visit of the Dutch tall ships Bark Europa, Oosterschelde and Tecla, and British square rigger STS Lord Nelson. 

Last weekend crowds of people headed down to the wharf here at Fremantle Ports to pay a visit to the beautiful visiting ships and our own blue barquentine. People lined in front of B, C and D Shed, patiently waiting their turn to hop on deck, with a glimpse into authentic sailing history costing only a gold coin donation. 

This weekend you will have another chance to see these wonderful vessels before they head off on their Batavia expedition to the Abrolhos Islands on Sunday 4th August, returning on the 14th and departing Fremantle for good on the 16th, bound for Adelaide. 

The Dutch ships will be open 10-3pm this Friday 2nd August and 9-2pm this Saturday 3rd August for gold coin donation. If you missed out last time, be sure to pay a visit to Freo this weekend. It is unlikely a fleet of tall ships like this will return for what may be more than a decade. 

The British square rigger STS Lord Nelson will be out of dry dock and also open to the public on the 15th and 16th of August. 

For more information follow this link:

 http://www.fremantleports.com.au/News/News/Pages/News-Item.aspx item=228&returnurl=http://www.fremantleports.com.au/Pages/default.aspx

A FISHERMAN'S TALE

Find a fisherman and you find many a great story. When the fisherperson happens to be the Engineer and the other, the Bosun, then you are guaranteed a ripping tale.

Many years ago when fisherpersons were made of steel, a competition started onboard Leeuwin. The Bosun and Engineer pitted against each other with their fishing implements of choice. Both propped up on the Poop deck and the competition was cast. Who could capture the windward side, who the Lee, hand lines or rod and reel, poppers or deep divers, wind speed and sea state. So many variables; it needs a cool head to comprehend and then act on all this information. For the last 2 years Alf and Ange have gone head to head in the latest instalment of the fishing competition.

“Big Bertha, Big Bertha, Big Bertha” this is the call to action over the PA. Scrambling from the darkest depths of the bilges the cry of “Out my way”, “Move, Move, Move” are heard below decks. While in the sunny heights of the upper top mast shouts of “Excuse me, Pardon Me , Thank you” fall to deck. Within moments both Alf and Ange are accounted for on the Poop deck ready for action. Which line has the massive fish taken? Ange pulling on her gloves, Alf buckling on his rod holder and grabbing his rod & reel. Both checking their line; low and behold the rarest of occurrences, a double hook up.

Now the whole crew swing into action, Captain Sarah takes the watch and control of the ship. The Mate Slaven ready with the gaff, either Engineer or Bosun mates ready with fish buckets, Purser ready with the all important camera and Aidan the Chef down in his galley sharpening his knives ready to prepare that night’s feast.

- Alf Green

THEY'RE HERE! [DUTCH SHIPS ARRIVE IN FREO]

After much anticipation and months of building excitement, the second and third Dutch tall ships arrived in Fremantle just after midday today.

Oosterschelde and Bark Europa sailed in to harbour with horns sounding, joining the first of the Dutch ships to arrive earlier in the week, Tecla.

All three ships are now berthed next to the Leeuwin II  at Victoria Quay in Fremantle.

The visit to Fremantle is just one of their many stops as part of the fleet's sail around the world, following trade routes of historic times. The ships will commence on an adventurous expedition to the Abrolhos to visit the Batavia wreckage site in August; with guides on board telling passengers the historic tales of the Batavia history.

It is not often a fleet of tall ships like this visit and it is unlikely that an event like this will come again for at least a decade, so we encourage everyone to come down to the wharf on Sunday to pay a visit to all of the beautiful ships. 

The Leeuwin will also be open for deck tours  from 10-3pm for a gold coin donation.

For more information on the individual ships visit www.dutchtallships.com

We had a pretty great view of the arrival from the top of the main mast...

TECLA ARRIVES!

The first of the Dutch ships Tecla has just arrived in Fremantle! 

.

Onlookers gathered on the wharf and deck of the Leeuwin to see the new-comer sail in to town, with both Lord Nelson  and Leeuwin II sounding their horns in warm welcome. 

We now have 3 tall ships in Port - Leeuwin II, The Lord Nelson and Tecla.  The ships are visiting Oz as part of the International Tall Ship festival for 2013. 

The other 2 Dutch ships are scheduled to arrive later this week with all ships open for deck tours to the public this Sunday for gold coin donation. 

Don't forget by coming on a deck tour for only a small donation - if you fill out an entry form you can go into the running to win a historic Batavia voyage to the Abrolhos on one of the Dutch ships for FREE! 

Built in 1915 in Vlaardingen, Tecla is a fast sailor, built for the North Sea. Owned and sailed by a family of four professional sailors, the Tecla is a two mast Ketch with topsails and different sized forsails for light weather. 

Like Leeuwin, Tecla is also a sail-training ship designed for people to get the most out of what they put in to the program.

Here's some pics of Tecla's arrival...

Not long now... the other two tall ships are not far away...

WATCHING THE SUN RISE FOR SUNRISE

A few of our awesome red-shirts braved the cold and met Captain Sarah, Bosun Ange and CEO Anne-Marie Archer, at the ship this morning for an early bird 5am start to the day.

The crew climbed the yards to feature in the background shot of the weather segment of Channel 7's Sunrise, where Captain Sarah was briefly interviewed.

Terry Baker, member of our Board of Directors, kindly took the initiative to organise the Leeuwin as Sunrise's location for shooting.

This was a fantastic opportunity to give exposure to the Leeuwin Foundation and showcase our beautiful barquentine on a national platform. A big thank you to all who were involved.

You can watch the interview here: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/18093154/ahoy-there-eddy/ 

What a beautiful way to see in the start to the day...