LIFE STARTS NOW

WATCH THE OPEN ADVENTURE

 PROMO VIDEO

We're gearing up for our Open age Adventurer Voyage coming up this April. A voyage for all ages and all walks of life. 

This is the only voyage sailing up to Monkey Mia in 2014 so don't miss out!

"You only live once, but if you do it right - once is enough."

POSTCARDS FROM BUSSELTON

As you all know we are currently on our way home from a short stay in Busselton this past weekend where we opened the ship for tours after our first Youth Voyage of the year. 

The Jetty and ship combination made for some beautiful pics shared through Facebook and instagram. Great to see people tagging #leeuwin and #sailleeuwin! Here's a few faves...

Source: @kinkyc via instagram

Source: @nicnurtures via instagram

Source: Emma Cooke photo via Facebook

Source: Gail Thornton photo via Facebook

Source: Wendy Thornton photo via Facebook

THE SPIRIT OF LEEUWIN

Over the last 5 months students from the University of Notre Dame have been working very closely around the ship,crew and Leeuwin office creating a documentary on 'The Spirit of Leeuwin.' The documentary aimed to focus on a community project or issue and after road trips to Bunbury, interviews after interviews and even a spot of sailing, the film crew produced this creative piece that goes behind the scenes and captures the true Spirit of Leeuwin; all that we are and all that we do. 

Watch the documentary here!

Creating the documentary meant working within time restrictions so unfortunately a lot of the amazing sections of each interview were not able to be included but there is so many good things to be said about Leeuwin and how it has impacted on so many lives. We would like to share a few of the grabs that weren't featured but definitely describe the Spirit behind Leeuwin.

“I guess one of the best things about Leeuwin is that quite often you go out to sea for 7 days in this completely new environment and when you come back there might be a chance of you never seeing the people on board again and so throughout those 7 days you have the license to be anyone you want. It doesn’t matter who you are back at home, how people pressure you into certain behaviours or groups – when you’re out there you can just be yourself. That’s the great thing about it.” 

- Jeffrey Poon, Volunteer.

“Initially Leeuwin for me was just an adventure, something to get away for a little while. The way it changed my life just gave me something different to go for, it gave me another social outlet that I possibly wouldn’t have had otherwise. It almost gave me a second lease on life I suppose, because I would have been a completely different person if I hadn’t of gone and experienced something that was so completely foreign to me. Coming from a small farming background, it was very confined I s’pose, and then coming to Leeuwin – it offered a massive social opportunity. After that initial ‘shot in the arm’ I realised that I could continue this and volunteer and it formed my entire life as a result because it gave me something to aim for that I would never of thought of otherwise. It’s something I wouldn't of thought to do and once it was in front of me, I couldn’t have thought of anything else.” 

- Aidan MacDougall, Chef STS Leeuwin II

“I had no idea what to expect on my first trainee voyage but for me I was on a ship with 40 other people around my age that I had never met before and I made a lot of friends out of that voyage but I think, better was coming back and volunteering and I got to know those people better. Sailing with people is a really great way to make friendships fast because it’s so intense because you’re in a little cabin with 5 other people, you eat with them, you do everything with them, so it's a very close community."

- Chloe Hosking, Volunteer

“The permanent crew are involved with every aspect of running the voyage. They’re all great – they’re all really enthusiastic about both sailing and youth development and they have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for running the same program every week. It’s always new and it’s always exciting because they make it like that.”

  - Chloe Hosking, Volunteer

“Once you step on a voyage, the age barriers of the people on as trainees with you, they kind of just go;  you become all equals, all sailors. You’re all there doing the same thing for the same purpose; it’s very inspiring.”

 - Ashleigh Tapper, Communications Manager 

NEW YEAR, NEW ADVENTURES, NEW DESTINATION

We at Leeuwin started the New Year off with a BANG as a ship full of volunteers, crew members and passengers sailed into the morning, celebrating a promising new year under a firework sky.

There seems no better way to start off a new year, than with new adventures and a new destination! So tomorrow, off we set sail bound for the beautiful coastal town of Busselton.

Our Busselton voyages are always very popular, with both volunteer crew returning for more adventures, and trainees eager to experience their first.

The seven-day Youth Explorer Voyage will arrive in Busselton on Friday the 10th, where it will berth at the famous Busselton Jetty over the weekend.

Locals and visitors down South, will have the opportunity to tour the ship  both days from 10-2pm for just a gold coin donation, where our awesome Red shirt volunteer crew will show them where the magic happens when we sail Leeuwin.

Our visit to Busselton comes just in time for the annual Festival of Busselton where a wide variety of events and functions are held to entertain.

The ship will take part in the festivities on the morning of Sunday 12th, hosting a popular Pirate Dress up competition for children.

The Leeuwin only visits this beautiful destination once-a-year so if you are in the area - come to the Jetty and say hi!

CAPTAIN SARAH INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED FOR SAIL TRAINING

STS Leeuwin II Captain Sarah Robinson has been internationally recognised with the prestigious Sail Trainer of the year award for her role in the Leeuwin’s sail training program for young Western Australians.

Captain Robinson was announced as the winner during the International Sail Training Conference for 2013 held in Denmark recently; making her the only Australian to have won the prestigious award, to date.

The award is the highest accolade that can be achieved by a professional in the Sail Training industry, recognising a high performing individual over 25 that successfully delivers sail training programs.

Sarah Robinson developed a passion for tall ship sailing at the early age of 14, where like many of the young trainees she now helps train on Leeuwin voyages in the position of Captain; she sailed herself as a trainee on British Square Rigger T.S Royalist.

Leeuwin CEO Anne-Marie Archer said, “The Leeuwin’s main purpose is to inspire and challenge young people to realise their capabilities and reach their full potential. With Captain Sarah’s professional manner, years of experience and background in originally starting as a trainee in a sail training program herself, she is the perfect person to oversee Leeuwin’s sail training program.”

“Sarah’s role on the ship positively impacts on the Western Australian community and generates outcomes from youth that have long term benefits, taking the future members of society and teaching them the many life skills that will contribute to a better society.

“The Leeuwin and the wider Australian community is very fortunate to have her as a Captain, as she has inspired and had an impact both directly and indirectly on thousands of young people’s lives,” Ms Archer said.

In 2010 the Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation was internationally recognised as the leading Sail Training organisation of the year, demonstrating excellence in ‘innovation’ and ‘best practice’ in sail training for young people.

“The Foundation aspires to continuously improve its program and being recognised on the international platform is a wonderful endorsement of our efforts, “Ms Archer said.

The Foundation was also recently recognised closer to home for its Corporate Social Responsibility, in the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce Business awards for 2013.

Captain Sarah is no stranger to recognition, having also been awarded the Pride of Australia Medal for the Fair Go category for Western Australia this year.

In addition to her everyday responsibilities as Captain of the STS Leeuwin II including navigation, management of crew training, and ensuring safety standards are kept relevant and followed, Sarah is totally committed to the training and development not only of the trainees who come on board but also of the 10 volunteer crew and 4 permanent crew who sail with her. 

Sarah has trained several people to levels where they can attend college and go on to pursue careers; whether that is becoming ships officers themselves or going on to get jobs on tall ships all around the world.

In response to her reasons behind choosing this often demanding lifestyle and line of work Captain Sarah Robinson said; “I choose it because I enjoy witnessing the growth in the young people that come on our voyages.”

“I consider myself a product of sail training and it has given me some amazing opportunities that I hope I can pass on to young people and open their eyes to what they can do if they put their mind to it and work hard.

“Going to sea is not for everyone but the skills people gain from a voyage are skills they need in everyday life,” she said.

KIND CLIMBING

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!