It has been almost two months now since I embarked on an 11 day voyage on the STS Young Endeavour. I know it sounds cliche, but it truly was the most wonderful experience of my life. Young Endeavour is a youth development sailing trip ran by the Australian Navy for young Australians aged between 16-23. I got to see some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, meet the most wonderful people, and learn how to sail a tall ship. Honestly, I was beyond nervous in the lead up to the trip! I didn't know if I would make any friends, I was scared to not have any technology and contact with home, and mostly, I was scared about having to challenge myself. But within a few days of getting on the boat, I felt completely and utterly at home.
Words can't describe the feeling of being out on deck at 4am and watching the faint line of orange on the horizon line, turn into the blazing and beautiful full sun.
We sailed from Airlie Beach to Cairns, and in that time we visited some of the most magical sights in the Whitsundays; Hinchinbrook Island, Nara Inlet, Fitzroy Island and Bait reef. It was insane to think that all of these places were in Queensland, literally in my backyard! It gave me such an appreciation for my country Australia and it made me realise how lucky I am to live in the most magical place in the world.
We did a few challenging but incredibly rewarding hikes to waterfalls, caves, and summits. As well as jumping off the side of the boat and swimming in the magical Whitsunday water. Everyday on the trip I was forced to challenge myself, and I have never felt so good within myself.
I feel so proud of everything I achieved and know I am so much more capable than I ever believed possible.
We saw dolphins at 1am one morning, and they were swimming alongside the boat, catching flying fish, and glowing under the water. I have never seen anything like it before. One day we had whales breeching all around us and it was absolutely incredible. Alongside all these amazing experiences, we also did night watches, ran on very little sleep, set and furled sails and did a lot of hard work. It felt so fulfilling to learn all of these incredible new skills and be apart of a wonderful and supportive team of young people. I cried so much on the last day, and it was so hard to say goodbye to my beautiful boat which felt like home, and all of the friends I made who felt like family. I can't recommend this experience enough. I am going to post a few more detailed posts about different islands and experiences I had while on the boat, this is only part one! Have a wonderful week !!
