Does this float your boat?

by Breanna Downes-Smith (Australia)

A leap into the unknown Australia

I was lucky enough to embark on a volunteer crew voyage on board the replica 18th century sailing ship HMB Endeavour. This ship is a complete replica of the ship Captain Cook used on his incredible voyage to Australia, complete with 28 sails, 750 pulleys, more than 30 kilometres of rigging, and (my favourite) two cannons! This was no luxury cruise. Leaving Sydney as the sun set, we motored out of the harbour and under the bridge. Crew members and volunteers like myself took turns hauling the anchor rope out of the water and stowing it back in its rightful place. We were off! New Zealand was in our sights. The next two weeks would push me to my mental and physical limits. I climbed masts, hauled lines, steered at the helm, cleaned, scrubbed, polished and slept. Then we would be woken for our next shift, and the cycle would begin again. With only 40 people on the ship and no opportunity to get off, we all became good mates over the two weeks we spent together. This included working in small groups (“watches”), each working four hours on deck before a rest break. I was incredibly lucky to have a hardworking watch who were keen to learn and work hard, along with an awesome leader. We went from having little to no experience of 18th century sailing to feeling confident changing sails and managing the ship’s direction. We learnt a whole other language to describe each part of the vessel and slowly gained our sea legs. It took me a little longer than I anticipated to get used to the movement of the ship. There were some interesting incidents, including one where someone on the deck ended up wearing the breakfast of someone who was up the mast. Once over the sickness, I settled in to the routine and really began to enjoy myself. I was being pushed mentally to learn quickly and respond as part of a dynamic team to conditions outside of our control, including weather. The first few days on the Tasman sea were beautiful. The sun shone, we saw dolphins and whales, and plenty of birds. As we left Australian waters, the weather turned windier, colder, and wetter. The wind was good – we powered across the water with our sails like wings. The wet and cold part was not so good. Many people copped a nasty cold and we ran the medical store completely dry of cold and flu medicine. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. We sailed some 2500 kilometres, through fair and foul weather, and saw dolphins, sharks, whales, albatrosses, and bioluminescent plankton that made it look like the ship was magical. We circuited Great Barrier Island and saw the Coromandels, swam in the beautiful, but brisk, Mercury Bay and later featured in the local newspaper. We fired cannons into the sea, flew a pirate flag, and saw very few humans during our time at sea. It was fantastic to get away from the 21st century and spend some time in the 18th, living as sailors did without phones or television. The galley cook conjured some of the most amazing meals I’ve had in my life, and I’ve never felt so connected to other people, working together towards a common purpose. After docking at Tauranga, New Zealand, my legs didn’t quite work properly, and walking was difficult! I hadn’t seen a flat surface for several weeks! Later, I woke up multiple times during the night, panicked, thinking my hotel room was rocking back and forth. This was a fantastic experience that I wholeheartedly enjoyed. Seas the day and try something new! More information about the HMB Endeavour can be found here: https://www.sea.museum/whats-on/events/sail-the-endeavour