With applications now open to be one of ten lucky young people to set sail on the STS Leeuwin II, we spoke to two of last years sponsorship winners about their once-in-a-lifetime experience.
16-year-old Stirling Flat, said he was inspired by his favourite movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, to apply for one of the Town of Port Hedland’s sponsored places.
“It was the best experience I could ever achieve in life,” he said.
“The reason I wanted to go on the Leeuwin was to be like Jack Sparrow and I lived that dream for one week.”
The experience involves around 46 young people, who are broken into teams and taught how to sail the STS Leeuwin II, which is fully human powered.
Not only will you learn to sail, but you will learn how to work as a team and most importantly, how to overcome your fears.
“My favourite part was climbing on the main mast, which is 33 metres high,” Stirling said.
“I learnt about the boat being all human powered, there’s so many people on board that we had to split into four teams and we all worked through it greatly, luckily we didn’t sink the ship.”
Mali Riko Bule-Turner was 19 when she went on the Leeuwin last year and as one of the older participants, she said it was a great experience in learning how to work in a team environment.
“I learnt a lot about myself,” she said.
“I learnt to get along with everyone, we learnt about the ship as well, we learnt how to climb the main mast.
“I learnt that I could handle those heights, it was pretty scary but it was so good.”
She said her favourite part was proving to herself what she is capable of.
“It was a tough challenge, you are on a ship with a bunch of people you don’t know, you’re doing something completely out of your comfort zone, but it is so worth it,” she said.
“You’ll learn a lot about yourself and meet a lot of new people as well.”
The Town of Port Hedland, with the support of the Leeuwin Adventure Foundation, has ten spots up for grabs for anyone between the ages of 14 and 25.
To find out more, you can drop into JD Hardie Youth and Community Hub or call 08 9158 9380, applications close September 1.
