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Week 1

My first week in Australia, Tasmania and on board tall ship Windeward Bound was filled with learning, cleaning, food, laughs and getting to know the ship.

I arrived on Monday 23rd of May 2016 – a rainy, but beautiful, day in Hobart 🌧️ It caught me by surprise that everything was so green! When I arrived at the airport, I was picked up by the Captain herself, which was pretty cool.

My first impression of the ship was awesome – the Windeward Bound is a beautiful wooden square riggered ship and she looks so much more beautiful in real life than on pictures. So all in all a great start to my Australian adventure 😉

The first couple of days was all about getting to know the ship and the crew. Learning the everyday life and ways of the ship as well as safety information.

During the first week, I went aloft, to get familiar with that part of the ship and to become more confident and comfortable up there (quiet a challenge for someone who is terrified of heights 🙈 ).

Lessons in how to tie knots where given (thank you Alex for helping me out!) Check out this selection of most used knots on the Windeward Bound. I also experienced my first daysail with the ship.

My first week was pretty awesome, but also hard as I was in a new place, on the other side of the world away from everything familiar. Jet lag didn’t help, but hey – it’s always fun with a challenge or 10 your first week on a new continent 😉

Week 2

Week 2 = I settled in on the ship and it felt like home away from home. On the Windeward Bound the week normally start on a Wednesday as crew members have Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday would normally be maintenance day where the ship gets a deep clean and whatever needs fixing, get’s done.

During week 2 I had my first duty-day on my own – a very scary feeling! I was convinced that I would either sink or burn down the ship (didn’t happen! Phew 😅 ). Being on duty also means you have to cook dinner for the rest of the crew and the Captain. I made Tortilla de patatas with salad.

I also got a new best friend – Philip. Every crew onboard the Windeward Bound has a best friend, which is a piece of rope. The rope is for one to practice knots and splicing. I learned something new every day and with time, more things made sense.

“Great seamanship and a joy to watch, as you were both very calm, concentrated and there was no shouting.” was the words that the Captain used after seeing us bringing Trim back and forth as part of the daily routine that week (a little clap on the back 👏 ).

Sunday = rain and no passengers. No sailing that day. That meant plenty of time for training 📖 I learned how to sharpen my knife 🔪 and safety onboard a tall ship. We watched a 2 part documentary about the First Fleets trip from England to Australia.

Those first 2 weeks on board a tall ship in Australia showed me how every day is different and that getting to know a ship and a ships way is a learning curve.