Year 9 Tall Ship Endeavour 2018

The Boomerang and the Solway Lass were the two vessels which our boys sailed around the Whitsunday Island’s during the last week of Term 3.

Students spent the week participating in a variety of activities on board each boat including, hoisting sails and navigating their way around the Whitsundays. They learned about the workings of each vessel and were required to perform regular duties throughout the trip. This included a night sail in which the students worked in groups throughout the night, sailing and navigating their fellow classmates safely to their destination which was Whitehaven Beach.

Community Service has been an integral part of the Endeavour program this year and was not forgotten whilst on the Tall Ship Endeavour. The boys performed a clean-up of South Whitehaven Beach, in which they filled three large bags of rubbish!

During the trip the students had the privilege of having renowned Marine Biologist, Ms Jacqui Shaw, spend a few days educating them on the Great Barrie Reef. Ms Shaw educated the boys on the amazing features of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. The boys had tutorials about coral and marine life and had the opportunity to snorkel on some of the amazing reef systems that form part of the Great Barrier Reef. They put their new knowledge to the test by identifying the corals and marine life they snorkelled with and reported their findings back to their peers.

On the last full day of the trip our students all successfully scaled Whitsunday peak and were rewarded with some of the best views imaginable.

The trip came to an end all too quickly, however, much fun was had by all, but more importantly, the boys got to experience a wonderful part of Australia with their mates, an experience they may have the opportunity to do again.

How the boys saw the trip:

‘ It was great at the end of a long term to go to the ocean, live on a boat with our friends, without internet to make our friendships even stronger’  Han Long.

‘Although the winds weren’t that strong when we did get to sail it was a real highlight. The fish were magnificent and the corals were beautiful.’ Matthew Merrilees.

‘The water was spectacular, and getting to live on 2 completely different boats was a fantastic experience.’ James Gallie.