Leeuwin Leadership Voyage Experience

Ten student leaders from LJBC recently had the opportunity to partake in a weekend Leadership Voyage on the Leeuwin, setting sail from Fremantle on Friday 22 until Sunday 24 of February. This was an enriching experience for all, filled with laughter, adventure and the opportunity to meet leaders from other schools.

Helen Del Frate (Dean of Students): On Sunday afternoon (at the Fremantle Dock), I had the privilege of welcoming our students back from their voyage. The joy on their faces and seeing them all strapped up in their harnesses was a sight to see. New friendships had been forged in the groups and greater goals of being a leader on future sails will, I am sure, materialise going forward.

The students who went on this voyage represented LJBC well and I’m sure they will enjoy the memories that were made for many years to come. Well done everyone!

Abbey Mansell: The first day on the ship we learnt a lot! We learnt how to tie ropes, climb them and the names of every part of the ship (which was heaps!). We sailed to Cottesloe where we spent the night, doing shifts until first light to keep check on the ship and make sure everything was all good. We woke up bright and early on Saturday to watch the Rottnest swim as the ship was the 1500m mark. It was such an amazing experience to see all the dedicated swimmers go by, definitely a highlight of the trip!

After watching the swimmers, boats and kayaks go by, we got straight into work: cleaning the ship before setting sail again. We learnt such incredible leadership skills and working together to set the heavy sails and to keep the ship moving. A definite highlight for myself (and something that really pushed me out of my comfort zone) was climbing the mast and setting the sails. Being 50m in the air, balancing on a thin rope and trying to tie mast knots was one of the scariest and challenging things I had to do, but by doing so, I got to see the support of others around me, push myself and encourage those who were also up there with me.

We headed back to Fremantle on Sunday with super rough and windy weather, but it made for a great sail! Overall, I had the most amazing time getting to learn something new, meeting new people, disconnect from technology and developing my leadership skills while having an amazing new experience in learning how to sail.

Emily McGrath: I was given the opportunity to sail on the STS Leeuwin II on a sailing and leadership weekend. I was super excited to go on this trip as I had been watching multiple videos online of the Leeuwin. The LJBC students really had the time of our lives! I made so many new friends on this trip who encouraged me to conquer my fears. Prior to going on this trip, I told myself that I will not be climbing the mast, as I am terrified of heights, but little did I know I would be hanging at the very top of the fore-mast’s upper sail. The crew and my fellow trainees were so helpful and encouraging that I decided to climb the mast and I would definitely do it again.

We were the first group to do the leadership and sailing weekend voyage and I think it was perfectly balanced between learning about new leadership skills and sailing on the Leeuwin. We had opportunities to use what we had learnt about leadership on deck. I loved every minute on that ship and I would love to go back! On the first morning we had the best vantage point to watch the Cotto-to-Rotto swim as we were the 1500m mark. We woke up at 5.30am to watch all the swimmers swim past our ship, the sunrise was spectacular and was definitely worth the early rise. The trip was a great opportunity to disconnect from the world and be in the moment. We handed in our phones at the beginning of the trip and I can safely say that I didn’t miss my phone one bit.

Going on the Leeuwin made me so genuinely happy and grateful to be given this opportunity.