It may not be everyones cup of tea but John and Teresa are very happy to be out on the ocean waves on virtually any type of boat. The latest activity is volunteering as crew on the tall ship South Passage. South Passage is a gaff rigged schooner – this means she has two masts and the aft mast is taller than the foremast. She flies four sails – a main sail, forsail,staysail and a jib.
The home of this beautiful yacht is Manly harbour. She spends her time sailing between Cairns and Sydney and many ports in-between. She has been built to take youngsters on sailing trip to promote sailing skills, teamwork and leadship.
It was decided that South Passage would be built to suit 14–17 year olds so she was designed so that all the sails can be managed from the deck. She has an aluminium hull and uses modern materials but apart from an engine everything is done manually.
Volunteer crew are recruited to join, paying a nominal fee and then encouraged to go on training sails to learn as much about the ship as possible so that they become competent at sailing her, then once you have done all your studies and the appropriate authorities have given you the green light, or is that the blue card, you then try to enlighten teenager school children in the art of hands on sailing etc.
The picture above was taken on a leisurely afternoon sail out of Manly harbour. Just to let you know we both still have lots to learn but are well on the way to knowing some of the finer points of sailing, as it was back in the last century. I have listed the website here for all those interested. http://www.southpassage.org.au/index.html
The ship has now left for southern seas for some sailing on Sydney Harbour but will be back January 09. We hope to be chosen to be on the return journey from Sydney to Brisbane. Will keep you posted.