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| Jodi's sea change By SQNLDR Ruth Elsley and Andrew Stackpool Volume 49, No. 02, February 22, 2007 |
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The clerk from HQ92WG, RAAF Base Edinburgh, took part in the 11-day voyage between Newcastle and Sydney from January 18-28 after being awarded the 2006 HQSRG Young Endeavour Scholarship late last year. The ship participated in Australia Day activities on Sydney Harbour. LACW Henderson said she was “ecstatic at the opportunity to go sailing” after receiving the annual scholarship, which recognised the outstanding contribution of a junior member towards the performance of SRG. It provided a berth in Young Endeavour, plus travel costs. CDRSRG AIRCDRE Tim Owen said LACW Henderson was a “well-respected member of the 92WG administrative team and had been an integral member of the deployment administration team”. The passage was to be her first experience of boating under sail, let alone at sea as crew aboard a tall ship. “I was slightly apprehensive, as the week before I was on holidays in Vanuatu and took a short boat ride, which resulted in my breakfast going overboard. Apart from my fear of being seasick, I was absolutely over the moon about the trip.” Young Endeavour is a 44-metre long brigantine, operated and maintained by the RAN. She is purpose-built for sail training and carries a crew of nine and a trainee crew of 24 youths. During the 11-day passage the trainees learnt about life at sea under sail, from helping in the galley and swabbing the decks to going aloft to handle sail and standing watches. They were also challenged each day with a series of increasingly-complex evolutions, culminating in a ‘Command Day’, when they assume all the duties aboard and are set a series of seamanship and navigation evolutions. Young Endeavour’s CO CMDR Chris Galloway complimented LACW Henderson’s participation in onboard activities. “Jodi participated fully in the development program which the ship runs,” he said. “This included working in all facets of the ship’s operations, from cooking in the galley to cleaning ship, handling sails and working aloft some 30m off the water. She spent a lot of time helping several of her seasick shipmates, and was heavily involved in the Australia Day festivities. “She did pretty well for a RAAFie.” Did she enjoy the experience and what did she learn? “It’s another great experience and adventure that the Air Force has provided for me,” she said. “This was no cruise. You work hard on the Young Endeavour. However, I would definitely recommend this as development for our young leaders, for example, CPL’s Promotion Course or adventure training. “It’s great that SRG/92WG give their young members this opportunity to expand their exposure to different directions they can learn from and lead. “As I was the oldest member of the youth crew, I didn’t want to be seen as ‘the mum’. I observed how members of the youth crew became leaders without realising it. “Young Endeavour taught me that I need to be confident in myself before others will be. The Young Endeavour way is to expand your horizons, know yourself and back yourself, and that is what I got out of this trip. I have to repeat this; it is far from a cruise. I prefer to call it a sailing adventure. “I would definitely go again. Every time you went on the ship it would be a different adventure. You never know what the elements will bring and challenges that you’ll come up against. “If the opportunity to become a staff crew member arose, I might even give it ago, if the Navy could handle a RAAFie on board.” |
