In 1990, when I was 5 years old, my parents decided to buy a 4WD and campervan, rent out the family home and travel around Australia for 6 months (which turned into more like 8 or 9 months).  It was during this time that my love out the outdoors was forged.  Over these 9 months I learnt a tremendous amount of skills ranging from fishing, snorkelling and boating to camping, knot tying and various other outdoor activities.  To this day, those 9 months remain some of the happiest days of my life.

My first taste of sailing did not come until years later.  On a picnic at Sydney’s Balmoral Beach, a childhood friend of my father brought along his MariCat 14 Catamaran.  Along with 3 or so other children, my Dad and his friend took me out sailing in a leisurely 10 knot wind.  The kids were having a ball until we were unexpectedly hit by one of Sydney’s notorious ‘Black Nor’Easters’ of about 30 knots.  Before we knew it, we were up on one hull flying along, water almost downing the kids.  There may even have been some tears shed.  From then on I was keen for any opportunity I got to go sailing.

Years later, when my father borrowed this same catamaran, was when I actually leant how to sail, rather than just going along for the ride.

Growing up in a small country town, I didn’t get the opportunity to sail very often.  Many summer days were spent fishing, swimming and ‘mucking about in boats’ in the local stretch of the Edward River.  A favourite past time was to trek to one end of town, jump in the river with an inflatable mattress or tractor inner-tube and float downstream to the other end of town.

During this time, a family tradition was to travel to the small NSW South Coast town of Broulee at the end of January, where my parents had access to a beach house.  The house was built on the sand dunes so it was a quick walk down the beach to the water where we’d free-dive for abalone and lobster. It took quite a number of years of being thrown around in washing machine like conditions before I could find and gather abalone without my father’s assistance.  Many a time I was sure I was going to drown after following my parents out of the protected rocky inlets and into the open ocean, in search of abalone, lobster and adventure.

In 1997 the family moved to Sydney to live, where I have remained ever since.  After a number of boatless years (well, limited to tinnies and canoes) my parents decided it was time for another ‘real’ boat.  Just in time for the New Years Eve fireworks we took delivery of a 2000 model 6.2m Bayliner runabout.  I was over the moon with the new purchase and from then on spent an uncountable number of hours behind the boat either on waterskis, a wakeboard or in a donut.  I immediately went and sat for my ‘Young Adult’ boat licence, which I passed with flying colours after spending hours studying every detail of the Boating Handbook.  From then on it took strong persuasion to convince me to hand over the controls to anyone else.

In the winter of 2001 my father and I were invited to go sailing in the Solomon Islands aboard my Dad’s friends’ 39′ Cavalier, Veto.  We flew to Honiara where we met with the owner who had sailed the boat there in the preceding months.  Over the next two weeks we meandered around the outer islands, meeting new people, discovering new places.  At every anchorage I was straight overboard to explore the underwater world and look for ‘treasure’.  Every time we set sail I had a lure overboard waiting for ‘the big one’ to take a bite.  Sadly over the two weeks I only managed to hook one decent fish, a reasonably sized, and delicious, Barracuda.  This was the time I was supposed to be studying for my School Certificate.  I doubt anything was further from my mind than school work (despite this, I did go surprisingly well in the exams).

A few sail-less years went by before I was next at sea (however, the Bayliner was well and truly satisfying my boat ‘itch’).  In 2004, after finishing school the previous year, I put my name in the ballot to sail aboard STS Young Endeavour – Australia’s national sail training ship.  I was lucky enough to be selected for a voyage from Sydney to Hobart in November of 2004.  To date, this voyage was the most gruelling yet satisfying adventure I’d undertaken.  Conditions were rough almost the entire way and most of the crew battled severe sea sickness (luckily I managed to avoid the condition).  We anchored overnight in Twofold Bay, Eden, while the professional crew debated if it was safe to venture across Bass Straight.

Although it would be rough, they assured us the vessel was seaworthy and safe despite being less than comfortable.  They weren’t wrong!  We battled 11m seas and 60 knot winds for the crossing of ‘The Ditch’, yet we all emerged proud of our achievement and the team working better  than before.

This adventure at sea now had me hooked not only on sailing, but to the open ocean (I’d previously only briefly sailed outside the protecting of harbours and reefs).  My interest in power boats was declining and my interest in long ocean voyages growing.  Although I took up every opportunity to sail on-board any vessel I was invited, I had no way of satisfying my sailing addiction.

Not only did I want to spend every spare moment aboard a boat of some description, I wanted to make a career out of it.  I dearly wanted to undertake a Degree in Naval Architecture but at the time the course was offered only in Hobart.  I decided against making the move to Tasmania and enrolled in a Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.  This included many of the same areas of study as Naval Architecture and would be applicable to the marine industry.

In the holidays of January 2008 I enlisted in a PADI Open Water Diver course.  I’d loved snorkelling for so many years that this seemed the next step.  I enjoyed every moment of the course.  It took me a matter of weeks after completing the course for me to have bought an entire dive outfit and be itching to head off to new dive sites each weekend.

In 2008 my father retired from work.  He had been sailing since his childhood in various dinghys but had never owned a yacht.  Now that he had the time to use and maintain a sailing boat, he, along with a friend, invested in a Jeanneau 43DS sloop.  I first learned the news that ‘I’ was getting a yacht by way of an overheard phone conversation.  I thought all my Christmas’ had come at once!  Although I had been with my parents to look at a few yachts nothing could prepare me for the excitement when I saw ‘Hi-Time’ on her mooring.  Delivery was taken over the Easter weekend of 2008 and from that time on, every opportunity I get has been spent aboard Hi-Time.

However, my love of sailing kept growing and my thirst for knowledge led me to enrol in the Yachting Australia Inshore Skipper Course.  After three days aboard a Hunter 38 I emerged with a range of new skills, namely navigation and safety at sea.  This also helped convince Dad to let me borrow Hi-Time.

In early 2008, while ‘studying’ I received a phone call from the National Maritime Museum asking if I’d be interested in crewing the HMB Endeavour Replicas’ voyage to Brisbane.  I though it over for about ½ a second before signing myself up.  On the 18^th of August I boarded HMB Endeavour for 11 days of adventure on the high seas.  Along with 55 strangers, we headed off out Sydney Heads and turned left towards sunny Queensland.

Fair winds and following seas took us north to Coffs Harbour in three days.  Then the wind changed to the north and we were force to ‘hove to’ and head out to sea until the winds changed to a more favourable direction.  After four days of waiting and aimlessly wandering the seas, the winds turned to a useful angle and we once again headed north.  This time the seas weren’t so nice and we were met with 8m swells and 40 knot winds.  Despite the less than perfect conditions, I was having a ball!  I was happy to make little ground in order to delay the return to the land-based world.  Right on schedule we berthed at Hamilton Wharf in Brisbane and each crew member returned to their respective lives.

Where to go from here could be anyone’s guess.  I’m still studying for my degree in mechanical engineering and hope to complete the course next year. I’m keen for any opportunity I can find to head out on (or in) the water on and love weekends away sailing, diving or fishing.  I’m accumulating hours and miles towards the Yachting Australia Yachtmaster qualification and hope to undertake and pass the exam in the next couple of years.

In the meantime I’m searching for part time employment in the marine industry and undertaking various seamanship and diving courses to further my skills.