Emerald Secondary College Year 10 student Myra Incoll received the chance of a lifetime earlier this month – sailing on a fully operational replica of a tall ship around Port Phillip Bay.
The Rotary Club of Emerald and District sponsored her to take part in the Rotary Youth Sailing Challenge, which involved her joining a crew of other young students on the tall ship Enterprize on a four-day round trip around the bay from Saturday 6 April to Tuesday 9 April.
Mentored by ex-Commodore of the Bobbin Head Cruising Club in North Sydney, Myra and the crew of 8 girls and two boys between 15 and 18 years of age departed from St Kilda at about 10am on Saturday morning.
Club president Sangeeta Bajaj, past president and youth chair Marcus Adams and past president Shalini Penny were also there to farewell Myra.
Ms Penny said the weather conditions were good at first, but rainy conditions plagued most of the journey.
“The challenges involved parting with their mobile phones, standing on four-hour watches for the whole time they were on board,” she said.
“This meant at times getting out of warm bunks at night and going onto a cold, wet spray drenched deck, learning how to helm and navigate the ship, keep it clean and decide which sails to set to suit the varying wind strengths and directions.
“Facing and helping each other overcome challenges developed teamwork and camaraderie.”
