News

Keep a good lookout… scroll down for our reports from the bay!

Churchie ended the year 2021 with their epic Year 10 choose your own adventure program. Well done to John Callie and all the sailors who navigated their way on a South Passage voyage and a Blue Peter small boat expedition! Let’s celebrate Bob Houghton who won every race with his crew, and pushed our boats to their limits! Bob was an outdoor education teacher at Churchie many moons ago, so he had a lot to teach us about staying upright. Very refreshing thanks Bob!

Edmund Rice Education Flexible Learning Centre staff sailed to the mainland from their celebration and planning time on Minjerribah. They sailed from the One Mile Jetty back to Cleveland, stopping at Horseshoe Bay for lunch and more discussion. What a great team! We look forward to doing heaps more with you next year!

The River School from Maleny brought their Year 6 class for an awesome experience on the bay – sailing and camping at Coochie Mudlo Island. Sam, Kat and Matt did a great job dealing with last minute changes… and a big thanks to Trudi for being so flexible with everything!

In August, Jono met with NPWS and QYAC to sort out our permit and access arrangements. Thanks to the good will and support from all quarters, we are working through key decisions and updating our future activities, plans and partnerships. Watch this space…

WOWSA (Women on the Water Sailing Australia) has kicked off in style, conducted by the wonderful Em and assisted by many of our wonderful female skippers; sharing their knowledge and sense of fun. We love you all so much! Full support for this great initiative!

Hillbrook Year 12 camp headed out with Wade, Matt and Katie for four days of adventuring, exploring and reflecting in the beautiful environment of southern Moreton Bay. Sailing conditions were perfect for most of the passages and the crew came home looking very happy. Well done team!

Noosa Pengari Steiner class 7 for 2021 had an epic adventure, departing in the driving rain and enduring 3 days of wet conditions before the sun came out and all was well with the world. The skippers were so impressed with the fortitude and good will shown by the class and their teachers on this program. It was a real highlight to pull through that and have such an awesome camp!

Human Nature Recre8 Young Women’s expedition was a remarkable experience for the both the facilitators and participants – this program has evolved and matured into something very beautiful… the prep camp and expedition was a life changing experience for so many of the young women. It is a real testament to Andy and the Recre8 crew that this program is so effective and well supported. Thank you to all the team!

Ambrose Treacy College Yr9 expedition was a brilliant week of sailing and expeditionary learning; all the lads said it was the “best camp ever” and we look forward to doing it again – perhaps with more boats next year! A big shout out to Bryn for being Green Watch Leader for the first time!

Our youth work approaches have translated well on the yard at Pelican Slipways. Four lads are currently employed after school to help maintain our boats and build their skills – thanks to Kieron for volunteering to manage their learning experiences each week.

Welcome aboard new schools for 2021 – Brisbane Boys’ College, The River School, Maleny, Redlands College and Ambrose Treacy College. Most of our existing partners are also increasing their offerings with us this year – so it is really encouraging to know we are doing a good job.

Our first attempt at collaborating with the Sea Shepherd volunteers for a weekend clean up of the bay was a great success! There is a huge issue with discarded crab pots and plastic in our waterways. We brought home nearly 400kg of plastic, glass and steel from the mangroves of Teerk Roo Ra, Coochie Mudlo and Goat Islands, and we are all looking forward to doing it again! Full news article here

Our staff are involved with three programs happening concurrently in March – the Young Women’s Recre8 expedition (a 10 day epic journey around Mulgumpin and sailing home again), Ambrose Treacy College yr10 inaugural sailing and sea kayaking expedition – and the Samford Valley Steiner School yr7 sailing camp at Wivenhoe Dam. Here’s hoping for a mix of experiences including fair winds and following seas!

Skipper training was held in January and was a great week of fun and learning with a very high ratio of trainers to students. Two trainers in each boat! The feedback was great – highlights included the rich learning environment, skippers being able to learn from each other, Matt Burns‘ aboriginal cultural presentation and the food! Well done to everyone!

Ideas of becoming a Registered Award Unit for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme have changed tack for now… we can provide opportunities for all the requirements of the awards (physical recreation, community service, skill development and expeditions) independently, with an invitation for Award Units to partner with us and join in with what we do.

New and improved infectious disease protocols are in place, and plenty of tents have been ordered to cope with social distancing requirements.

Churchie Yr10 sailors had a wonderful surprise this year – half way through their Blue Peter expedition the South Passage sailed in and press ganged each group for 24hrs of a tall ship experience! It has been a long time in the planning and we are so grateful that this was make possible – working in partnership with South Passage represents a glimpse of the future for our sail training programs.

Noosa Steiner School Yr 7 class met with skippers in April of this year expecting to be sailing within a week! Ha, well 6 months later we launched across the bay in six vessels accompanied by Magic Happens, for an eventful and brilliant 5 days of sail training and camping. Thank you so much to all the staff, skippers and students that made this a wonderful week of connection and growth.

School holiday expeditions were conducted in July and September with great outcomes for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Students and helpers who had a great time! Thanks especially to all the volunteers that help to make these programs happen.

Work on Avocet II continues. Thanks to Billa for the kind-hearted donation – and for the hard work of Kieron, Wade, Jono, Ross, Keith and all the crew including local lads, Jett and Corey. Check out the latest on the Pelican Slipways facebook site!

The purchase of the Sienna mould has precipitated action on our long term plans for a custom expedition vessel. Thank you so much to Grey Watch for all your guidance, support and teaching in this space.

Purple watch has been busy with writing business grants, and creating promotional material ready for the return to operations. We were successful on gaining a $5000 local government grant to help with IT development of this website (thanks Dylan) and $4500 towards the costs of moving in to Pelican Slipways from the State Government (thanks Em!)

Blue watch have clarified several aspects of our training pathways and we are even stronger in going ahead with unique curriculum offerings – thank you Danni and Jono!

White watch have set up the office and improved the capability of our website as a basis for our records system – thank you Dylan and Wade!

A significant change to our service has occurred through leasing the Pelican Slipways at Redland Bay. We moved in and began training for beginning this new operation as the pandemic eased. The Pelican Slipways offers a great base for our Blue Peter operations and represents a great opportunity for all the watches to develop our resources and training . By providing a maritime service through boat maintenance for the general public, this development offers us a venue, income, employment, training and connection that can really support our core business. Thanks to Keith and Ann Davis for supporting our cause.

The COVID 19 epidemic resulted in the last minute cancellation of several significant expedition programs and the temporary suspension of all group activities, expeditions and training. The watchleaders gathered on Zoom to discuss options, and a lot of development was undertaken with our systems and resources.

Avocet II (formerly Janet) from Tasmania was gifted to us by Billa and has been a great practice project for our slipping and boat maintenance operation. She was towed back to the mainland for some much needed TLC, slipped, cleaned and the leaking seams recaulked. The assessment on her hull was “better than expected” and despite early misgivings, Keith was often heard to mutter “she is growing on me” – so we embarked on a mission to improve her paint work after replacing some of the rotten timbers. Thanks to everyone for the great sense of community and celebration of Blue Peter through this work… and it continues.

The Catalyst program sailing expedition for Inala Flexi School, was facilitated by Wade and Adam in partnership with Jai and Holly at PCYC Bornhoffen, and Bryn and Anna at Youth Plus. What a great program and such an amazing group of young people. Jacob has returned to be a part of a Blue Peter skippers and friends event which resulted in changing plans and running for home early.

The School Holiday expedition was conducted by Ingrid, Wade, Frankie, Dylan, Davi, Patrick and Ronan, with several really keen lads and a lovely lass all wanting to become sailors, and even more interested by the end of the week. It also included some boys from HYPAR and their carers, and this was a great success – the second time we have done this and it is proving Blue Peter provides an exceptional youth work and peer leadership approach by getting the balance right. Well done everyone…

Silkwood School’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver practice expedition was conducted in sea kayaks through some relatively challenging conditions, with hot humid weather and moderate winds. Kalindi and Jono set the expectations for their qualifying expedition planned for Easter, helped them practice self rescues – and all the students rose to the challenge, camping, exploring and navigating around Minjerribah. Congratulations to you all…

2019 report…

Our busiest year ever – well done to all of our skippers and crew for this really great work! There are so many good reasons to be very proud of what we are doing here!

The School Holiday expedition just before Christmas started with great excitement and strong winds that forced us to anchor in the lee of Coochie Mudlo Island and camp aboard Magic Happens… we had a special guest on board who ferried a few brave souls ashore to camp in peace at Terry and Margarets lovely shelter. We sailed for Blakesleys slip the next day, and spend another two nights there, with a day trip to Teerk Roo Ra for snorkelling and capsize training. Dylan and Katie joined us as trainee skippers and Ben did a wonderful job practicing his Gold DoE leadership.

Rescue training with VMR Victoria Point was postponed due to low numbers on the duty roster, so three boats circumnavigated Coochie and returned home in fine style, practicing our maneuvers and skills in heaving to along the way.

Blue Peter Skipper training had 22 on board with a fantastic ratio of experienced skippers to trainees in six of our vessels. Our partnership with the Tallebudgera Beach School RTO enabled this to be the first accredited sailing instructor training for the new units of competence SISOSAI 003 and 005. A decade in the making… sail training in small boats is coming of age in Australia – we can now recognise the skills of our skippers in this way.

Churchie Year 10 “choose your own adventure” program choices were affected by fire this year, with more options available on the bay. Yachting, sea kayaking and open keel boat sailing were really popular; we had Sam, Thomas, Kim, Wade, Davi, Adam, Patrick and Aaron on the job. What an awesome team…

The Carbrook Animal Assisted Learning School had their first ever school camp – and had a great day on the bay with Sam, Kim and Davi. There was a marine incident involving a collision with an anchored vessel – thanks to everyone for dealing with the situation so well – the Redland Bay Water Police have invited us to inspect their facilities and have a closer relationship with them in the future.

Working bee following the Vitae program was called to fix a few items on the boats, finish servicing the trailer bearings and put all the gear away. Thanks to the Fairlamb family and Bailey, along with Wade, Ross and Jono who made this possible.

Vitae Bush Phase for 2019 was conducted over two five-day expeditions. Strong winds and storms matched the group dynamics, and all six of the remarkable young men returned for the second expedition, of which four were able to graduate. Thank you so much to all the skippers and helpers – including Oscar and Ben from Silkwood who completed their Gold Residential by assisting with the program.

The Horizon Guides program was conducted by Danni and Ross, a different crowd to who we normally work with and we are definitely keen to do it again.

The October School Holiday expedition was conducted as a joint HYPAR and Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition with great results – this is the reason we are so keen on working alongside our young people to become mentors themselves.

Centre Education Programme booked us for a school holiday sailing day at Dunwich and a great day was had by all with Ross on the lovely Sky.

Skipper training weekend – Tegan and Ingrid took some of their friends out for a weekend of adventure, since the bushfires had cancelled other programs we were working on. What a beautiful sight…

Danni, Wade and Jono have been working on our Google Drive, creating a cloud based record keeping system, that will eventually automate a lot of the gathering of information for programs etc.

Matthew Flinders Anglican College Year 10 students had a wonderful week of sailing and paddling in the wake of Matthew Flinders himself. There are some wonderful photos on our Facebook page that sum up the trip really well, thanks Wade. Congratulations also to Sam, Thomas and Frankie for being great skippers.

Human Nature Recre8 programme in August included the prep camp and then the 10 day Young Women’s expedition. What a superb time in a beautiful place, together with the challenges of this program, the incredible strength of the young women and the fantastic facilitation and support provided by the team – it was likely to be the most effective program we have ever conducted. The power of experiential learning hey…

Weekend day sailing trips with our Blue Peter Skippers and Friends group have been fun training opportunities, and often include the extended families of our Skippers and Mates. Talk with a Skipper if you would like to join this network.

Our latest School Holiday expedition was held 8-12 July and we had an eclectic crew of young people, Mates, Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates, trainee skippers and helpers. What a beautiful week it was, thank you everyone.

We purchased a second hand Amity 20, which was delivered on a ship from Western Australia. Kestrel has been renamed, to better suit her next chapter here in our sail training fleet. Thank you to Max, Ross, Danni, Wade, Jules and Jono for rejuvenating the trailer – especially to Ross for his ongoing focus on the maintenance needs of all the boats and trailers. More working bees coming up…

Samford Valley Steiner School Yr 11 expedition was fantastic, we had beautiful weather with almost enough wind, superb teachers and a group of brilliant young people who were so involved and curious about everything. They brought two dories which were built by students at the school, check out the photos on our social media pages… a highlight was cleaning up the beaches and meeting with QYAC ranger Patrick who helped take care of it.

Clairvaux McKillop College Yr 10 sailing and bushwalking “choose your own adventure” expeditions turned out to be really adventurous and really fun – thanks to the huge effort put in by the students, teachers, skippers and leaders. Sam, Kim and Thomas ran the sailing component in Moreton Bay, while Emma, Loz and Jono conducted bushwalking on Fraser Island. Thanks especially to Yonna who put so much love and care into our food, Danni who organised the whole thing, and Ross who was there to help pack it all up at the end! Yonna said she was so proud of the Blue Peter crew, watching how they operated with all the students.

Ross took a crew from CEP out on Osprey for their school holiday program, and had a great day of sail training around Coochie.

Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition for the Silkwood school and two additional students was a great success – we had four boats working to cover the training requirements for those doing their practice – and Maxine Deeb led us in great style to qualify with Gold! Well done Maxine! A really big shout out to our trainees Seb, Frankie and Finn who did a brilliant job skippering the boats.

YouthPlus ABL training included a day on the water with three boats circumnavigating Coochie Mudlo Island in some strong winds. The perfect match for some piracy at the edge of our comfort zones!

Hillbrook Anglican School Yr 12 choose your own adventure crew set sail with Eva, Ross and Penny, and spent a perfect combination of adventurous and restful times, over four days in strong wind conditions. Great work crew!

Ian, Claire and Tim from Noosa Pengari Steiner School brought the Year 7 class out for a five day adventure on the bay. It was a wonderful time thanks mainly to the amazing young people who got in and helped with everything, despite the wet and windy conditions which forced many changes of plans. Highlights included exciting sailing conditions, seeing dugongs up close, the capsize, and lighting a fire on return to the camp each day. We are so impressed with Steiner education and this class really epitomises what is possible with the consistency, timing and spirit they have had. Thank you for the inspiration! We had six boats working together, with Sam stepping up as Black Watch Leader, Tegan, Laura, Eva, Aaron and Thomas skippering.

Critter brought his students from the Australian Catholic University along for a sailing and snorkelling experience to the wreck of the Platypus on Teerk Roo Ra, and we had a fun sail home on the sea breeze.

Phase 2 of the VITAE boys expedition entailed 6 days at sea this time around, and we definitely saw remarkable changes in each young man – as well as the group as a whole. We encountered strong winds and variable conditions throughout the week and had a really great adventure! Thanks to Frieda, Yonna, Sam and Jono and a big congratulations to all the lads – you really showed us how well you can step up and create a better world. Keep it up!

Backtrack Boys was screened at Boonah as a Blue Peter fundraising event.
What a great film – it was really moving, and affirmed that community initiatives like ours can make a huge difference. Seeing the example of young people helping each other off the floor was impactful, as were the scenes of how the dogs helped young people to grow their personal connections. Highly recommended viewing. Other highlights were the fun auction conducted by Bryn (bringing the total raised to $800) and a great discussion facilitated by Gretta to raise awareness and the potential of local initiatives using adventure based youth work.

January was the time for some boat maintenance on Godwit and Osprey, and all the outboards were serviced. Thanks to everyone for helping clean the shed out as well! This job is ongoing… we have purchased some large tubs and a label maker to help with the next stage. The office also has a large whiteboard to help track events.

2018 report…

Bryn, Dave, Neal, Aaron, Cathy and Jono led the final school holiday expedition of the year, with a fantastic group of Dukes students and other young people just before Christmas. What a great time! Frankie and Finn really stepped up as level 2 trainees. Thanks so much to everyone for sharing so much…

Kim, Bryn, Ross and Jono conducted a networking event for the AABAT Queensland group, involving four boats and a wonderful time learning some basic sailing skills and hearing about the great work that is happening in this exciting area.

Sam and Jono conducted our annual Sailing Instructor Training course this year, and we had a marvelous crew of 12 trainees who encountered a wide range of conditions to deal with under sail. Congratulations for getting through a challenging and very rewarding week.

Danni led an overnight “Adventure Yoga” sailing expedition to Minjerribah in Osprey. The feedback was really positive despite (because of) some exciting moments on their return to the pontoon. Well done Danni!

Churchie Year 10 “choose your own adventure” five day sail training program for 2018 was delivered by Ross, Kieron, Gretta, Max and Jono – with the great support of Max, Michael and Aubrey in the Navy Cadet rescue vessels. We appreciated the calibre of the young men and their willingness to learn new skills and concepts. Well done everyone!

The graduation of seven young men from the Vitae Challenge “Bush Phase” was a highlight after our five days of sailing, hiking and camping to learn about our strengths and challenges. They all go on to the “Mateship” phase of the program, alongside a community mentor who will help them incorporate these and other insights into their lives. Thanks to Vitae for the opportunity to help out in this way – and especially to Sam, Max, Frieda and Jono who put in some long hours during the week!

Jono, Martin, Pam and Neil delivered 5 days of Program Development and Facilitation training for Youth Plus flexi school workers. It was really well received, and we are already working on an improved version for next year. Yonna’s catering certainly needs no improvement! We will be delivering similar training to Education Queensland staff next year, and are hoping to offer a course for other human services workers as well.

Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates Maxine (Gold) and Matthew (Silver) practiced their skills on a bunch of willing young people during the September school holiday expedition. Congratulations on your effort – being ready for a qualifying trip now. Danni and Jono skippered with the help of Fleur, John and an awesome group of young men and women – we had a great time exploring the bay! Camping at Minjerribah and Teerk Roo Ra and sailing in a variety of weather conditions, with a spectacular storm lighting up the night sky. We were lucky enough to see Dwayne at Myora, just before the tide nearly left us stranded! All hands on deck! Thanks to the helpers we met on the beach! There were many great stories to share from these 4 days, and Darien had his 13th birthday with some unique gifts from the sea… thanks everyone that was really special!

Ross, Sam and Jono worked alongside Andrew Street to deliver the inaugural Matthew Flinders College Yr10 sailing expedition. We are so happy to be contributing to their great outdoor education program – especially for the opportunity to bring small boat sailing into the mix in true Flinders style! There were many stories beginning with “Matthew was standing here…” The young people were truly remarkable and showed a lot of resilience putting up with the windy conditions and heavy rain – 100mm in one hour flooded our campsite at Blakesleys! We left every site much cleaner than we found it, and everyone gained a lot from their genuine interest in developing their teamwork as well as learning the skills of sail expeditioning. Thank you everyone!

The first draft of the updated sailing units in the national Outdoor Recreation Training Package are live now and due for feedback already! We developed this with Peter Gould and think it will greatly improve the way we train our skippers.

Ross took one of our boats out to work with Centre Education Flexi students – such good work and we are proud that we can share our great resources for all of our skippers to use in similar ways – flying the Blue Peter!

Danni has been busy in the shipping container, cleaning up and organising our gear following the latest mammoth effort behind the 10 day expedition.

Our crew worked alongside the Human Nature team, to deliver the third Young Women’s adventure therapy expedition in Moreton Bay. It went really well thanks to the huge support offered by Lucy, Yonna, Kieron and Ross who were lauded by the Young Women as the most amazing fairies they had ever seen! Beth and Jono led the bushwalking  journey to circumnavigate the island – what a spectacular venue with so many opportunities for deep learning and connection. Danni joined the group to skipper us home via Teerk Roo Ra. Well done everyone and thank you so much for your beautiful efforts… it really brings us to the heart of how and why we do this work! 

Ross, Beth and Danni headed out for a skipper training session during a quiet week – great work keep up the practice! More skipper training is scheduled during upcoming weekends so please contact us for information if you are interested!

Max Allen completed his work experience component with VITAE and also worked on Churchie after the program we ran for ACU earlier in the year. Lauren was our first ACU work experience student and we are happy to continue this valuable connection.

Beth and Jono facilitated the prep camp for the latest Young Womens’ adventure therapy program with Human Nature. Cherie, Amie and Andy helped make this as great as it can be, and it feels like an awesome start to another powerful process. Here is a link to a lovely moment that happened in the campsite during breakfast!

Jono, Martin, Lorraine, Neil and Pam are preparing for the next delivery of Program Development and Facilitation training for the Youth Plus network in October.

Beth, Lucy, Loz and Fleur practicing their “man overboard!” recoveries…

Flinders day on Coochie was a fun time of re-creating history, and a great chance to connect with other passionate people around all the beautiful wooden boats… welcome aboard Lucy and Dave!

Beth, Jono, Frankie, Ray and Sally sailed Osprey, to support Ross sailing Yaul during a school holiday sailing day for Centre Education. A great day for all!

Our latest community expedition held during the first week of the winter holidays, was led by nine Duke of Edinburgh Award students who were aiming to qualify for their expedition leadership. Congratulations to you all… we had a great time camping, sailing and sea kayaking to Minjerriba and Karragarra Island. It had some challenging moments and many blissful times for play, reflection and insights into the lessons that were provided so well by the process. Thank you everyone!

Ross and Kieron have been working very hard, stripping back Whimbrel to get her ready for new varnish, paint and rigging. Ross painted the hull Pacific Blue, while Jono and Beth painted the bilges with 2-pack to seal it – and Frankie painted the decks and sprinkled with non-slip sand! Since then Ross has continued applying several coats of varnish… an awesome effort thank you mate! She looks amazing😊

Jono has been busy skippering Aristocat again to maintain his commercial skipper currency and our Sea School bank balance, thanks Darren! We had some close encounters with whales near Teerk Roo Ra during a skipper training day.

Danni has taken responsibility for “Midge” – a lovely Caledonian Yawl that was generously donated to The Sea School. It has been a real team effort, with Ross, Kieron and Danni beginning her much needed restoration. 

Brianna, Teddi, Sam and Fleur attended an induction training session and helped with preparation for the community expedition. Welcome aboard! Jono is in the process of creating a payroll system for all skippers under the Educational Services Award. while Tahlia and Loz are working on their skippering experience as well.

The Young Womens’ Human Nature program reunion camp was a blast! Areeba! Such wonderful young women – we are all feeling inspired and grateful from being part of the journey! Kim presented a very beautiful hand painted sign to Andy, commemorating this special voyage.

Sally and Fabian are preparing to cast the lines and are sailing for Cairns via the outer reef! We look forward to all the reports, and also to having Sally travel back to spend time on some future programs with us. Thank you and all the best – fair trade winds for your passages mateys!

Osprey and Whimbrel sailed beautifully alongside Brahminy on a fun day’s sail training program conducted by Bryn, Martin and Jono with the Inala Flexi School. A spectacular day with great outcomes, well done!

Jono, Chief and Colin prepared to deliver Avocet north from Batemans Bay to Newcastle for a shakedown… Chief and Colin continued sailing all the way home in fine form!

Kim and Sally worked alongside Andy, Cherie and Amy from Human Nature during the 10 day epic adventure that was the latest Recre8 Adventure Therapy expedition. 6 days of hiking and 4 days of sailing with some great processes was conducted with and exceptional group of young women from the Byron area. So many highlights and some very important learnings along the way. Thanks also to Ross, Kieron, Georgia, Jono and Yonna for backing up the program in such a heartfelt way. 

Osprey was skippered in fine style by Martin, during a combined sea kayak and sailing camp at Minjerribah which was conducted by Ray from Centre Education for his flexible learning students. Jono assisted, and it culminated in some exciting sailing in 20 knot westerlies and steep wind waves as we circumnavigated Coochie on our way home!

Sally and Jono began the process for the Young Womens Adventure Therapy expedition with a recce of a new area near Broken Head that proved to be perfect for the preparation camp. What an awesome group of young women – after hearing their heartfelt intentions around the fire, we think it will be a very powerful expedition! Thanks so much to Andy, Amie, Cherie and Cedar for your powerful work!

The Sea School WATCH SYSTEM has evolved to describe and allocate the spectrum of work we do. Skippers wear multiple hats at both program and organisation levels, our intent is to become more specific about the supervision responsibilities so we can effectively devolve leadership to our trainees where possible.

Meetings are continuing with the founders of Vitae, to discuss opportunities for young people in our local area to engage with therapeutic experiences through adventure expeditions in the southern part of the bay. What a great opportunity!

Sally and Kieron led a group of Year 12 Hillbrook Anglican School students and their teacher Andy, on a four day sailing adventure in Osprey and Whimbrel. They encountered some strong winds and visited many beautiful locations – well done to everyone involved!

Danni, Ross, Sam, Will and Jono led groups from the Year 10 cohort of Clairvaux McKillop College on a four day expedition in a combined fleet of sailing boats and sea kayaks. The weather proved challenging, but the students were truly awesome, soaking up the adventure and coming out the other end raving about their experiences!

Frankie, Jono and Ginny worked together on a sailing and snorkelling experience for Australian Catholic University students. We had a great day on Peel Island, culminating in some strong wind sailing on the way home and an accidental capsize! Well done to everyone involved for an excellent self-rescue!

Sea School Certificate training at Easter became a community expedition and school holiday digital detox – we had a range of new and old students enjoying each others company on the water and camping at Blakesleys. We also inducted young Skippa the black kelpie cross into the expedition family! Thanks so much to Aeron of Jabber Jabber Media for producing this great video of our time together!

Welcome aboard Sam, a sailing instructor formerly from RQYS who is keen on expeditioning and being part of some really great youth work. Sam brings a lot of skill and experience and we are very grateful to have you join us mate!

The team of Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates from the Silkwood School returned to Qualify in fine style, and also did a great job of including a few other people who joined in the process. Thanks team, you are all welcome back any time and we are looking forward to reading your reports!

Rob borrowed Whimbrel for a family day out on the bay… go Rob!

Noosa Pengari Steiner School sent their Year 7 class for the fifth year running, and once again they really shone in the beautiful environment of the bay. Ian and Debra did a great job of enhancing their learning on expedition – ably supported by a massive cast of skippers. We had all six of our training vessels out for the week! Despite the strong winds and a bit of damage sustained to the boats – we stuck with the plan and had an amazing week of sailing and camping on the islands.

Ross and Kieron have been working on Pelican to reseal the centreboard case and replace the running rigging. Top job guys! Working bees are on Friday afternoons from 2pm next ones are 16, 23 March, please join in for more fun!

Kim has become a Queensland Rep for AABAT and is heading to the Blue Mountains for planning of the International Conference – how great to be represented so well – congratulations Kim!

Most weekends we head out sailing with old and new friends with the aim of training up any people who are interested in helping out… so please come aboard! Thanks to all the experienced skippers that keep coming back to share their knowledge…

Em borrowed Godwit for personal practice during the week – go Em! All skippers are encouraged to take out your friends for skill development and adventure currency.

Working bees and social sailing events were held every weekend in February and March 2018, being a great way to meet some new people and have fun teaching the ropes! Some work has been done on all the boats and the shed is slowly getting shipshape… thanks again to Max and Margaret who generously lend us the space to carry on like this!

Congratulations to Tahlia; on the back of her Level 2 Sea School Certificate and Young Endeavour sailing experiences, she has been accepted into the Navy to train as a Boatswain! They don’t know how lucky they are (yet)…

Jono took the Chataway family out on Osprey for a great adventure across the bay to have lunch at Peel Island. The wind got up and we reefed the sails to keep everyone on an even keel! What a great crew – and many thanks to Lynnette for such wonderful support – at our very first Mount Alford Market she purchased the only gift voucher we have ever sold! Whoo hooo bring it on!

Dean has taken a contract with EQ which is really great news for him (and the kids of in his class).

Jono has given industry feedback to SkillsIQ about sailing competencies in the Outdoor Recreation Training Package and has been speaking with QORF about addressing the lack of an Adventure Activity Standard for Sailing.

Jono and Sally have been working on the Churchie Year 7 program, staying current with our roping, flatwater kayaking and skills! Every little bit helps keep our accounts above the line… most importantly, we are laying a solid foundation for our future sailors!

Our Sea School Certificate training during January was fully booked with Duke of Edinburgh Award students from Clairvaux McKillop College, Silkwood School and Churchie. What an awesome crew it proved to be! Congratulations to Amy and Michael who qualified with their great efforts leading the Gold expedition component, and to all the helpers and trainee skippers – a big shout out to Kalindi, Anna, Loz, Em, Rob, Bob, Frankie, Ben and Jono who all helped to make it happen!

Huge congratulations to Loz, who has been accepted to study her dream course at USC this year! We think she is a really talented student – and will go far in this field!

Holy flying foxes Seb! 🦇  

Youth Plus Adventure Based Learning staff came together from all over the country to share frameworks and practices, beginning with a gentle paddle and (longer than expected) hike to Ngumbi at Lake Wyaralong. Although it was planned as a sailing and sea kayaking event in Quandamooka country, the weather proved necessary to reschedule to our heavy weather contingency venue!

Our January Skipper’s extension to Lord Howe Island was eventful and truly fantastic, so many amazing things happened each day! We encountered 3 days of vigorous offshore sailing to get there from Southport, 7 full days of great adventures on the island and then 4 days of light wind sailing to get home again. Many lessons were learned and our friendships forged through this very memorable time together…

More work has been done on the boats and shipping container lately, and Osprey is sporting a much stronger Yamaha 4HP outboard motor which has already proved valuable when towing other boats. We aim to have them all repainted and with their names visible for our our upcoming expeditions.

Please share your photos and stories through our Facebook site – Blue Peter

2017 report

Whooo hoo! The season began with a heatwave, a cyclone and a flood, along with unprecedented Sea School activity – we have been busy conducting our training courses and sailing expeditions in and around the beautiful Moreton Bay.

• Sea School Certificate training in December went so well – we had many new crew members sign up while several of our level 2 candidates worked on their skills. Congratulations Tahlia who completed her level 2 award!

• Churchie Year 10 expedition was a great success, with Bob, Sally and Jono backed up by Scott in the Navy Cadet rescue vessel. Great sailing conditions helped the young men in their skill development – a highlight was the “silent skipper” race on day 5 to get us home. Well done everyone!

• Three day sailing events to Coochie with YouthPlus flexible learning schools have proven to be a great success – congratulations to Bryn and Ross for making it happen, and to all the amazing young people that took on the challenge! Bryn and Ross have also been sailing on a regular basis with Centre Education students – proving to be a great thing!

• A series of working bees enabled progress on the trailer bearings, improving the rigging and sanding and varnishing – and more are scheduled every Friday. Thanks so much to Ross, Kieron and everyone else that turned up to help out.

• Blue Peter was shortlisted for the Outdoors Queensland Awards and gained a great little promo video in the process, thanks Danni! It was a great night out with a bunch of our skippers and helpers.

• Sea School Certificate training during September 19-22 saw Amy, Dean and Seb all complete the practical component of their Sea School Certificate (level 2) training. Congratulations Amy and Dean who have also written up their reports to qualify!

• Amy went to Italy and is busy planning – Moreton Island for Bronze, Lady Musgrave Island for Silver, where on earth will her Gold be planned for?

• The Human Nature Young Womens’ 10 day expedition – hiking around Moreton Island then sailing home was truly amazing! Well done to Sally, Amie, Cherie and Andy for holding the space and being such great mentors on the big journey! Ross, Jono and Kieron were also great support, they were in awe of the great work being done. We hope to conduct this in partnership with Human Nature a couple of times every year from now on.

• We now also have Instagram and a Youtube channel! Bring your camera on the next trip so we can get more footage to showcase our work in this way! Seb proved that filming from a drone while sailing is possible… what a brave move! Awesome potential for footage of the small boats under sail!

• A working bee saw Kieron, Ross and Jono installing shelving in the shipping container – great job guys! With Dean’s help we also made an awesome fire resistant fuel storage area and emptied the boats of all the extra gear that is being sorted onto the shelving. It is starting to come together in a great way!

• Meetings with Human Nature Adventure Therapy staff and a preparation camp have laid the foundation for our biggest expedition program yet – a 3 month process involving several camps (including a mighty 10 day expedition through Moreton Bay). We are very excited by this development! Sally, Ross, Kieron, Yonna and Jono are all involved in partnership with Andy, Amie and Cherie who are remarkable therapists and are really inspiring to work with.

• A sailing instructor currency day sail saw several new trainees join us for the first time in the small boats. Bryn, Ross, Dean, Loz, Danni, Jono and Peter set sail to practice our skills off Coochie Mudlo Island.

• Tahlia took the initiative to apply for a place on the Young Endeavour and has been accepted for a 3 week training voyage from Mackay. WOW! Congratulations Tahlia!

• Dean, Amy, Eva, Frankie, Seb and Jono set sail from Redcliffe to Lady Musgrave Island in Magic Happens during the school holidays. After many days at sea they soaked up heaps of great experiences including swimming with Manta Rays and Reef Sharks! Frankie and Jono sailed home from Bundaberg after Yonna kindly drove all the way to Bundaberg to bring home most of the crew in time for school.

• Our shipping container arrived, and was eventually wrestled into place thanks to Max and his tractor, a very good truck driver and the efforts of Kieron, Ross and Jono to clear the site and create footings. It is being set up for our storage, workshop and office space with an undercover area for storing and working on the boats!

• Nine Level 3 and four Level 2 trainees headed out on our first accredited course! What an amazing crew – eight skippers passed their practical assessment and are working on their planning tasks for upcoming expeditions to finish the requirements for their Sailing Instructor ticket and the associated units of competence. Congratulations!

• Hillbrook Anglican School Yr 12 groups encountered rain one week and then floodwaters the next from ex-tropical cyclone Debbie! We were very impressed with the students who enjoyed learning to sail in the variable conditions… and with such determination in using their new skills to light fires with their bare hands! The staff at Hillbrook are pretty awesome too 🙂

• • Noosa Pengari Steiner School expedition was brilliant – in our experience Steiner students are the most intuitive and open to learning. We had great sailing conditions, and our skippers (Rob, Kim, Kieron, Ross, Sally, Bob and Jono) worked well with Ian and Sylvia who brought so much to the students!

  • Creative Approaches to Therapeutic Group work training was conducted by Jono and Yonna at Coomera – with very interesting staff from Silky Oaks and Youth Plus. These connections and partnerships keep getting stronger – and many young people will benefit as a result!

  • Australian Catholic University students had a blissful day of gentle sailing conditions and superb snorkelling at the wreck of the steam barge “Platypus”.

• Rob and Jono conducted our annual Sailing Ability and Adventure Sailing events for the “Be Healthy and Active” initiative at Wyaralong Dam – with a great turnout from the local community. Thanks to Scenic Rim Regional Council and SEQWater for the continued support to provide these opportunities.

• Maintenance on the boats continues with buoyancy upgrades and painting happening during our occasional working bees. Thanks so much in particular to Ross and Kieron for their consistent efforts in this area.

• New EPIRBS, VHF radios, LUCI lights, compasses and updated safety equipment have been purchased to make up six complete kits in dry bags for the boats.

• Keith Slack donated a Rob Legg Status 580 for our fleet and she has proved her racing potential – winning the Jollybod Cup at Dunwich in January! She has had her trailer upgraded and has been named Pelican.

• Kim, Rob, Sally and Jono took Andy out for a sail in Osprey to begin planning our 10 day adventure therapy expedition later in the year.

• Jono represented The Sea School – working with Sally and the crew with Churchie at Moogerah and Girraween, keeping a wider range of activity facilitation skills current (and our Sea School bank account topped up).

Discovery Christian College enjoyed five days of exploring Moreton Bay including 3 days on Osprey, Brahminy and Seahorse. The feedback was excellent…

Congratulations Ross who won the inaugural Winter Solstice Regatta 2015 in fine style, and thank you to all our skippers and helpers who took part!

2014 and earlier…

The inaugural Jolibod Cup in January 2014 was a hoot, with light winds treating the fleet to a tidal challenge. Our Sea School fleet was well represented, with skippers and crew camping at the Caravan Park and deciding to formalise the Sea School which happened in March 2014.

It all began after Jono had initiated a number of sail training programs as a sole trader, and thanks to financial support from Bob and Martin – we commissioned Brahminy and then Sandpiper as our first training boats. The first Sea School programs conducted included Churchie Yr10, Blue Peter Skipper training, Roma House and Noosa Pengari Steiner School expeditions in 2013.

Blue Peter in the media:

• Sea School Crew – School holiday digital detox expeditions

• Outdoors Queensland Awards 2017

• Amateur Wooden Boat Builder Magazine August 2017 – article TBS please help

• Ross’ journey down the Hawkesbury (see image below) and radio interview about The Sea School in 2015 (ask us for a copy if interested)

• Coomera Waterports Club partnership cwsc2016

• Helen Houghton Scholarship – Queensland Times and Fassifern Guardian 020316

• Sailing Ability 2016 and  Disability sailing day

• Dukes article in the Guardian (Easter 2015)

• DiscoveryNewsletter2015_09

• Jollybod Regatta

• Wooden Boat magazine Scruffie article

• Regatta in the Redland Bay Bulletin

• QORF short film

• South Passage video