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By David & Corinne Eggert
AFTER 18,000 nautical miles and 376 days, the tallship
Pacific Grace returned to its home port.
‘Training, by the sea, for life’ is the
motto of the ship’s owners, the Sail and Life Training Society
(SALTS). The concept was poignantly brought home June 14 as Pacific Grace
slipped tranquilly to dock at Ship’s Point Wharf in Victoria, after a
year-long voyage circling the Pacific.
The peaceful conclusion was in stark contrast to the
daily and often dramatic influx of weather, wind and wave on the graceful
yet sturdy 138-foot traditional schooner.
“We buried the bowsprit under three feet of water
– regularly,” said Captain Tony Anderson, as he described the
reality of constant motion to hundreds of welcoming family and friends
lining the dock.
Yet the rhythm of the elements had become as integral
to the daily tapestry of life at sea, as had the rich friendships spawned
by the challenges and joys of living and sailing alongside 37 trainees and
crew.
It’s all about “what it means to know and
to be known,” said trainee Stephen Barbour – now a veteran of a
trans-Pacific crossing – as he eloquently conveyed to the crowd the
personal impact of living in community on a tallship.
On-board experiences, coupled with adventures and
cultural encounters in both urban and remote ports of call, carved
indelible images on the hearts and minds of the young people who sailed,
maintained, steered and grew to love ‘the Grace’ they called
home.
As striking colour photographs of memories captured by
crew and trainees along the way were passed through the expectant crowd,
Captain Anderson narrated stories of connections with people and places
abroad.
Highlights included a trek to the great wall of China;
sobering tours of the Hiroshima museum; and a dugout canoe hand-carved in
Papua New Guinea by native residents, with crew and trainees – then
lashed to the after deck of the Grace for the long trek home.
The voyage provided a rich context for growth –
physically, mentally and spiritually.
“The focus of the program is to help young people
grow and mature,” said Loren Hagerty, SALTS executive director.
“This type of physical challenge, tight community
and intercultural experience is very formative for young adults.”
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Trainee Kira Van Bruggen can attest to this, having
completed the first leg of the voyage to Hawaii 11 months prior, knowing
that it would challenge and change her.
Welcoming home her shipmates last month proved to be
the culmination of a year of soul searching.
“All the lessons I learned about myself on that
boat, no matter how painful, all of a sudden made sense. I realized how
much God was – and is – working in my life. I wish I could go
again.” It was an experience that she and all on board will, no
doubt, remember for a lifetime.
This was SALTS’ sixth offshore voyage, and the
second for Pacific Grace. From June 3, 2007 to June 14, 2008 the ship
travelled from Victoria to Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, China,
Japan, Hawaii and back to Victoria.
Commissioned in 2001, Pacific Grace was built at
the SALTS Heritage Shipyard in Victoria, using local timbers and
traditional methods, by a core team of SALTS staff supported by dedicated
volunteers.
With headquarters in Victoria, SALTS is a non-profit
Christian organization which helps young people develop life skills through
sail training, and which builds and restores traditional wooden ships at
the SALTS Heritage Shipyard.
SALTS operates two tallships, and takes more than 2,000
young people sailing each year off the coast of Vancouver Island and on
occasional extended offshore voyages.
Journals, photos and video clips of the completed
voyage are available at www.salts.ca/offshore.
To enquire about coastal trips, contact: 250-383-6811.
July 2008
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