April 2018
Fancy sleeping in a hammock below decks on the James Craig tall ship?
A team of Senior STEM students from Wagga Wagga Christian College have the opportunity this weekend to compete in a wooden canoe build competition – part of the Classic and Wooden Boat Show in Darling Harbour – and in the evening rest their weary muscles in the hammocks of the James Craig, moored in the harbour. The Classic and Wooden Boat Festival 2018 is being hosted by the Australian National Maritime Museum. As part of the festivities High Schools were invited to apply to take part in the second Sydney Novice Canoe Building Challenge – the students will need to construct a Bellinger Double Chine Canoe in three days, culminating in a race in the harbour on the final day. Wagga Wagga Christian College is one of only five (5) schools competing in the canoe build and the Year 11 students are very excited at the prospect.
Sean Wilson is eagerly awaiting the opportunity, “I’m really looking forward to learning new skills and experiencing a completely different environment. It is going to be awesome sleeping in a hammock, it will feel like stepping back in time.” David Crick, Design and Technology teacher, is particularly keen for the exposure the students will have not just in the competition but in the whole weekend experience.
“The students will learn leadership and teamwork skills as they seek to complete a project that is new to all of them. The weekend will afford them opportunities to grow in life skills, and mature as they adjust and adapt to the unique experience of living on a boat for the weekend.”
The James Craig, a 19th century barque, was fully restored and set sail for the first time in 80 years in 2001. As a sleepover crew member on the tall ship the students will be part of the daily life aboard – setting a sail, swabbing the decks and heaving cargo. As the sun sets they will clamber into a hammock for the night. Wagga Wagga Christian College looks forward to the students sharing the wood working skills gleaned on the weekend with the wider College community in Canoe building workshops on the school grounds.