Tall Ship

This past week has been a hard one. One of those I'm feeling very unappreciated kind of weeks. The ones that get you down. There were a few positive moments in there, I can see that but most of it I was feeling as gloomy as the weather looked. 

Basically it looks like the new casual daycare job I got is a flop. I am now up to the 3rd roster that I haven't been put on, which I received on Friday. Friday was also when I was told I wasn't needed for the extra hours I'd been asked to do on Saturday. Friday was not good.

I really feel I could vent so many of my frustrations from last week on here, but I'm not going to. What is the point of that really, well other than getting them out there.

Oh well. It'll be right.
The sun will come out tomorrow and all of that.

Actually the sun did try to come out on Saturday, in between showers.
One of the highlights of the week happened on Saturday too. I got to get up close and personal with something I hadn't been that close to before. Actually something I hadn't seen before in real life either, that I recall.

When I was down on the Esplanade on Anzac Day I spotted something a little different over at the marina. Unfortunately when I went and investigated the gates were shut onto that arm so I couldn't get close. However on Saturday morning they opened it all up so we could get really close. So close in fact that we were allowed on it.
A tall ship.
How cool is that!

This is the Sorlandet.
Launched in 1927 she is the oldest full rigged ship still in operation in the world.
That made it even cooler.
Not only was it my first up close a personal with a tall ship, it was the oldest working one sailing the seas.

The Sorlandet was built in Norway and originally used as a training ship.
When you look her up, it seems she has had a varied and interesting life from sailing to the World Fair in Chicago in 1933 to being an accommodation vessel for German submariners during WWII. During WWII she was damaged but was restored by 1948 and 10 years later she received her first engine. Over the years since then she had had various restorations to keep her in good working order.

So why was this beauty in Cairns?
Well she is currently being used for a school called A+ World Academy and on board were mariners, teachers and students who are currently over 8 months in to their up to 2 year trip around the world visiting 44 cities in 22 counties.
Now that is a school!
Believe it or not this is the first time this ship will have circumnavigated the world.

When I first saw the the ship all I wanted to do was get some photos of the outside.

 However getting to have a look around on board as well as chat to the teachers and students was a definite plus.

The students were happy to chat about the ship, what they were doing, where they had been, where they were from and anything else people asked.

The students live, eat, work and play together in a fairly confined area. You can't get much more confined than a boat in the middle of the ocean.

I had a chat with one of the teachers about what is like teaching the teens and how it all goes with everyone having to live in each others pockets.

She said the schooling side at sea means they have very limited resources and also commented that she does lots of downloading when she reaches port. It sounds very much like distance education that I know and have worked with. She also said that mostly the students get along well but they have their moments and that it is good preparation for the real world and workplace. So true that.

They are all certainly having the experience of a lifetime and you can tell that the students are grateful for that and know how amazing this experience is for them.

I can't imagine the teenage me doing this but then maybe I would have jumped at the chance.

One of the American students told me this was her favourite port so far. That some countries are as accepting of Americans and she felt welcome here and had loved seeing the area.

Do you think you would be able to do this, or have done this as your teenage self?

I loved looking at all the lines and details of the ship, it really is living history.

In regards to the sailing side of things the students all seemed to have the same opinion on the actual sailing side, it is hard work but worth it. They were proud of their skills.




 And so they should be.





They were sailing out at 4pm on Saturday afternoon.
I hope they enjoy the rest of their adventures and learning.

So now you can see why it was such a highlight of my week and it is always good to get out and about.
I also got to crunch through some leaves that made it look more Autumnal than what it is.

Map of where they are now

 

 

Tuesday's Treasures

Holy ... Ship

Huey, we have sunshine and blue sky!

A nice change for sure.

We also have higher temps but lower humidity.

The rain will be back soon enough and I'll enjoy it again, when it comes.

Yesterday morning, as I was just slipping back into the conscious world, Mr Sparky whispered "are you awake?" I think I mumbled "yeah" without managing to crack an eyelid. "Look at the sky," he said. And so look we did, just laying there is bed, watching it change colours.

That all just sounds a bit romantic really.

When his alarm reminded us that he needed to get up and ready I also plodded downstairs and grabbed my camera to capture the end of the pretty colours of the sunrise.

When Mr Sparky headed off to work, I headed out as well, knowing there was something of interest at the wharf.

Not the storm lilies, something bigger. Although they are all pretty in flower.

By the way, yes, that time is correct.

I've missed my port view from my old job and watching the comings and goings. I've also missed our relaxed BBQs down there.

Can you see what my something interesting and big was?

I had heard on the radio there was a cruise ship in and having not seen one in a while I thought it warranted a morning visit.

That, and that the wharf is always a nice place to wander with its heritage character. I believe the port was the first major part of town to be built really and it looks different today than it did back then, smaller as well I think.

The wharf sheds that have been preserved aren't really all that small but ships like these make them look tiny.

They started letting passengers off not that long after I got down there but other than that it was pretty quiet. It always is in the morning.

I love that in this area there are pieces of the old surrounded by the new. Just a little proof that things looked different in the past.

So after our wet start to the new year it seems we are getting a brief bit of sun before the rain comes back. I do find I need that big blue sky every now and again to counteract the grey. Vitamin D is always a plus too.

It is certainly feeling summery and the sun is a bit fierce. It is funny though that this exact same week last year had very similar weather. Hot, still and clear skies. 

Isn't it nice that facebook sends you reminders of the stuff from the past.

The water was so still and fairly clear too, for Trinity Inlet. Down at the marina I even saw some fish hanging around some object in the water. 

The stillness made for great reflections too. Reflections of boats, boats and more boats. There is just something about it.

It also worked well for reflecting the city.

I walked up a jetty that went along the front of the marina that I didn't really know existed. It made for a great view back to the city. A new sunrise or sunset spot to try out I think.

It also made for a pretty good view of lots of boats. Kind of pointing out the obvious there.

The cruise ship looked like part of the city, way at the back.

I wandered around to the Lagoon, looking for flowers really but loving how blue and tropical looking everything was.

I also wished I was dressed for swimming.

The rainbow shower trees are nearly done flowering. I'm glad I caught them. I love the variations in flower colour. Mr Sparky loves the pink shower trees, I think they are his favourite, and we also like the yellow. I can see us attempting to grow them in our one day garden.

The Esplanade still had its Happy New Year on but the Christmas tree nearby had started to be deconstructed. 

Also nearby is a raintree that is always decorated, slowly gaining more lanterns over the years.

Of cause on the return journey I had to pass that ship again.

How is the beginning of your year shaping up? I know many are coming down off their holiday cloud. I didn't really have holidays so things have just kept going on.

We have been attempting to make grown up decisions like weddings and babies and houses. Actually, we nearly bought a house, we are still on the fence a bit about it. Not buying a house, or some land but whether this one is what we want for now. You see we are in decision making time now. We need to work out whether to move or to commit to another year here and possibly buy a house as a future investment property or to wait and save, save, save some more to buy the rural property we dream of or to move and buy elsewhere or to do who knows what. I can tell you we are not the best decision makers around. This is kind of the fun stuff but they are big things after all. Some bigger than others. We need to make a leap, I can see that. It is just a matter of which way.

And let's just not talk about trying to set a date for a wedding and the up here, down there thing going on.

Well that was all a bit deep for the end of the post.

I hope you enjoyed coming along on my summery morning stroll and I hope my decision making spiel didn't hurt your brain too much.

 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin