Sail the Leeuwin in Australia
Board a Sail Training Ship at Fremantle Harbour Near Perth
Jan 17, 2008
Technically speaking, the Sail Training Ship Leeuwin is a three masted barquentine ship, but even if you’re not nautically minded, you’ll find her a real beauty. She’s around 180 feet long and made of steel and beautiful teak wood, and if you watch her float away with sails raised on all three masts, you could imagine you’ve gone back a century or so in time.
After being launched in 1986, the Leeuwin has had a home base at the port city of Fremantle, a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia’s capital city. The Leeuwin has a small number of permanent crew members, with the majority of tasks being undertaken by volunteers. A major component of the Leeuwin’s work is to take teenagers on week-long journeys to give them a great learning experience, but tourists and visitors also have a chance to enjoy sailing on the Leeuwin.
Summer Half-Day Sails
Every summer, around the Christmas and New Year season, the Leeuwin docks in Fremantle and locals and tourists can book themselves onto short part-day sails to get a taste of the Leeuwin experience. Depending on the day, you can choose a morning, afternoon or twilight cruise, averaging about 3 hours in length. Snacks or a light meal are included in the ticket price, which ranges from around A$80 to A$120. The Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation is a non-profit organisation so any profit made from these sails goes in to supporting the program for teenagers.
After you board the boat, you’ll see a dozen or more red-shirted volunteer crew members scurrying about with ropes in hand, readying the Leeuwin for sailing. Once you motor out of Fremantle Harbour, the call will go out for volunteers to help set the sails by pulling hard on the ropes to the count of “2, 6, heave!”. During the sail, which heads out towards the island of Rottnest and then turns back to Fremantle, visitors will be able to take a tour of the ship (seeing the sleeping quarters is especially interesting, but not good for those who suffer seasickness), take a turn at the wheel, and ask the crew any questions.
Leeuwin Voyages
If you’re a keen sailor and would like to combine a trip on the Leeuwin with exploring other parts of Western Australia, there are occasional voyages which adults can join. These are generally “eco-voyages” with an emphasis on learning something about the environment, and they run along varying parts of the Western Australia coast, as far north as Broome and as far south as Albany. Costs vary according to the length of the trip and the location, but average between A$800 and A$2500. You can get more information by checking the Sail Leeuwin website.
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