Preparing for voyage aboard the 'Prince William'

Preparing for voyage aboard the 'Prince William'

Tantri Almira Wardhani, University of Malang/Malang, East Java

I am one of the young persons selected by ENCOMPASS Trust
(www.encompasstrust.org) to partake in the sail training
adventure aboard the Tall Ship, Prince William, with the Tall
Ships Youth Trust (www.sta.org.uk) in the United Kingdom from
Nov. 5 to 19, 2005.

The name of the program is The 5th Voyage of Understanding
2005, which is aimed at promoting tolerance and understanding
between people of different cultural backgrounds through
education, travel and fellowship.

The program will include about 30 young people (18 to 23) from
several countries in the world, including Israel, Indonesia,
Palestine, the United Kingdom and the United States. Indonesia
will be represented by nine university students: me (State
University of Malang), Hamidyah Qutsi (State University of
Malang), Rila Kristanti (Brawijaya University of Malang), Singgih
Kiswantoro (State University of Malang), Dini Privea (Brawijaya
University of Malang), Nada Yangrifqi (State University of
Malang), Septiana Butar-Butar (Brawijya University of Malang),
Resi Yusfiki (STIE Malang Kucecwara Malang) and Romadhona
(Brawijaya University of Malang).

The nine of us were selected after applying with ENCOMPASS
Trust and the YEPE (Young Pioneers). As all the participants of
the program will pursue exciting mental and physical challenges
on the Prince William, myself and the other eight participants
from Indonesia took part in pre-voyage activities in order to
better prepare us before setting sail on the real voyage. The
first training session was held at the Citius Training Center in
Jakarta from Sept. 2 to Sept. 6, 2005. We had a lot of activities
there dealing with the preparation before our big trip. I will
share stories about that.

I really enjoyed the daily activities at the center. I learned
a lot of new things. I got some valuable and interesting
experience there. What I liked the most was when we went scuba
diving. It was nice! I found that before diving we had to make
such a careful plan. We had to know the area where we wanted to
dive, identify how deep it was, and calculate how much air that
we needed underwater. We also learned how to prepare our scuba
equipment. We had to make sure that the equipment was all
complete and was in good condition.

There were many other things that needed to be considered as
well. For instance, we were not allowed to dive alone and,
instead, must be accompanied by our friends called "buddy". We
must also have good health and were not allowed to take drugs or
drink alcoholic drinks before diving.

Diving was not the only activity that impressed me much. I
really loved the moment when I had the HUET (Helicopter
Underwater Escape Training). It was challenging. What I learned
from HUET is that when we are in a helicopter and an unexpected
bad thing occurs, do not panic easily because there is a way to
survive in that kind of terrible situation.

Another activity was Sea Survival Training. We were trained by
professional instructors to survive even in bad conditions in the
middle of the sea. It was nice.

We also learned in a classroom. We learned about navigation
and knots. As we will run the ship, at least we have to know
about navigation and how to make knots.

In addition, we learned how to do presentations in front of
many people so that we are able to communicate well and have good
presentation skills. There will be a cross-cultural night on the
last day of the voyage. The voyagers will have a discussion
session and will discuss about the issues in the world;
especially world peace issues. The voyagers will also have a
chance to present their culture, such as dancing the traditional
dances or singing folk songs.

A large group of young people concerned about world peace
issues will be on the ship, making friendships without thinking
about the differences between them. What good news in view of the
numerous problems that undermine world peace today!

My experience did not end with the pre-voyage preparation. On
the last day of training, we had a party in one of the cafes in
Kemang. We had fun there until midnight. I had a great time
during the pre-voyage activities. I feel very lucky to be one of
the participants of the Fifth Voyage of Understanding 2005.