InternationalSailTrainingandTallShipsConference2018AsayouthrepresentativeforTheLadyNelson&YoungEndeavour,IwashonouredtobechosenthisyeartoattendtheinternationalSailTrainingandTallShipsconferenceinSeville,Spain.WewereluckytohavealargenumberofrepresentativesfromAustraliathisyear,withalargeportionfromTasmania, reflecting thestatesgrowingandongoingcommitment tosail trainingand tall shipmanagement. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing ideas with my fellow Australians and crew fromneighbouringshipsinTasmania,asitfeltlikealittlesliceofhomeontheothersideoftheworld.

During the first day of the conference I attended the following sessions: “Incident Analysis –Identifying the root causes and lessons learnt”, “Square-RiggedMaster-class”, “YourYouthCouncil”and“MilitaryTallShipProgrammesandOn-boardTraining”.I found the Incident Analysis session particularly valuable as several real-life scenarios werepresentedbyTheUnitedStatesCoastguardandHollandshipstofacilitateourlearning.ThissessionalsoprovidedmewithsomefreshideasrelatingtocommonsafetyandincidentreportingprocessescurrentlyusedwithinAustralia,andareasinwhichthesecouldbeimproved.IalsoenjoyedtheYouthCouncilsession,asitprovidedmewiththeopportunitytonetworkwithinacommunityofyoungpassionatesailorsandsailtrainersfromacrosstheglobe.DuringthisworkshopwesharedideasontheimageoftheYouthCouncilaswellashearingaboutsomecurrentprojectsandideasforfutureevents.IwassurprisedandexcitedbythenumberofwomenrepresentativeswithintheYouthCouncil, andwould consider this a good representation of youngwomen’s ever growingengagementwithinthesail-trainingworld.

In theafternoon I attendedStephenMoss’s sessionpresenting theYoungEndeavoursyouth sailingprogramandother shipsmilitary tall shipprograms. Itwas interesting tohear thatonlyoneothercountry seemed to have a similar program, making the Young Endeavour unique in its efforts toprovideyouthdevelopmentwithinamilitaryenvironment.

Therewereanumberofopportunitiestonetworkalsoduringtheconference,andIfeelIbenefittedfromthistimetomakefriendshipsandconnectionswithintheYouthCouncilaswellaswithcrewsfromacrossEurope.DuringtheseconddayoftheconferenceIenjoyed“CyberSecurityAwarenessOn-board”,“YouthCouncilOpenForum”and“FundingTrainees–ThreeDifferentApproaches”.CybersecurityisnotanissueIhadeverconsideredforsailingandthissessionwassomewhatscarywithexamplesofstudentshackingintonavigationaldevicesandthedangersofstoringlargeamountsofpersonalcontentforcrewmembers.Thissessionwasatimelyreminderthatinthissocialmediaandtechnologyfocusedage,thatweallneedtoremainvigilantforourcybersafetyatshoreaswellasatsea.

Tocelebratetheendofanexcellentevent,theconferencegaladinnerwasheldatthestunningCasinoDeLaExposicion,Seville,providingonefinalopportunitytomingleandnetwork.HavingmadefriendshipsacrosstheYouthCouncilaswellaswithmyfellowAussies,theGaladinnerwasoneofmanyhighlightsoftheconference,asweallenjoyed‘frockingup’andsocialisingattheendofabusyconference.KeyLearning/Outcomes

• Theimportanceofpracticing‘worstcase’scenarios(MOBatnight&riggingfalls)regularlytolimittheriskforallcrewandpassengers

• Medicalsafetyconsiderationsatsea:whatresourcesarereallyimportantforlongeroceancrossings,needforwelltrainedcrewmembersandmedicationscarriedon-board

• Cybersecurityasanimportantconsiderationforallships-particularlyasthemodernageofsailingreliesheavilyonelectronicnavigationalequipmentaswellasthesafestorageofcrewandpassengerspersonalinformation

• NetworkingwithintheInternationalYouthCouncil,meetingthecurrentAustralianYouthCouncilRepresentativeandsharingideasrelatingtoimprovingyouthrecruitmentandretentioninthesailingcommunity

• AbetteroverallappreciationforthewiderglobalsailingcommunityandsomeofthefabulouseventsheldannuallyacrossEuropeandtheworldtocelebratethisdynamicandevergrowingcommunity

IwouldsincerelyliketothankTallShipsAustraliaandNewZealandfortheopportunitytoattendtheconference,ithasbeenaninvaluableexperienceandIlookforwardtosharingmynewlearningmorewithintheAustraliansailingcommunityinthefuture.