Spirit of Adventure to set sail celebrating 50 years

First published on RNZ

November 17 2023

The Spirit of Adventure ship will sail south later this month on a rather special journey.

The ship, owned and operated by the Spirit of Adventure Trust and runs programmes for young New Zealanders to learn independence, leadership and community all while at sea.

The trust is celebrating 50 years of delivering the programmes to more than 80-thousand young people by touring the country starting in a week from today.

The Spirit of Adventure is a tall ship — known as a barquentine - with a steel hull and three large white masts. It's a 42.5 metre ship and can carry 40 trainees and 14 crew.

Over the years the programmes on the ships have set a new path ahead for its young participants who are often surprised at their own ability to manage the ship — whether from cooking, engineering or captaining among other tasks.

Some of those stories have been told in The Spirit Companion: Celebrating the first 50 years of the Spirit of Adventure Trust  - a new book out by author Roger McDonald. Along with the Trust's chief executive Bruce Pilbrow, Roger tells Susie about the stories that have made the Spirit journey what it is today.

First published on RNZ