By Judith Martin
When Auckland seventh former Will Thompson jumped off the side of the frigate Canterbury he admits it was "very scary".
"I’m a bit of an adrenalin junkie, but even that was pushing it for me," he says.
And Otorohanga 17-year-old Hannah Sanson had much the same reaction to her leap overboard. "I just took a big breath and tried not to think too much about it. Hitting the water was something else."
The pair’s big splash was planned, and legitimate. It was all part of the Navy’s Adventure Challenge, an innovative week of activities aimed at giving 40 of the country’s young leaders a taste of what the Navy is about.
While the Navy has significant recruitment needs– it must find and train enough personnel for its new fleet of vessels over the next two years – the Navy Adventure Challenge is not directly intended to recruit people, says Lieutenant Commander Phil Bradshaw.
"We want to ‘influence the influencers,’ he says. "The Challenge week gathers a group of motivated, enthusiastic young college students from throughout the country and exposes them to learning leadership skills, shows them what the Navy does for New Zealand society, and challenges them to do new things while having a bit of fun at the same time. We aim to get the students to tell their mates at school what they have gleaned during the week. We tend to end up with quite a few recruits from the challenge participants, many of whom never considered a career with Navy until after the challenge, but the real benefit stems from having them tell their wider circle of friends what the Navy is really about." Colleges throughout the country are contacted in the period leading up to the Challenge week, and mainly Year -13 students are selected for the live-in course. They are told about the Navy when they first arrive, and then introduced to Navy "hardware" – including the bridge simulator, the Maritime Warfare Training Centre with its combat systems technical training unit, and of course, the Navy’s ships. The challenge also includes experiencing the Damage Control School, sea survival, and completing the Navy’s confidence course at Whangaparaoa.
Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw says activities in the Challenge week, which is now in its second year, were designed to allow the students to expand their personal boundaries, and do things they wouldn’t normally do, like jump off the side of the frigate.
"It’s about team building, and getting them to see how, in a structured and safe environment, they can develop confidence in themselves and their own abilities." Will Thompson, an Auckland Grammar student, says he learned leadership skills, and a lot about himself during the course.
"I didn’t know anyone there at first, and that was a challenge in itself - meeting so many new people at once. We completed an obstacle course and had to work as a team, to get everybody through it. Being in the flood chamber of the Damage Control School was one of the best parts – it was like being in a real ship that was rocking and flooding. We had to plug holes where the water was flooding in – we got one plugged and then had to abandon ship"
Will says he knew a little about the Navy before the course, but now has a much better knowledge of what it does, and why.
"It was good to see how the Navy trains, and to learn about what it can do."
Hannah Sanson, a student at St Peter’s College in Cambridge, says she also learned a lot about the Navy, and about herself.
"I learned I could do things I thought might be beyond me, and that by working as team you can get some really difficult things done, like getting through the mud tunnels and completing the obstacle course. Not to mention jumping off the ship! The course certainly pushed the boundaries, and gave me more confidence in myself." Following the course the Navy held, for the first time, a Technical Challenge Week, where a different group of students from throughout the country was exposed to technical aspects of the Navy, including its engineering workshops, and machinery control rooms.
The technical week was designed to stimulate interest in mainly Year 12 students who need to study a base of technical subjects at college if they aim to pursue a technical career.
The week, says Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw, involved many of the activities in the adventure challenge, but also included demonstrations of how Navy machinery and systems work, as well as hands-on experience with technology used by the Navy.
"There is a recognised need in New Zealand for a highly-skilled workforce of engineers and technicians, and the Navy is just one employer that has, and will continue to have, a definite need for technically-skilled people."
Top, Students jump over the side of the frigate Canterbury; (above) learning sea survival skills;the flood chamber at the Damage Control School.
Top, Shoring a "hole" in the flood chamber; (above) waiting for instructions; (right) fighting fire.