Nick’s adventure of a lifetime

A former Bunbury student was recently given the opportunity of a lifetime to sail on the Dufkyen.

Nick Wilson was asked aboard for the commemorative voyage of the famous Dutch ship after volunteering as the ship keeper on weekends for six months during its time in Fremantle port.

The 22-year-old was the youngest on board and said it was amazing to live the experience and be so hands-on with the replica vessel.

“The Duyfken opened doors to a whole new maritime world of oceanic adventures - it’s definitely not something that you get to do every day,” he said.

“On one of the overnight sails we saw phosphorus plankton, every time we would make a splash in the water there would be a green shimmer.”

Wilson joined the permanent crew along with a mix of volunteers and photographers for the first leg of the journey from Fremantle to Bunbury and then on to Mandurah.

He encountered rough seas, sea sickness, starry nights, whales, dolphins and sleeping in a hammock, which he admitted took a while to get used to.

“It was a good mix of incredible nature, getting away from technology, getting to know people and learning the ropes of sailing,” he said.

As the Duyfken makes its way up the coast of WA, Wilson has plans to continue sailing with a Perth club after catching the bug for the popular pastime.