A GROUP of 10 girls and one teacher from St Mary's Diocesan School have recently returned from the trip of a lifetime on 'The Spirit of New Zealand,' a sailing ship moored in Auckland.
A total of 40 girls from around New Zealand came together to spend five nights and six
days on board the magnificent ship, with the girls from St Mary's being the only ones from the North Island.
Before setting sail, the girls worked extremely hard getting their fitness up in preparation for the rigours of ship life. They also had to learn parts of the ship and become familiar with tying particular knots, so that they could participate in the many challenges and competitions of being onboard.
They then sailed around the islands near Auckland, and anchored just out from Waiheke Island, where they competed in a team-rowing race and completed challenges on land. Using their leadership and team building qualities, the St Mary's contingent finished a very creditable third overall in an extremely close team competition onboard.
The team would like to thank the many people who supported their fundraising efforts. Special thanks must go to Stratford New World and Caltex Stratford. Without their generosity and support the trip wouldn't have been as successful as it was.
The winners of the $100 Raffles were - Draw 1, Jaxon Sharpe; Draw 2, Jeanette Gordon.
