OUTWARD BOUND #697
Outward Bound. Twenty-one days. Anakiwa, Marlborough Sounds. Land. Bush. Ocean. Jam-packed. Adventure. That’s what Outward Bound is in a nutshell.
I am currently on Stage 2 of the Pinnacle Programme, which is all about personal development. As part of this, Pinnacle puts students through Outward Bound, an iconic 21 day course designed to push you outside of your mental and physical comfort zone. Outward Bound also forms the adventurous journey component of the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.
I was fortunate enough to experience this in January of this year, 6th to the 26th of January. Course number 697. We were all put into groups of 14, our ages ranged from 18-25 years. These groups are called ‘watches’, named after influential New Zealanders. Our Watch was named Blake Watch after Sir Peter Blake. This was a happy coincidence, given I have spent a lot of time sailing, volunteering at the America’s Cup, on Spirit of Adventure (thanks Pinnacle!), and received a Peter Blake leadership award in my school years.
On my Outward Bound journey, we went on many schemes. These included sailing around the Queen Charlotte Sounds, tramping, service to the community, high ropes, rock climbing, kayaking, coasteering, and last but not least, a half marathon - 21 km for the 21 days on the last full day at Anakiwa. A big part of Outward Bound (that many people know about) is the solo scheme - three days, three nights, three apples, three carrots, three flapjacks, a poo bucket, a tarpaulin, a ground sheet and a journal. More on that later… We also did workshops on life learning and values.
An example of our morning routine at Outward Bound:
05:55 Wake up with one of the boys, Josh, telling us to get up!
06:20 Personal Training. Either a 3km run around the bay and back or a PT session. All in silence followed by a daily swim in the ocean.
07:30 Breakfast. Eat as much as possible after PT and for the big day ahead!
08:20 Assembly in the concrete circle, don’t be late!
09:00 Watch room inspection. We learnt very quickly that you had to be on time!
09:05 Starting our jam-packed day, whatever scheme we were doing!
Part of my blogging intention is to focus on what I have learnt from my life experiences and how they impact my ongoing journey.
The key outcomes of the classic course, as stated on the website, are to build confidence to make fast and effective decisions, increase resilience and attitude under pressure, dealing with change, leading and influencing with a focus on a collaborative team approach and valuing diversity. These key outcomes are largely achieved through the schemes.
My top 5 learnings:
Learning #1 - Your body can do more than the mind perceives.
The 21 days were run at an intense pace, however, through the support of others, and utilising the few times you had downtime, I realised that even though my brain thought I was on 0%, I had another 50% in the tank. A good example was the half marathon on Day 20, before I started running I was feeling pretty average and doubted I could get through, however I started slow and steady, and made it!
Learning #2 - 21 days is a long time, but also a short time.
I loved my time at Outward Bound, however 21 days was long enough. There are very few times (if any) that you spend that long outside of a routine, focusing on yourself, and in nature and that is really special. There are no phones or communication with the outside world on Outward Bound. You can write and receive letters - but that’s it. We take for granted instant communication. Over this time I reflected how much my family and close friends mean to me, and how much I appreciate them, their time and presence. Receiving a couple of packages and a letter really made my day when they came through.
Learning #3 - I am perfectly fine in my own company… minus the possums!
The three day solo scheme, and my sailing experience on passage and in the remote islands of Fiji (where there were no communications either), have taught me, I know how to be just with me. To know how to deal without constantly doing. And be bored and okay. That isn’t a small learning. In day to day life, with non-stop availability of distractions, activities, and communication at your fingertips, it’s very easy to fill every second with stuff. Reflecting back on this a month later, I still catch myself using up every moment - but now I have awareness and realise what I am doing and can remind myself of my learning.
Learning #4 - Knowing when to step back, and when to step forwards
Working in a group requires patience. Sometimes when you can see what needs to be organised, there is a desire to take over and lead something the way you think it should happen. Working with my watch at Outward Bound was learning when to exert that energy to step forward and make something happen, or when to step back and let others grow their skills. A good example was when we went sailing in the first few days, as a group we were learning how to work with one another and what people’s strengths and weaknesses were. I was storm captain, which meant I was captain for most of the sailing and taught others how to sail. At times I had to step back, trust the process and others decisions so they could step up.
Learning #5 - Sometimes taking a break from the things you love is a good thing
Accepting to go on Outward Bound meant that I was putting my aviation study on hold for a month. Aviation is all about currency and it is an intense programme of study. However you can lose the passion for something you enjoy when you are immersed full-time and with the stress of studying as well as flying. The break taught me that when you are starting to feel burnt out, look for the symptoms of that and step back to reset, when able. Outward Bound was an amazing, deep reset. I came back into the new year with new goals, a new approach, and excitement to put on the uniform again. I also didn’t fully appreciate the mindset and resilience training I had at Outward Bound until about a month later, where I put that to use in my day to day flying. My confidence in myself had grown more than I had realised.
There were two elements of Outward Bound where I really felt ‘this is me’. One was the service scheme. It’s a core value for me to do something meaningful for others. The second was when I was in the wider ocean (out of the Sounds), it made me want to revisit Surf Lifesaving. These are two areas I can find myself feeling centred and at home - that’s a good thing to know in life.
I am lucky enough to have had some very decent adventures, and Outward Bound is another massive one, for that reason it is unique. There are so many elements which are not covered at school, tertiary education, or in general life - and these learnings have a huge life impact. I am incredibly grateful to the Pinnacle Programme for supporting me to complete Stage 2 and Outward Bound - thank you!