12:00a.m. 13th May 2008

| By Grant Reynolds

There could be worse places for an emergency stop than Noosa’s Laguna Bay. The tall ship Young Endeavour dropped anchor mid-morning yesterday after the ship’s engineer, Lindsey Smith, spent the first night of the 11-day voyage suffering toothache.

Lieutenant Commander Gavin Dawe said Lindsey was in pain on Sunday, but “we thought we’d give it overnight to see how it went”.

“In the morning he was still in pain. Noosa was the last opportunity to stop in anywhere that has dental services before we’re further north,” he said.

Lolling about on Laguna Bay to accommodate a trip to the dentist is a far cry from the original Endeavour, where the crew member would have suffered the indignity of having the tooth ripped out by the ship’s surgeon.

But the stopover was a chance for the youth crew of 27, including Coolum’s Emma Schimke, to get some rest before the next stage of their training – as part of the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme – aboard the purpose-built Brigantine tall ship.

“I looked it up on the internet and thought it’d be great, meet new people and form new skills,” Emma said. “I’m loving it.”

Another Noosa local, the ship’s bosun, Jay Pettifer, and eight fellow Royal Australian Navy personnel will help the 16 to 23-year-olds learn the ropes in an effort to build their teamwork and leadership skills.

Youth Crew members are selected via a ballot system. Applications for the ballot can be made online at www.youngendeavour.gov.au