Sheila signs off the Spirit
Family members, from left, Aaron Bensemann, Sarah Peacock, Chris Budgen, Isaac Bensemann, Sheila Budgen, Ryan, Nicola and Rick Bensemann joined crew and volunteers to celebrate Sheila’s time on the Spirit of New Zealand. Photo: Alexandra Konitz.
A woman who has devoted much of her life to helping young people succeed is stepping back from her role with the Spirit of Adventure Trust.
Motueka-based Sheila Budgen has spent more than 1000 days at sea on the Spirit of New Zealand over the better part of three decades. Her efforts were celebrated with a morning tea when the ship docked in Nelson last Friday.
Her husband Chris lovingly says it’s been the great pleasure of his life to be married to Sheila and a widow to the ship.
Sheila’s passion for the trust, and what they do, was born when her daughter Nicola sailed a voyage in 1985. Sheila then became involved as a volunteer and has since created a local trust, Spirit of Tasman Bay, to help fund local youth to be able to sail on the Spirit of New Zealand.
Since then, three of Sheila’s four children and seven of her eight grandchildren, have sailed on the ship.
Sheila’s children speak of their mother going into ‘Spirit Mode’ when she was around the ship, and they recall having Christmas Day lunch on the ship while Sheila was on watch.
Last Friday, crew members affectionately described Sheila, who is known by most on-board as ‘Grandma’, as a “superhuman” with a heart for young people who is someone who “makes everything that little bit better”.
Sheila usually arrives for a voyage with jars of lemon honey and her famous tiramisu, and a hand-made ‘quillow’ – a quilted bedspread made for the ship beds that folds down into a pillow, for each new crew member. She learnt te reo Māori to encourage and inspire youth to share their mihi, which she noticed some were too nervous to do. She regularly opens up her home for any crew or students who need a bed.
Spirit of Adventure Trust head of philanthropy and fundraising, Nicola Garland, said at the celebration that they had tried to work out exactly how many voyages Sheila had made.
“This woman has done around 80 ten-day voyages and countless day-trips which have added up to well over 1000 days at sea,” recalls Nicola. “And that’s not to mention the hours on board, the port contact, the fundraising, the advocating, roping the family in, the list goes on.”
Sheila says youth seemed to gravitate towards her as the ‘Grandma’ figure and share their stories with her, both good and bad.
“Even the ones you don’t think you’ve had an effect on whatsoever, you just don’t know what impact you’ve had on their lives at all. It’s always the same, you don’t know what a few words to somebody in any situation is going to be like to change their lives and do things. I think that’s the magic about this is you can just take people off to sea, take their phones off them and talk to them and interact with them.”
The crew finished the thanks to Sheila with one of her favourite sayings: “‘Ageing is inevitable, growing up is optional’, we hope you never grow up Grandma.”