Bumpy

Ahoy there,We awoke at 0630 to the sounds of Evan’s rousing voice and his choice of a stirring song to motivate the crew to get out of their racks and up on deck for a quick game to get the mind and body going.At 0800 we held the ceremony of Colours followed by the Morning brief, which was attended by ‘Salty’ who explained, with the services of some questionable quality Staffy actors, the nautical origin of the expressions ‘Not enough room to swing a cat’, ‘to have someone over a barrel’ and ‘to let the cat out of the bag’. We were also visited by Nana again, who had done a set of rounds through the Youthie accommodation and picked up many items of clothing which were left lying around.We weighed anchor at 0900 and sailed from anchor initially east and eventually turning south to continue our passage towards Newcastle. After enjoying an hour of sailing we started the engines and began motor-sailing to ensure we made good our required speed of advance. As we opened our distance off the coast to take advantage of the East Australia Current (EAC) we began to feel the full effects of the 18 knot winds and 2.5 metre swells. Some crew members had some difficulty re-locating their sea legs and accordingly attendance at lunch was a little low.At 1330 we shut down the engines and commenced Demonstrational Tacks, the purpose of which is to prepare the youth crew for the challenges of Command Day by showing them how the bridge runs during Tacking Stations and all the considerations for the planning and conduct of a tack or wear. Once all of the youth crew had cycled through the bridge we furled the Jib, started the engines and continued motor-sailing towards Newcastle at the required speed of advance.After dinner most people went to bed as early as possible. This was because, although the wind and sea were forecast to abate, there was always the chance they might persist, promising an uncomfortable night.Yours aye,Captain Mike