Day 10

G’day, Well, overnight the ship remained at anchor in Athol Bay (adjacent Taronga Zoo), with the best view in Sydney. Did Captain Olie tell you about our BBQ and concert last night? It was smashing. There was singing, dancing, acting, comedy, acrobatics… A very entertaining evening, magically MC’d by Anna and Chris. The all-in ‘Nutbush’ was pretty sweet too! Today was actually a very special day. We hosted a group from Sylvanvale Disability Services – made up of special needs folks and their carers – and took them for a sail around the harbour for several hours. The Youth Crew did an amazing job in looking after our guests, serving a little food and getting them involved in setting some sail and just generally showing them an awesome time. Mums and Dads, these Youthies did you proud today. We returned to Fleet Base at Woolloomooloo around 1300 and once our guests disembarked, the Youth Crew lay aloft to Harbour Furl the squares (that’s sailor talk for: climbed the mast to make the sails look pretty). Bloody hard work, by the way. Next, they went ashore with their Watch Leaders to have a milkshake and conduct their ‘End of Voyage Talks’. On their return, we cast off and proceeded to anchor for the final time at Athol Bay, and it wasn’t too long before Master Chef Aaron had whipped up some pizza and the Youthies filled up whilst watching the yachts, dinghy’s and stink-boats frolic around the harbour. The last night onboard is always a melancholy evening made more so, by the screening of the best of the Youth Crew’s voyage photos in a slide show, followed by a fantastic poem by Daniel and Zoe (attached below). Finally, following some regular last night administration (End of voyage critiques, letters to selves and a pretty ‘Watch page’ in the voyage logs), everyone went to sleep so as to wake refreshed for the final day onboard and some long flights home for some. See you all very soon. Yours Aye Captain Adam “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today!” – James Dean Set the Fore Stay Sail by Zoe and Daniel. “Set the Fore Stay Sail” They yelled as we set out And though we’d no clue what that meant, We had no time to doubt. Before we knew it we were heaving, Setting, furling, we were leaving, Ad we crammed the sail names into our brains Jibs and forestays, tops and gallants Syllables not all apparent We toboggan teamed til our bums were strained We remembered binnacles (not barnacles), EPIRBS and Hydrostatic release units too Meaning was shrouded on the rattlings, Fumbling to fathom what these do. We’d get woken up to bacon And pancakes of every flavor And countless other goodies For our hungry mouths to savor Fresh rolls and pies and slices And meats, salads and more meats, Cutlets better than these couplets And a slaughterhouse of beef. But the Endeavour was not fruitless! Aaron had that covered too And we learnt to peel bananas In some ways we never knew. We sailed Taswegia to Deal Into pristine Jervis bay Where we ate and hung and swung, A patriotic Australia day! And the staff are fantastic A friendly bunch of fun Sharing this beautiful vessel When they needn’t have done They taught us a thing or two As we sailed out to sea About when men were made of steel And the way it used to be. About young Jack the seaman And how he takes a piss, Bout balls and cats and monkeys And the etymology of shit. But there are problems you encounter When you’re living on a boat Like when a great swell rises Just as you drop the soap And you chase it port to starboard But it’s a step ahead of you Til’ you fly straight at the curtain And land dripping in the loo. When we come to anchor drop And the swaying finally stops, And you get into bed hoping to stay on it, The world keeps rocking in your head So you feel sick from that instead Which gives you yet another cause to vomit. Some also struggle to set a brail When the winds blowing a gale Or to heave in on a sheet When simply standing is quite a feat But the decks aren’t all torture There’s the pleasant moments too The beauty of a sunrise Twixt the violence of the spew A sight of dolphins swimming Or other creatures of the deep Like our pj pinching Nana, That tattooed and busty creep. So they handed us the boat Expecting us to keep it afloat! And worse than that, to “get from A to B” So we panicked, stressed and manic Over waypoints, songs and hammocks And passed the whole mess on to Ollie. When in years to come they ask us, Just what we did aboard We’ll look them in the eye and say “well Then stop, think back and pause Couse the time that we have spent here Can’t be easily described Nor shown with images or murals We know this cos we’ve tried For something inexplicable Occurred between these masts Something born of all these strangers Different people, different tasks. Between us we will cherish The voyage that has been And the memories that we’ve created On this big blue brigantine