DOWNWIND SAILING

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 14 of our voyage. During the past 24hrs we have continued to have a pleasant sail across the Bay of Biscay and at the time of posting this log we have sailed 250nm since departing Brest. Overnight the wind veered to the north east which has meant that we are now sailing downwind under all three squares which isnâ€™t our best point of sail but is nice just the same.Today we have continued with our normal daily program but have also managed to fit in a couple of other activities like Dr Nickâ€™s meteorological brief and 2nd Engineer Shaunâ€™s engineering extravaganza.In preparation for our visit to Tenerife we are also having some Spanish lessons and Dougie our Sail Master ran a camera workshop teaching those amateur photographers how to better use their cameraâ€™s and take great photoâ€™s so you can see that Young Endeavour isnâ€™t all about the sailing.Tonight it is White Watches turn to write the Captains Log and volunteering to share their Young Endeavour experiences with you are Dan and Sam. Enjoy!Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain GavCAPTAINS LOG FRIDAY 4 SEP 15Friends, Romans, Countrymen and loyal readers of the world voyage Captainâ€™s log. Todayâ€™s log comes to you from White Watchâ€™s Sam and Dan.The morning starts with yet another exquisite breakfast from our now honorary Michelin star chef Marcus. Our first watch began at 0745, where we consolidated our sail knowledge, and a logic puzzle that some of us (us included) are still yet to crack. The watch moved into morning brief which was again full of comedy and some informative material. Before long the happy hour song was sung and all youthies found them selves busily â€˜spit shinningâ€™ the boat, eventually we were given the Dougie tick of approval with no issues (the 12 berth passed with flying colours believe it or not!)We reconvened at midships for a meteorology brief from DR Nick. With some great chalk drawings and very little physics we were given a simple brief on how the weather works including clouds, Coriolis Effect, high and low fronts, wind and swell.After a cheeky siesta and a lunch fit for royalty it was rope races time. Horto had donned the aqua and white vest and summoned us the midships to do battle. Todayâ€™s ropies were based on the lines for the Main Sail and the Squares, also an exciting moment of hoisting our shoes up a halyard. We may have nearly lost them over board but they did return to the deck safely.Ropies continued into the engineering brief from Shawn about what is where underneath us on board. We looked at where the fuel, water and waste storage tanks are and how different sectors can be made watertight in case of leaks or fires. Shaun then took 6 of us for a tour of the ship in a whole new way to look below in each of the sectors to see what is actually there and how it interacts with the rest of the ship. Should be cycling though everyone else for a tour in the next few days.Meanwhile, back on deck some knot skills kicked off with Tug, giving people an opportunity to learn how to make square knot and Turks head bracelets. There was varying degrees of success in this area but we continue to battle on. For those not keen on knots, Dougie ran a camera workshop on the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and apperture.During the 1600-1800 watch, Red watch had the opportunity to be the first for sail theory with Captain Gav. Hopefully they can put that to good use as the days go on. In addition to sail theory, red watch also picked up an extra half hour to their watch as did we to bring us into line with the time zone changes across the Bay of Biscay.For our extended watch we had a cheeky climb with Horto, standing in for Knuckle, so we could up skill our climbing. The boys, Jess and Sam climbed to the Topgallant yard to enjoy the view and were serenaded by Dan with a few classics from times gone by. A Special mention for Caitlin who tonight made it to the topsail yard. Our Watch is now finishing up after a great day. Weâ€™re off to bed ready to go back on watch at 0400 tomorrow morning.Quick shout out to Mum and Dad, Ed and Tess, Iâ€™m still alive having a rip snorter of a time! Sea sickness and tonsillitis isnâ€™t going to keep me down! Hope you are all well, Love you heaps Dan!Quick shout out to Lake Ginn Rover Crew, Iâ€™m having an amazing time and definitely learning heaps of new things. Stay tuned for a full report when we hit Tenerife, Spain! SamHello Father Chuc

Latitude/Longitude:

45 degrees 34 minutes North / 9 degrees 5 minutes West

Conditions:

Currently crossing the Bay of Biscay and located 250nm SW of Brest sailing downwind under all three squares and enjoying moderate-strong NE winds with a 1m SW swell. Our current speed is 5.5kts and the temperature is 15 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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