Reflecting on Lessons Learnt

Current situation at 1100: I left you two days ago with the Youth Crew in charge of the ship having recovered from being aback and got her moving again. Overnight they manoeuvred the ship through several way-points, which required a number wears (changing course and bringing the wind from one side to the other). By the end of the day, the team had become competent ship handlers, bringing YOUNG ENDEAVOUR to anchor in Hunters Bay, all under sail and well within the time limit. This allowed the ‘Beach Assault Team’ plenty of time to complete their task of paddling ashore and organising a choir from the local population to sing Advance Australia Fair on the beach. In 45 minutes they persuaded an impressive 69 people to join them and sing a rousing rendition of the National Anthem.After such a busy 24 hours the ship was handed back to the staff. Sunday night was spent at anchor reflecting on all the lessons learnt from the day and recuperating for the busy Half Day sail planned for Monday on Sydney Harbour.An early start saw YOUNG ENDEAVOUR sail from Hunters Cove to Fleet Base East at Garden Island to pick up the guests for the sail on the harbour. After embarking the Minister assisting the Minister for Defence the Honourable Dana Vale and several Youth Organisations the ship left FBE for a pleasant sail around the harbour – setting and furling all YOUNG ENDEAVOUR’s sails. Many onboard also took the opportunity to climb the Foremast with the assistance of the Youth Crew.Another successful Half Day sail completed, we sailed for Farm Cove to take in the scenic Sydney sights including the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Botanical Gardens. The afternoon was busy with the Youth Crew harbour furling the square sails and preparing for the concert to take place that night.With an artistic display (that would give Moulin Rouge a run for it’s money) from all the Youth Crew and Staff and especially the XO, the concert wrapped up what was an extremely busy couple days. The watches overnight allowed the Youth Crew to reflect on the last 9 days and to say their final goodbyes.After a special night at anchor, YOUNG ENDEAVOUR sailed for West Wall FBE to be welcomed by many of the Youth Crew’s parents. A stirring rendition of the National Anthem welcomed the ship back to Sydney for a maintenance period. The final presentation saw Daniel Neill from Denmark, WA awarded the Medallion and all youth crew their voyage certificates. Overall the voyage was a major success for all concerned and the Staff now have a well earned rest to get the ship ready for the upcoming voyages.I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Staff and Youth Crew for their support over the years and as I embark on another adventure in life, I wish everyone fair winds and following seas.Cap’n BobYouth Crew entry by Toni Latta aged 22 from Canberra.Over the last 9 days I have experienced tiredness, pain, fear and stress like I have never endured before. This voyage has allowed me to live my dream, make life long friends, and have the courage to achieve anything I want in life. The Young Endeavour staff are the best teachers I have ever had and without their patience and support the trip would not have been such a success.Youth Crew entry by Tabitha Collins aged 21 from Newcastle.I made it, all the way to the top and out on the yards , the side things that hold up the sails, I have discovered ways to exploit my boundaries and learnt great lessons of confidence and being true to myself. Everyone onboard have had such a different experience but we have all learnt so much. Most of all I can tough it out. My love to AC, Howison family, Collins family B and K and Nellie.Youth Crew entry by Christopher McGrath aged 21 from Sydney.He voyage was truly inspirational. I learnt more about my self and other people than I did about Sailing. Every day I was pushed to be better than I thought I could be. The friendships I have made will outlast the 9 days spent at sea. It is an experience that I will always remember

Latitude/Longitude:

33Â° 50' South / 151Â° 14'

Conditions:

Alongside West Wall Fleet Base East, Sydney. Wind calm, Sunny, temperature 22C

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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