Captain's Log
2 February 2011

Day 4 – Wineglass Bay

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day 4 of our voyage. At 0200 this morning we altered course to the east and entered Banks Strait, unfortunately at this time the wind also backed to the east which meant that we had to hand in all sail and utilise main engines. Our timing for entering the strait had been planned to coincide with the ebbing tide which at times can run at up to 3kts. The only down side to this plan was that we now had wind against tide which was creating a large confused sea making conditions extremely uncomfortable and resulted in very little sleep for all onboard. By sunrise we had safely completed our transit through Banks Strait and once we had rounded Cape Naturaliste we were again able to bring the ship back under sail and commence our passage down the East Coast of Tasmania. This morning, following morning brief and cleaning stations we stood the sleep deprived Youth Crew down for two hours so that they could catch up on some much needed rest. Throughout this afternoon the winds were light and variable which meant that we had to motor sail so as to make our planned anchorage for the evening. During this period we took advantage of the good weather and completed round two of ���rope races’ followed by a presentation of Rules of the Road given by Kim the Boats Officer. Just prior to 1700 we ���wore ship’ (put stern of ship through the wind), then handed in all sail as we proceeded to anchor in the lea of the ���Hazards’ in the picturesque Wineglass Bay. Once at anchor the Youth Crew were given some well deserved down-time then following dinner we conducted an entertaining session of three way talks (public speaking and communication exercise). To complete this evenings activities, Dion the Navigator gave a presentation on how to keep the ship safe at anchor then we reverted to anchor watches for the night which will ensure that everyone gets a well deserved good nights sleep.Tomorrow morning we will ferry the Youth Crew ashore so that they can stretch their legs on ���terra firma’ and enjoy the beautiful Wineglass Bay.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Gav

Latitude/Longitude:

42° 9' South / 148° 18' East

Conditions:

Time 2045 - Currently at anchor at Wineglass Bay and experiencing light - moderate NE winds with nil swell.