Day 8: Command Day arrives

Hi there Everyone,A good nights rest at anchor was had in preparation for the big day ahead. The weather forecast for the duration of Command Day was predicted to be quite challenging. With 20-25knots of wind from the south, consistent rain and frequent thunder storms, it was going to be interesting times for our young adventurers. Not to mention sailing out of Sydney Harbour with visibility reduced to about three ship lengths from the heavy rain and mist. Conditions were such that I spent some time with the staff discussing the associated risks involved in sailing under those circumstances with the Youth Crew in charge. We assessed all of the risks involved, put measures in place to mitigate where required and decided we would leave the decision up to the Youth Crew, but had confidence in their abilities. So the stage was set for an epic adventure and some truly challenging times. At 1300 I handed Command of STS Young Endeavour to Youth Crew captain Jess and all staff stepped back and assumed an observer and safety role. I will hand over to Jess for her account of the days activities, but will leave you with this: as most other water craft in the Sydney region were running for cover, headed down the harbours and hiding, seeking refuge from the weather, Young Endeavour with 24 bold young Australians was headed out to sea. She was sailing out of Sydney harbour in atrocious conditions with limited visibility. Our team were standing tall.Yours Aye, Captain DionFrom: Youth Crew Captain Jess,Arrrgh ahoy there,Another night of anchor watches for the Youth Crew preparing for today’s Command Day left many of the crew looking forward to a sleep in. Unfortunately as we were at anchor in the North Harbour, just near Manly it was another 0630 wake up call. Following the wake up tunes from DJ Adam it was straight to the deck for morning activity, which consisted of laps around the deck (making sure we stomped over the sleeping berths to ensure everyone was awake) and an interesting game of knights, mounts and cavaliers. After breakfast we had our usually morning brief that is always full of laughs, stories and the unknown of what ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Nanna’ will find lying around in the sleeping berths. There is always a fun song taught by the Staff to the Youth Crew as punishment for ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Nanna’s’ findings. However it didn’t take long for the famous ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Happy Hour’ to come to the fore. Command day is now upon us. The ship is now in the capable hands of voyage 3/10 Youth Crew. After our last lunch from ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½The Chad’s’ road kill grill and a crash course in road safety on the seas from Jarrod, the Youth Crew prepared for the ship to be theirs. The elected command team was given the opportunity to pick the brains of the crew whose positions they would be taking for Command Day. At 1300 the Youth Crew were given the keys to this majestic tall ship. We were given seven longitude and latitude reference points scattered around the Tasman Sea and 23 tasks to be completed in the 24 hour period that we were in Command of the ship.We are currently heading NE towards our third waypoint. We have had a 25kt S-SE wind pushing us towards the North, which meant that when we set sail, we required the port engine to get the ship out of the North Harbour and on our way to our first waypoint. The Youth Crew has been up a couple of times during the night to ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Tack’ and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Wear’ the ship. As you can imagine the Youth Crew is quite weary but happy that we are making good time to our waypoints.With another couple of ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Tack’s and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Wear’s during the early hours of Sunday morning the Youth Crew are now making their way back into Port Jackson. We did require the engines occasionally overnight as the wind was particularly difficult to navigate. The Youth Crew is currently on track to reach their final destination in Hunters Bay within the time limits of Command Day (1000). The weather has been very trying but it is a great feeling to know that we have faced Mother Nature head on and come out better on the other side.Great work Youth Crew. Enjoy your much desired rest.Command Day Captain Jess

Latitude/Longitude:

33Â° 51' South / 151Â° 31' East

Conditions:

S/SE 25ktsSwell E/NE 2.5m

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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Day 8: Command Day arrives

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