A good Challenge

Situation at 20:00 – Overnight the Youth Crew completed their second climb aloft, this time to the T’Gallant and Topsail yards. The gusting wind made for a good challenge and all hands rose to the occassion.At 06:30 all hands were called on deck for early morning activity. This consisted of a light jog around the upperdeck followedby some activities designed to help us learn each others names. At 08:00 it was time to sing the national anthem as the flags werehoisted and morning brief started. XO Chooka went through the plan for the day, followed by Navigator Phil who briefed us on ourprogress. His ‘Spewometer’ was reading lower than yesterday but the weather forecast will likely see it rise once again. Engineer Ragsand Chef Polly briefed the do’s and don’ts of their respective parts of ship. Salty Sea Dog Mandi described the nautical origins of some commonly used phrases. After morning brief, it was time for the Youth Crew to turn to at their cleaning stations. XO Chooka inspected the different spaces and passed judgement on the result of their efforts.After morning tea and some refresher training in line handling and deck safety, it was time to weigh anchor and get underway. Once clear of the anchorage, sail setting and furling drills were started. Thewatch leaders led their charges through several hours of practise learning how to safely manage the sails. This was an important lesson for the Youth Crew as a result of the heavy weather we areexperiencing.The setting and furling drills lasted until 15:00 when all hands were piped to ‘Tacking Stations’. Tacking the Ship is a complexevolution and it is important that the Youth Crew have a basic understanding of what is required of them when the Ship needs to tackovernight. It was a tired group that Captain John spoke to upon completion of Tacking Stations. The Youth Crew have been exposed toan enormus amount of information and have made excellent progress in learning how to sail YOUNG ENDEAVOUR. There are some firm friendships starting to form already, and they are learning to pull together(literally) as a team.Overnight we will continue to work our way South, past the Percy Islands, as we head towards Gladstone. The weather we areexperiencing will likely remain with us for the entire voyage, so it is likely that at tomorrow’s morning brief the Spewometer will be in the red. The Youth Crew will be busy learning how to steer the Ship and how to complete below deck rounds.YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Fact File: The Ship is a 44 metre Brigantine purpose built for youth development training. She was a gift toAustralia from the people of the United Kingdom commemorating the bi-centennial of European settlement in 1988. Since then, over 6,000 young Australians have joined the Ship as Youth Crew for voyages ranging from five days to four months.YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Glossary: Brigantine- A vessel with two masts and carrying square sails from the foremast. The sails carried from the mainmast and stays are all fore-and-aft rigged. Yards- The spars that cross the foremast and from which square sails are carried. The ends of the yards are the yardarms.Thought of the Day- To venture causes anxiety, but not to adventure is to lose one’s self. And to venture in the highest sense is precisely to become conscious of one’s self. Soren Kierkagaard.Yours, AyeJohm CowanLCDR, RAN