A Major Leap of Faith

The ‘Bear’ teamwork exercises went really well overnight as we sailed by Dunk Island, Mourilyan and Innisfail. Early this morning our radar decided to shut down by itself and we couldn’t get it started. As a result we will anchor tonight and quickly head into Cairns tomorrow, Monday, to get it repaired. Today we held rope races and a teamwork/communications exercise in preparation for the Command Day. Late this afternoon as we glided by Fitzroy Island and Cape Grafton the Youth Crew proved to me and themselves they could safely and competently set and furl all the sails on their own. Well done, team. The mountain ranges and islands we have sailed past have provided tremendous scenery over the last two days. We will have a relaxing night at anchor this evening.Youth Crew entry by Jessica Dobbie 18 Newcastle.Hi everyone, hoping you’re all enjoying Mothers Day and that all our visitors are well. The trip is amazing, command day is fast approaching and we are all trying to decide which role we wish to play. The staff have trained us well and today we managed to set and furl the forestaysail, the topgallant, and the main staysail. If that sounds like a foreign language you may understand the things we are trying to get a grasp of on the ship. Grandad, I climbed both the masts…yay it’s all a little scary but I am proud to say I managed. We are all coming together as a team. The teambuilding has involved a lot of work from each individual in order to be able to work efficiently.Other than this I am getting used to minimal sleep and brilliant food. The weather is warm, the swimming is great and we’re cruising along. Hugs and kisses Jess.Youth crew entry by Erica Smith, 23, Emerald (Q).Well almost a week has passed since we boarded the Young Endeavour and I guess we’re almost like family now. Everyone works together well and we’re achieving things that some of us may have thought we’d never do. Today I took a major leap of faith and tied the gaskets on the coarse yard (yes it’s the bottom one but my little legs thought it was hard enough). But I did it so that’s pretty cool. The trip has been great with postcard scenery and the occasional dolphin escort. We’re eating like kings and looking forward to the last few days of our voyage before we make the trek to our respective homes and attempt to resume normal life again. Hello to everyone in Moranbah, Mackay and Emerald, hope you are all well and I shall see you in a few days. Take care, love you all, Erica.Stay tunedAndrew Davis
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
CO's LOG Mother's Day 13 May 01Current situation at 1800: At Anchor off False Cape, Cairns. Temp 26C, Wind Sou'easterly at 5 knots.
You might also be interested in

Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

ARRRGH, ahoy there from the spectacular Jervis Bay! We’ve all been taken A-back by the crystal clear blue waters and snow white sands.
After a well deserved sleep in these sheltered waters which was a refreshing change to clinging to our bunk racks for dear life for the past few days, the ship rose to another banger of a morale tune “sung” by Blue Watch. Brekkie was fun after the early morning activity to get us all up and moving. We held another round of competitive not-competitive rope races which culminated in smashed eggs on deck and the mummification of said egg smashers.
Roast lamb for lunch was prepped by the staffies in the absence of our culinary wizard Steve. Once cleaned up, we took the RHIB’s across to Captains Beach bordering HMAS Creswell which was a mind-blowingly beautiful little spot. Pretty much everyone had a dip in the drink and a roll in the sand and played some creative beach games run by our Suitability legends, Speedy Sam and Eggs.
A few hours at the beach made everyone ready to head back home and attack a teak deck barbeque, devouring cheese platters, steaks, sangas, and salads. With our full stomachs, us youthies initiated the highly anticipated elections for our command day roles. Which will commence sometime around midday tomorrow. We held a vote for each available role that all willing youthies put themselves forward for.
The following roles were voted as follows: Captain – Warwick, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Ruscoe, Officer of the Watch – Dan, Watch Leader – Nick, Ben, Bridget, Master chef – Emily, Mackenzie, Alyshia
We were greeted after our elections by a low flying anti-submarine MH60-Romeo Helicopter which did a cool fly around our ship. *Thanks Squizz!!* And then watched an amazing film about the rounding of Cape Horn back in 1929 on a 7 story tall sail ship.
Signing off from our anchor watch, Ben and Giles.
“I believe that positive energy and optimism help us to take up any challenge in life and to succeed in even the most difficult tasks. I also believe that positive energy is contagious: We can transmit it to others”
