Anchored in Guichen Bay

Ahoy ShipmatesMorning brief this morning found us just 14nm from our anchorage position in Guichen Bay near the township of Robe in South Australia. So it was a short morning brief and a quick set of cleaning stations (happy hour) followed by some informative instruction on maritime Rules of the Road (no road rage allowed) from Trish. Shortly after, everyone was required on deck to hand in all sail prior to coming to anchor at 1115. First up this afternoon I had the pleasure of imparting some theoretical knowledge on the art of sailing a tall ship to the youth crew. This was followed by a boat trip ashore were we all enjoyed the opportunity to stretch our legs and explore the small picturesque town of Robe. This evening we enjoyed one of Sumo and Jarrod’s famous YE deck barbecue’s, which was then followed by a very entertaining session of three way talks. As this is our first night at anchor since departing Port Lincoln we have now reduced to anchor watches for tonight allowing staff and youth crew some extra sleep, ensuring we are well refreshed to continue with more adventure over the next several days.Yours AyeCaptain Gav Captains Log update at 2000hrs by S/C Paul Lees (Victoria Police R2 MLU) aboard the Young Endeavour, currently anchored at Robe S.A on day 4 of 11day Voyage: Port Lincoln ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ Geelong. Day 1: Saturday Dec 1st, Arrived at Port Lincoln, Harbour with six young males from Yes2 Program in Geelong along with 21 other young people from across Australia, including Roy from Darwin, Kate from Canberra, Anita from Moss Vale and Alice from Hobart. All anticipated much excitement but were also unsure of what lay ahead. 12 males sleeping six to a room, in small bunks with not much more headroom than a coffin. 15 females all bunked in together at the bow of the tall ship. Ninety second showers, staggered meal times, and watches on the ship four hours long in three rotating teams of nine. Everyone does fatigues contributing to the cleanliness of the ship. Any items of clothing not put away in lockers are gathered by the ships ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Nana Sumoï¿½ï¿½ in full mock costume and paraded before all until the offending owner steps forward.Highlight: The welcome and high morale set by Lieutenant Commander ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Captainï¿½ï¿½ Gavin Dawe who was the Bosun onboard the Young Endeavour for the World Voyage in 1992, returning as ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Captainï¿½ï¿½ for Voyage 20/2007 and Chief Petty Officer John ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Hectorï¿½ï¿½ Crawford (a veteran of 10 Sydney to Hobart races) and the remaining crew of 6 male and 2 female naval crew. Night mast climb by all youth crew under still, warm conditions at anchor was sensational. All mobile phones and wallets handed in to Young Endeavour staff.Day 2: Sunday Dec 2nd, under sail. Three teams of nine (Red, White and Blue) were instructed in sailing and navigational skills and commenced 24hour watches. It was much more difficult to manoeuvre one’s self around the ship whilst under sail. It is also more difficult to sleep, not only due to the constant movement of the ship but also due to the constant shift changes. The Youth crew are getting along well as they mingle and get to know each others backgrounds, experiences and goals. It is good to watch their interaction during drills and in their own time.Highlight: Youth crew furling and setting sails and climbing aloft but this time under more adverse weather conditions, wearing wet weather gear and harnesses. Changing the ships direction by tacking in the middle of the night (one at midnight and one at 4am) was challenging but completed without complaint.Day 3 Monday Dec 3rd, Stronger winds and rougher seas as we neared Kangaroo Island. Not what I would call a highlight, but certainly memorable was a 4am climb aloft to the topsail yard. Eight members of my ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Blue watchï¿½ï¿½ team were all sick today, including myself and our crew leader. Watch leader Able Seaman Jessica Barr, Maggie, Gambella and I were all sick at height whilst trying to sea furl the topsail in strong winds and shifting seas. We all felt great when we were on deck once again. All except Gambella, who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time and copped most of our sickness. The other two youth crew watches are also experiencing sickness and fatigue.Other highlights were watching Mat and Shimilla conquer their fear of heights and watching Longdy and Kate steer the Young Endeavour, sometimes at the speed of 10 knots.Day 4: Tuesday Dec 4th, All teams worked together to clean the ship and put the sails away for anchoring at Robe S.A. Everyone excited at the prospect of walking on land.Highlights: On land at Robe, unstable at first but great to walk around without everything moving under or around you. The trip to shore by naval dingy, pick up and return to ship for an awaiting BBQ aboard. The food aboard has been fantastic, but over half the youth crew have had trouble keeping it down. After the BBQ, the youth crew performed an entertaining ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½partner introï¿½ï¿½ exercise and as all youth crew have only a one hour watch tonight each, morale is very high at present, awaiting the challenges of the remaining 7 days, commencing tomorrow with a refreshing swim at 0630hours.The total distance travelled from Port Lincoln to Robe is 305nmWill update further as time allows.

Latitude/Longitude:

37Â° 9' South / 139Â° 45' East

Conditions:

Comfortably at anchor with light SW winds

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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Anchored in Guichen Bay

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