At Anchor Deal Island

Hi Everyone,                    Welcome to day five of our voyage. As forecast the south westerly change occurred during the early hours of Sunday 07th January bringing with it 25-35kt gale force winds and a 2m swell which was stronger than expected. These conditions really challenged the Youth Crew and gave them a full appreciation of why Bass Strait has such an infamous reputation for rough and unpredictable conditions.By sunrise this morning we were located 15nm to the south east of Deal Island sailing under fore and aft sails and achieving boat speeds of 8-10kts. Originally I had again planned to conduct a set of rotational tacks which I had deferred from yesterday but even in the lee of Deal Island we were still getting wind gusts of over 30kts which made it unsafe to conduct this activity.Given these conditions I decided our best option was to hand in all sail and proceeded into the sheltered confines of Deal Islands, Garden Cove where we came safely to anchor at 1030.Lunch followed then all of the Youth Crew were ferried ashore where they undertook the 12km round trip walk to the historic Deal Island Lighthouse which at one time was the highest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere and gives some spectacular views of Bass Strait and a number of its islands.By 1800 everyone was back onboard and following a delicious BBQ dinner we conducted a ‘Ships Quiz’ which was followed by the upper deck screening of the classic Tall Ship movie ‘Around Cape Horn’.The time is now 2115 and James the Navigator is just giving a brief on how to keep the ship safe whilst at anchor then once completed everyone will settle into anchor watches overnight ensuring they are well rested for the days ahead.Until tomorrow evening, take care. Yours AyeCaptain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently we are at anchor at Deal Islands Garden Cove and enjoying light NW winds with nil swell and the current temperature is 17 degrees.
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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”


After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!