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Captain's Log
20 June 2006
At Anchor, Keswick Is, Southern Whitsundays
From Youth Crew Captain Jess:With the hectic, happy and sometimes heated 24hours of Command Day now behind us, the youth crew have taken the opportunity to discuss points of achievment, improvement areas and what lessons can be taken away with us. Command Day itself saw 24 youth crew navigate and sail the ship from Middle Percy Island to Mackay, passing directly through four waypoints and completing vairous excercises on the way to arrive on time at 1300 at our final destination just off Mackay. Among other things the youth crew partook in a theme breakfast of ‘friendship’ with the aim of building positive team spirit, successful overnight tacking of the ship, and completion of regular ship monitoring procedures known as rounds. As more (and yet still more) obstacles appeared, the commanding youth crew where pushed to our limits,discovering along the way how much more can be achieved than first believed. The debreifing discussion following the completion of Comand Day brought to light the positive aspects of the 24hour journey including a respect for different staff roles, the importance of teamwork and a positive regard for all,and the benefits to a team when each individual gives more than is expected of him or her. We discovered that comunicating dirrections to all the youth crew is not always as easy as the staff make it look and learnt to love and appreciate the work of the on board Chef in his absence. Despite numerous setbacks, complications, some frustration and confusion at times, the 24hour period has proven to be a valuble learning experiance for all and one which eveyone may take a lesson home from. The entire youth crew performed outstandingly and should be proud of what we have accomplished. Its not eveyrday you get to take charge of a tallship!R’sCaptain Jess
Latitude/Longitude:
20° 54' South / 149° 25' East
Conditions:
Wind SSE 20-25knotsSea State moderate - 1-1.5m swells
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Sydney to Newcastle
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Day 9 – Command Day ends in Newcastle
Following a delicious Asian themed dinner by our Masterchefs; Lacey, Yumi, and Crystal, we were officially sailing away! Through the night, weather conditions picked up and sea traffic required us to tack, twice, at different points alongside, keeping regular night watches. Despite the long night, everyone seemed in high spirits in the morning, with most of our sails set as we headed into Newcastle. We entered on a reach, with a sigh of relief that we had managed to sail the ship and make it there on time. From there, we then proceeded to furl all the sails, then climb the yards. As we entered the harbour, the ships cannons were fired to announce our arrival.
After the crew pulled us up alongside, our masterchef's cooked us a lovely spaghetti lunch. We finished our Command Day with a happy hour and a set of rope races for the staffies. Then, we handed over the ship, with the majority of our many tasks complete. After Command Day debriefs and reflections, we spent some time with our watches, before our final round of rope races. Despite a close battle Red Watch emerged victorious.
We now look forwards to a pizza night, and our showcase for some of our creative tasks, before our final night of sleeping on STS Young Endeavour.
Looking forward to seeing family and friends soon,
Murray and Annabelle.
Dear readers,
STS Young Endeavour is, by the definition and origin of her name, about Aussie youths trying hard to achieve something difficult. This voyage certainly provided that... and then some. A real challenging experience from all angles and areas. Yet the Youth Crew prevailed and found success. They should therefore be justifiably proud of themselves for persevering, seeing the silver lining and never waivering in their mission to have a great adventure. I am very proud of all of them and I'm sure you are too!
9 Days ago, 22 Youth Crew from all over Australia, came together to sail this vessel, have fun and challenge themselves. They have not only done that, but have faced and overcome fears, and learnt a lot about themselves and each other. They leave with new skills, improved persistence, resilience and adaptability, as well as generally knowing they are more capable than what they probably thought. And of course, having made great new friends - most probably, friends for life. It never gets old for us staff members, as we truly love our work. Fair winds and following seas.
Captain Adam Charlie Farley - Out+
Sydney to Newcastle
02 December 2024
Day 8 – Command Day
2, 6 Hey There,
On today's episode of Young Endeavour V06A/24, we introduce you to (drum roll please) Command Day!!!
That's right everybody, the youths on board have taken control of the ship. As of 1300 today, we have had full control of the ship and where it is going. After elections yesterday, where we voted on who would take command roles, we now run this show. During the handover, staffies handed us a list of tasks for us to complete during our rule, then took a very graceful dive off the side of the ship (all while dressed in varying costumes, which we thoroughly enjoyed).
The first order of business that we decided upon was, of course, dusting off the rope swing and giving it a whirl. After many backflips, bellyflops and majestic pindrops off the bowsprit, we lifted anchor and were off - 22 youths from around the country driving a tall ship in about the right direction on the vast ocean, off the east coast. As we head into the evening, night watches have commenced as we make our way for Newcastle (via a couple of waypoints) with a task of being at anchor by 8-9 tomorrow morning.
Ticking off tasks from our list, we have completed the use of the rope swing, we have tied every knot (five) as judged by Lowey, and made a rope hammock that carried all 22 of us youthies, as judged by Matty.
Also in todays adventures, we had a visit from the RAAF who did a fly-by over us, so naturally we got all dressed up. Setting all the sails and cleaning up the deck made for some pretty pictures from above. Three groups of two jets took turns flying over our portside. They did however manage to fool us as we tracked two on the horizon, two more snuck up behind us. But do not fret, our dear Simon gave us an ear safety brief so we didn't all lose our hearing :)
The most beloved chef, Steve, cooked up a storm before having to hand over the chef hat to Lacey, Lumi, and Crystal who followed in his footsteps and kept us well fed. We started the day with the usual full English Breakfast, hashbrowns, sausages, eggs, baked beans and the lot before following into lunch with ham and cheese toasties and fettuccine rigatoni. We say a wonderful thank you to the three part-time chefs, for the Asian themed dinner cuisine. We feasted on green chicken curry and beef yellow curry on jasmine rice with sides of samosas and spring rolls.
This CLOG was brought to you by Hannah, under the direction of our current captain, Murray, and that's all I have for you guys.
Thank you, and see you tomorrow.
Sydney to Newcastle
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Day 7 – You won’t believe what happened to us in Fingal Bay!
As our propinquity to Newcastle grows closer, we find ourselves plagued with a bittersweet longing for the close comfort of home but also excitement for the much anticipated Young Endeavour Command Day. We started the day at 00:00 (literally), as we continued anchor watches from the night before. During these watches, us Youthies undertook a Navigation competition, our crowned winners being Hannah, Annabell and Charlie. Awoken to the festive Christmas anthem of Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas is You', we started our day with an early morning game of evolution. For breakfast we had our usual croissants, fruit, bacon and eggs - courtesy of our fantabulous Chef Stevo, and might I say a pretty fancy feast.
We then started the preparation of our much anticipated Command Day; Captain's Setting and Furling. This activity required each watch to complete a necessary assessment in order for the captain to deem us competent in regards to sailing and safety - all watches received hefty green ticks, accompanied by some much needed Tim Tams. Next on the agenda was lunch, a fusion of Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork and Roasted Garlic Butter Turkey.
As we left our temporary home, we found solace in the sand bank of Fingal Bay, exploring a secluded, private part of our beautiful country - seemingly there just for us, a place that "took our breath away".
Fingal Bay; where the bright blue sky meets the cold clear water confound in the rocky palisades of the surrounding islands - our little corner of the world. Here we went swimming - of course - hugged a few trees, went snorkelling amongst dolphins, hiked to the lighthouse (where we saw Sperm Whale mates), played rope relay (which Red Watch won), followed by a bonus round of drawing the STS Young Endeavour in the sand (to which the Red Watch won again).
To surmise this perfect afternoon we had an indoor barbeque - courtesy of the flash storm that rocked the ship, and brought along with it an extravagant array of bright oranges and purples as the sun bid goodbye.
Here is where the real fun began: deciding on whom would assume the critical positions necessary for Command Day - a day wherein youthies take complete control of the ship and all corresponding positions. Elections took place over the course of an hour, as shipmates pitched their desires and qualifications for specific roles. The positions have been voted in as follows:
Captain: Murray
Sail Master: Annabell
Watch Officer: Om
Navigator: Mel
Watch Leaders: Gabe, Charlie and Indigo
Chefs: Lacey, Lumi, Crystal
A big congratulations to our fellow ship mates - tomorrow is expected to be an extraordinary adventure.
Tonight, as we lay at mid ships beneath the star-scattered sky, we watched 'Around Cape Horn' on the projector, a documentary narrated by Captain Irving Johnson, showcasing the treachery that lies within the unpredictability of the ocean - a harsh reminder that day two of our voyage wasn't all too bad.
As this marvelous day upon the STS Young Endeavour comes to an end, we once again conclude the night with anchor watches and much needed sleeping as we excitedly await Command Day.
Dearest mothers and fathers, we miss you so very much, and cannot wait to share the stories of this transformative adventure with you (lots of love, Emily, Peta and Indigo).
Quote of the day: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take... but by the moments that take our breath away"
