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BACK TO SEA WE MUST GO!
Ahoy There,Well after a restful night at anchor the Youth Crew were awoken at 0700 and tempted over the side with an early morning swim. Since there was a rope swing involved most of the crew jumped at the opportunity. There were some outstanding back flips from the rope swing and one or two belly flops that looked like they may have tickled a little bit. The three Chef’O apprentices took over the BBQ once more to cook up a BBQ breakfast of eggs and bacon rolls served alfresco on the deck. After such a great start to the day we gave the Youth Crew a short break to catch their breath and conduct their morning ablutions.At 0830 we got right back into the morning program with morning brief which was soon followed by us weighing anchor and getting underway. We have about 140nm to cover to Heron Island and not much wind to do it with, so an early start is a real necessity. The Boats’O, Jordo gave a very entertaining lecture on rules of the road as we motored out into the wind. This lecture explains the laws of the sea in regards to how to avoid colliding with other ships and is a very important step in the progression towards command day.Once Jordo’s brief was completed the sails were set and the engines stopped and we barely had steerage way with the light breeze. Just before lunch there was a wind shift of 30 degrees and Tim gave the Youth Crew a quick brief on the square sails and then 12 volunteers scurried aloft to cast loose the gaskets and get the sails ready to be set. With the three squares set we maintained steerage way for another two hours but it was a loosing battle. So in an attempt to summon the wind we called upon some assistance from some old traditions of whistling, placing a knife in the main mast and asking Brother Nutise for a hand. It was all to no avail and soon we were reduced to drifting with the tide. Since there was no use in continuing to attempt to sail we took in all sail and hove to and sent the ship to swimming stations. In the spirit of the Olympics Luke had soon created a few events and most of the Youthies were soon competing in synchronised diving, 44 meter freestyle and 44 meter breaststroke events. At the end of the day Young Endeavour was the true winner.After everyone had a chance to freshen up we were reduced to motoring further to the South hoping that the wind would come. I took the opportunity to start the sail theory lessons with a brief introduction into how sails work and how to achieve balance in a tall ship. There were some really smart questions asked at the end of the lecture and I look forward to the second half tomorrow when we should have a bit more wind and the chance to put the theory into practise.Tonight I plan to motor sail to the SSE in the light winds to allow us to maximise the sailing tomorrow when the winds are due to come in. The Youth Crew will use the night watches to further their Watch on deck practice now they have the additional roles of navigation and sail trimming. They will also do a teamwork exercise tonight to see how they are coming together as a team.Until tomorrow, despedida CAPT Matt Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention or arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. You should aim to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly up and totally worn out, pointing over you shoulder and saying “Did you just see what I just did?â€Â Â
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: NilSwll: NilTemp 20 Degrees
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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”
