COMMAND DAY CONCLUDES

Ahoy there Young Endeavour Followers,Welcome to day 9 of our Sydney to Sydney voyage and what a Command Day it has been! After a slow first 10 mile easterly leg due to lighter than forecasted winds, we reached the first waypoint at 2140. From this point, a new south westerly course was set and we steamed towards the Sydney Harbour heads at 5 to 6 knots thanks to the forecasted increase in winds coming through; better late than never! With ½ metre swells, a solid 20 to 25 knots of wind at 60 degrees off the starboard side and the moon punching through the light cloud the night made for the most pleasant and picturesque of sailing conditions down the NSW coast. The 8 degree outside air temperatures kept the watches on their toes with all contacts and waypoints observed on time. In the early hours of the morning all hands were mustered on deck to tack the ship back to a north westerly course to make for the Sydney heads. Blurry eyed but full of enthusiasm the crew performed an efficient tack in the dead of night. Winds and currents saw us end up just north of our final waypoint at the heads, but a 2 watch wear saw us come about in an efficient manner to complete the navigation and sailing portion of our command day at approx. 0530. The staff then took us to our anchorage and current position at Watson’s Bay just inside the heads and anchor watches were closed up by Sail Master Rachel.The morning kicked off in the normal fashion with a stirring tune from our Sail Master. Breakfast was a slow process after such a tiring night, but once everyone was well fed again by our fantastic chefs all hands were mustered to midships for the traditional morning brief. As per usual, Officers of the Watch; Charlie, Georgette and Madi presented a theatrical display of the origins of the term “Born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” The singing of the National Anthem had a slight twist to it this morning, as one of the challenges to complete was to put the lyrics to 5 other tunes. With some preparation work from the day before, the Youth Crew successfully (and in near perfect harmony) belted out the National Anthem to Barbie Girl, Wonderwall, Come As You Are, House of the Rising Sun and Happy Birthday – all of which were easily recognised by music wiz and judge Adrian. Post morning brief it was full ahead on the remainder of the tasks, starting off as usual with the Happy Hour.Mid morning, a hammock to accommodate the entire Youth Crew was masterfully engineered by Officer of the Watch Georgette and Watch Leader Milo with the assistance of 2 of our muscle men, Komo and Tye. Once engineer Leon was satisfied that the entire weight of the Youth Crew was suspended on the hammock it was disassembled and the crew got stuck into their assigned challenges.The beach assault team (BAT) launched the RHIB at 1015 & started paddling for the coastline, struggling a little with the cross winds. Once landed on the motherland they rounded up as many of the locals and tourists as they could on the south head and claimed the land for themselves by hoisting the flag and singing our National Anthem with the crowd which was transmitted back to the Young Endeavour for the listening pleasure of all. After the mission was complete the assault team returned to the ship to find the mural well underway on the midships deck.At 1245 all Youth Crew mustered on deck at Mid Ships to debrief the past 24 hours. The Youth Crew were satisfied with the efforts they had put in over the past 24 hours both on deck and below completing the 22 tasks. The results of which were now in the hands of the staff who were to be the judge.At 1300 the staff joined the Youth Crew on deck for the official handover from me back to Captain Damian. After a further debrief of the Command Day by the staff and some inspiring words, the Youth Crew came away with a 100% completion rate on all 22 tasks (some still to be presented tomorrow night).The last 24 hours have been challenging for all of the Youth Crew, but thanks to the 110% commitment, a strong sense of enthusiasm; which brought a positive attitude to the deck, and wonderful teamwork all around, we pulled through the 24 hours with a 100% success rate on the tasks. Additionally and more importantly I am sure each individual has come away from the experience with their own memories of their time in command of this mighty tall ship, which they will treasure for the rest of their lives.Yours Aye,Youth Crew Captain Jake