COMMAND DAY CONCLUDES

From Captain Jezza, I am reluctant in coming to terms with this being my second and final captains’ log at the helm of the unique and magnificent vessel that the youth crew of 03/12 have called home for the past nine days. As we draw ever closer to the end of our time on board the Young Endeavour, I find my self thinking back to the 10th of march 2012 where 24 strangers from all ages and different walks of life met in Sydney, with a minimum collective knowledge on how to sail a tall ship. To 0730 Sunday morning where we successfully completed our command day challenge sail from Broken Bay to the entrance of Newcastle Harbour independently without any help from the staff crew. It was a sleepless night for most of the youth crew on board the Young Endeavour as we thundered our way up the coast of NSW. The heavens opened up and blessed the voyage with a mix bag of weather conditions. The ship was gifted with some strong south easterly winds averaging 25 knots, which allowed for some rarely seen square sailing that had the ship up and cruising at 7 knots at stages of the night. This was the first real opportunity in the voyage that the crew has had the chance to do much if any square sailing at all. This was a great sight to see as square sailing is what sets the tall ships out apart from any other sailing vessel. But with the good comes the bad, and as I mentioned earlier, we were hit with a mix bag of weather. Unfortunately the direction we were sailing meant that there was a 2m swell smashing side on into the ship, which in return gave the ship a nice rolling helm of 20o. Which I think rocked the crew out of there racks and on to the person below more than it rocked them to sleep. It was a long night for all crew members involved in sailing the ship, whether part of a watch, the watch officers or the ships navigator. Our three master chefs had it especially hard cooking up a storm in the galley, serving up to 160 meals in a 24 hour time frame. I was simply amazed in the level of teamwork, leadership and support displayed by the youth crew who only nine days ago were complete strangers to each other. It was astounding to watch the crew grow and transform into one cohesive unit and pull off what I would call a significant achievement in any book. The level of dedication showed by all crew members to help their team mates get the task at hand done no matter the situation, was very inspiring. Even at 0600 when one of the crew’s master chefs had finally fallen victim to the constant bombardment of the 2m swells hitting the ship sides, and had to pop up to feed the fish instead of the crew. Young Harry from White watch with only having a few hours rest himself stepped up to fill in with out even a blink of the eye. I was honoured to be selected by my peers as Captain for our command day challenge, the countless acts of teamwork and support shown by all 24 youth crew members continues to astonish me. I am very proud to work along side such a talented and diverse team. I will always hold the time I have spent on the Young Endeavour very close and dear to me. And hope the friendships that have been forged will last a life time as well. Youth Crew Captain Jeromie Edwards‘A champion team will always rise above a team of champions’