Day 16 – Light Winds

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 16 of our voyage. Well today we ran a Saturday Sea routine and the majority of the Crew got to have a Sleep in. The heat that we have been experiencing since leaving Rio has been quite draining so it has become important for us to manage everyone’s fatigue levels and also reduce the amount of time we all spend in the sun which is not easy on a 44m sailing ship. This afternoon the wind strengthened enough for us to conduct a set of demonstrational tacks, this is the final part of my sail theory presentation and allows the Crew to come back to the bridge and experience how we tack the Ship (put the bow of the ship through the wind). Normally this is quite easy but when you only have 8kts of wind and 2.5kts of boat speed it becomes a little more challenging, but with a lot of patience and a little skill we successfully got through it.  Tonight we are back to White Watch writing the log and to be honest I can’t even tell you who wrote tonight’s entry because by the time I went up to the bridge to check on how things were going the Captains Log was finished and no one could tell me who wrote it. Anyway we will just let White Watch take the credit for tonight’s entry. Enjoy!!Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain Gav  World Voyage 03 March 2015  Hello and welcome to day 16 of our World Voyage from somewhere south of Mindelo, Cape Verde. As we make our way to our first destination at a steady 7 knots and the days count down until our first sight of land since Brazil, we are becoming completely familiar with our crewmates, the Atlantic Ocean and perhaps most importantly STS Young Endeavour.  While we haven’t had much luck with the weather (it has been universally flat, cloudy and with low wind, not ideal conditions for a sailing vessel), we have made the most of our opportunities thus far. Setting sails, changing tack, navigating and general ships maintenance have all become second nature and everyone attacks the required tasks with vigour and enthusiasm. Even ‘Happy Hour’, the time set aside each day for cleaning, has become a smooth and efficient operation. The heat has been a problem, not so much during the day when we can spend most of our time on the upper deck, but sleeping is uncomfortable. The weather reports that Navigator/sometimes Meteorologist/all round good guy Matt has coming in have suggested that it should be getting cooler as we move further north. I think it is safe to say that we are all hanging out for at least a slight change.  Partly due to this heat making sleep difficult, fatigue has been a factor that we have all been keen to manage. One way in which we are doing so is to have frequent ‘Saturday sea routines’, in which the day’s activities are pushed into the afternoon, allowing (at least in theory), those crew not on watch to sleep in and get some much needed rest.  Today was busy as usual; we spent a large portion of the afternoon on deck working and learning the ropes (sorry, had to be done!), and performing demonstrational tacks, intended to show the crew what a tack looks like from the bridge. This was done because later this week the Youth Crew will be taking over the ship for 24 hours for command day, and it is essential that we can effectively and safely operate the vessel. We are all very excited and to be perfectly honest have very little idea of what to expect. Sail Master Dion insists that this is a good thing… we aren’t so sure as today we found out that during the ‘Command Day’ we are also expected to run the ships galley. It was quickly suggested that baked beans on toast would suffice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This idea was shot down in flames when Double-A (Aaron, our resident Master Chef) asked us where the bread was going to come from. Unfortunately it seems that there will be cooking in at least some form. Wish us luck.PS. Hello to Mum, Dad and Sonia. Having a great time and looking forward to Cape Verde. Can’t wait to talk and hear all about the big race from Mum! Paddy, I have only gone ‘around the buoy’ a couple of times and I survived Neptune’s wrath. Let Ben know I am no longer a Poliwog, but a sailing Shellback! If he has any questions about the Navy, just send him my way! YM&OF –Andrew  PPS. Hey Mum and Dad. We are closing quickly on our first land fall and (hopefully) internet connection, meaning that I will hopefully be chatting to you in a week or so. Love you heaps and I look forward to hearing from you in return for a change. Eden    “