Day 8

Bonsoir, Mesdames et Messieurs, That’s French, don’t you know? Hey, when in La Perouse… De toute façon, after breakfast we mustered the youth crew to participate in the ceremony of Colours, followed by morning brief. Happy hour followed, then the elected Youth Crew members hooked up with their Staffy opposites for a bit of a communiqué, to get the skinny on their new positions. Then at 1300, I handed the Ship over to Youth Crew Captain Olie and his able-bodied crew for 24 hours. I also issued their task list and bid them every success. Staff then jumped overboard and swam away! Next, you will hear from Captain Olie who will detail the youth crew’s adventures of today and tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Adam (Dictated via walkie-talkie from the middle of Botany Bay, floating on large inflatable thong.) [Thank you Google Translate] Ahoy there shipmates, BREAKING: Young Endeavour has been overtaken by a keen Youth Crew on the adventure of their lives! The tall-ship was last seen at 1300 whilst at anchor in Botany Bay, as what seemed to be the Staff members cross-dressed, onesie-dressed, brightly-dressed and poorly-dressed bailed over the port side railing into the sea after all rejoicing ‘Summer Holiday’ …… Yes, here we are! The ‘Youthies’ have taken command of this beautiful tall-ship and we’re on a mission. The mission is to complete a list of 22 tasks that were found in a top secret file handed to myself by Captain Adam along with a beautiful feathered cap and a spyglass. Along with Sail Master Blake (Blakey) and Navigator Celina, we have devised a plan. The plan is to have all of these tasks completed within our 24 hour reign by strategically handling each one between our incredibly skilled crew. Before even weighing anchor, we’d checked off a few tasks. By getting all 27 Youth Crew to climb aloft at the same time and pause for a photo, task 20 was checked off! Next, we sent a bunch of patriotic crew, decked out in left over Aussie decorations from Australia Day, paddling over to the nearby beach in the small boat as they convinced the beach population ‘they come in peace’. This involved them singing the Australian National Anthem at the top of their lungs to embrace the surrounding national pride. Task 22 – done. Also, with a beautifully constructed hammock to support the entire crew, an awesome baked dinner by the chefs (The Spice Girls), that was easily meeting Chef Aaron’s high standard, and a mural design underway – we’re cooking with gas! We weighed anchor at 1940, and set for the high seas. The debuting Sail Master Blake ordered around his troops and set some sails, and Nav had a slight slip up – and we were headed back to Devonport for a while – but now, we’re on course and headed for our first waypoint and hopefully end up in Sydney Harbour in the morning. The Nav are working hard, the Watch Leaders and Watch Officers are working hard and the Staff is hardly working – and they love it. Stay tuned, Yours Aye, Captain Olie