Day Nine – Command Day Part 2

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to day nine of our voyage. Following a successful Command Day in which the Youth Crew safely sailed the ship from Jervis Bay to Sydney the Staffies are now back firmly in control. One of the final tasks for the Youth Crew to complete was to write tonights Captains Log so please enjoy tonight’s edition very well written by Youth Crew Watch Leader Jade and Youth Crew Sail Master Georgia. Please Enjoy!

Until tomorrow evening, take care

Yours Aye

Captain Gav

Captainâ€™s log
Wednesday 8th
Day 9
Good evening to the families of our youth crew and friends of the Young Endeavour,
Wow what a day! This morning we sailed into Sydney Harbour at 0900 and we were greeted by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as well as Tenacious which is the worldâ€™s biggest wooden ship in current operation. We started the morning off by brushing up on some sailing skills by making sure the Young Endeavour had an appriopate entrance into the harbour, this is the first time in a year she has been back to Sydney Harbour. We drew anchor and managed to get all 24 youth crew up aloft on the sails at once, which was a sight in itself. At this point our twenty four hours of holding command of the ship had come to an end, the command team did an amazing job and I am sure everyone is super proud of what they have achieved on command day. The cooks who were Callum, Connor and BJ managed to wip up a fantastic set of meals comprising of an American theme for lunch which included burgers and freshly made bread rolls, despite facing challenges of seasickness.
Once everyone had finishing climbing aloft we were taken to Rose Bay and were given a challenge, we needed to find as many locals as possible and sing the national anthem with them while holding our mascot (which was a melon wearing sunnies and a Young Endeavour hat) after a good search we stumbled across a group of young sailors who were keen to help us, so we as a group of about 40 people managed to belt out the national anthem. We then spent the afternoon exploring the Rose Bay’s local cafes and chocolate shop. After we made the journey back to the ship we had some down time in which we were able to write in our journals, play a card game or keep up with the daily newspaper we got in town. Dinner was its usual feast offering some spicy options this evening, then we conducted command day debrief which highlighted what worked well, what didnâ€™t work so well and some take away points from the experience.
What an experience it was having command of a tall ship for a twenty four hour period. We faced rough seas and strong winds throughout the night which kept us on our toes but we all managed to push through and dig deep, a little bit of seasickness affected some of us but we managed to keep it at bay. A highlight of the debrief was discovering how much we did achieve, and how much we learnt from the experience. We also heard new insights and shared take away points with each other. We all managed to work on and improve on our communication, teamwork and leadership skills throughout the journey but especially on command day.
To finish off the evening we celebrated our successes with an epic dance party in the twelve berth, thanks to the staff who provided lights, decorations and music to suit the occasion while some of the youthies dressed up in floral shirts. We will be continuing our watches overnight at anchor, which are much shorter and less strenuous. This will ensure plenty of sleep will be had by all. As this adventure is coming to an end we were reminded tonight that we get out of life what we put into it and to always thrive in challenging times and to recognise the life lessons learnt along the way. As Gav always says, â€œattitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventureâ€. After, we enjoyed the absolute magnificence of Sydney harbour at night we are all looking froward to a well earned rest.
I am sure this experience has given us all new outlooks in life and shown us how far we can challenge ourselves and grow. All the crew are looking forward to getting home and sharing their experiences and enjoying relaxing on solid ground.
Youth crew Watch Leader Jade and youth Sail Master Georgia

Latitude/Longitude:

33 51 S / 151 15 E

Conditions:

Currently at anchor in Rose Bay and experiencing moderate 12-16kt SE winds with passing showers and nil swell. The current temperature is 17 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

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Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

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Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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Day Nine – Command Day Part 2

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