DOUGIE TURNS 40

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 33 of our voyage. Another warm day here in the Atlantic with little wind but plenty of activities to keep us busy.The big news for today is that our much loved Sail Master â€˜Dougieâ€™ celebrated his 40th Birthday which we think is pretty special. At last count he has had Happy Birthday sung to him three separate times and enjoyed an extremely large Birthday Cake with a big slice rubbed all over his face (nice touch Amy). Hopefully celebrating his 40th on a Tall Ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean will be something he will alway remember.The longer the World Voyagers of Passage Six spend onboard the more they learn with todayâ€™s lesson being on how to rig our emergency steering system which is something we practice on a regular basic just in case we have a steering gear failure. It can be a difficult system to set up but given Hortoâ€™s practical demonstration I think that all of the Watches should be able to complete this task which may just be one of the many challenges given to them over the next couple of weeks.Looking at the most recent forecast it doesnâ€™t look like we are going to see much more wind on this passage to Mindelo so we will just have to make the most of the calm seas and afternoon swims and just hope that we will have some stronger conditions once we start our passage across the Atlantic to Rio.Writing tonightâ€™s Captainâ€™s Log is Adzie and Brittney who have apologised for a short edition but they didnâ€™t want to miss the evening movie. Enjoy!Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain GavHello all you World Voyager fans, Adzie and Brittney reporting in from somewhere between Tenerife and the Cabo Verde islands, where the sunshine is surplus, the sea is salty, the spag bol is scrumpscious, the staff crew are spledifiorous and the dayâ€™s summary is the worst nightmare for anyone with a lisp. Apologies in advance for the brief log, itâ€™s another movie night and I have serious FOMO (fear of missing out).Itâ€™s another perfect day on the Atlantic Ocean. Our morning started out with smashed avocados, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs for the savoury sort. If sweet things were more your style French toast, apple crumble and chai tea. Both options not so good for the waistlineâ€¦ At morning brief we substituted the happy hour song for a happy birthday song, wishing our wonderful glorious sail master a very happy birthday. During happy hour, we were distracted by a pod of dolphins rounding up a rather large group of flying fish. Meanwhile, two birds decided to get in on the action and catch the unlucky fish who decided to jump out at the wrong time.After lunch we met up for Shaunoâ€™s games where we almost ate the ship out of marshmallows with Red Watch (woohoo) coming out on top in the eating competitions. These eating competitions consisted of eating marshmallows off strings. Blue watch conquered the fishing line competition where we were required to feed fellow world voyages via a manmade fishing line whilst they all shouted â€œQuackâ€On completion of Shaunâ€™s afternoon games we spent some time with Horto (Engineer) learning how to manually steer the Ship by rigging the emergency steering. This involved turning the ships steering system into a large tiller. It showed the World Voyages that we really donâ€™t want this scenario to happen as we would be extremely fit from heaving in and checking away constantly on the pulley system used to move the large tiller.Today was rounded off with another quick swim in the Atlantic Ocean as the heat increases and as we get closer to the Equator, thereâ€™s nothing like sleeping in dorms with no A/C and fans and waking up sweating. With Mindelo only days away many World Voyages are excited to find some A/C!Update on our pigeon who has been hitching a ride to Cape Verde- Heâ€™s going well, joined in on our birthday celebrations today and has been enjoying a â€˜little bird sandwichâ€™ and tucs served from Annie.Another quick one as we set up for another movie night to celebrate Dougie (40th) and Dans (22nd) Birthdays!Big hugs from all world voyages to their families!Brittney and Adzie (Red Watch)Â Shout OutsBrittney: Hi Mum and Dad, having such an amazing time; not many can say they have watched movies under the stars whilst sailing the Atlantic oceanâ€¦ And to make you extra proud I fit 13 marshmallows in my mouth in the chubby Bunny competition and was only beaten by 1 marshmallow! Love you xxAdzie: Hi Marlee, Been looking at things for us to do in South America, Its going to be amazing canâ€™t wait to see you xoxo

Latitude/Longitude:

19 degrees 21 minutes North / 22 degrees 39 minutes West

Conditions:

Currently located 200nm to the NE of Mindelo motor sailing in light NE conditions with a .5m SSE swell. Our current speed is 6kts and the temperature is 23 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

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

V04/24

19 February 2024

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

V04/24

19 February 2024

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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DOUGIE TURNS 40

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