Chomping at the Bit

Situation at 20:00- .Overnight there was only one occassion to call all hands to tacking stations, albeit at 03:45. We made good speed towardsPortland, partly as a result of the wind backing to the South. Most of the night watches were taken up with setting and furling quizzes and other sailing related training.At morning brief Salty Sea Dog Chooka described the nautical origins of the phrase ‘Hijack’, in a particularly animated fashion. Chef Polly stood in for Engineer Rags and did the honours with the scran bag. The pickings were slim, something that made XO Lolli very happy. Happy Hour was followed morning tea. The major activity of theforenoon was the demonstrational and rotational tacks. This is where the watches rotate through each other’s tacking stations. At the same time Captain John explains to each of the Youth Crew the command perspective of tacking and wearing Ship. This consolidates the sailing theory lecture delivered earlier in the voyage. The forenoon was finished off with individual watches conducting setting and furling drills.The Ship anchored in Portland Bay at 13:30 and before long the Youth Crew were ferried ashore to stretch their legs and raid thelocal shops. While ashore they held their command day elections. All hands are back onboard and have until 22:00 to pick the brains of the Staff Crew about the technical elements of command day. Tomorrow theYouth Crew will take command of YOUNG ENDEAVOUR for 24 hours and achieve as many of the 12 tasks set out for them as possible. Captain Michael and his team are chomping at the bit and ready to start.Sadly, this past Friday marked the completion of service of two of the people who are instrumental in providing support to the Ship. Nicole Handley has been the YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Youth Scheme Office Manager for quite some time and as such has been a key player in ensuring that the million and one details that are involved in getting the Youth Crew to the Ship are taken care of. Thanks for all your help Nic. The entire Staff Crew hope you have fair winds andfollowing seas in your future ‘Endeavours’. CPO Jack Onaca has completed a short tour as the Staff Crew Shore Administrator. He filled a temporary gap that was the result of a short notice posting of another member of the Staff Crew, and did a terrific job sorting out everything from postal votes to pay. Have fun in the tropics and keep in touch, we may call upon you again. On a happier note, a former member of the Staff Crew who has recently been posted back tothe grey-hulled fleet is to be promoted, largely due to the outstanding job he did in YOUNG ENDEAVOUR. LSWTR Wiggy Bennett hasbeen selected for promotion to Petty Officer as a result of hard work and dedication. From all of us here Wiggy, a big YOUNG ENDEAVOUR wave and a hearty congratulations for a well deserved promotion.YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Fact File: The Staff Crew consists of thirteen members of the Royal Australian Navy, of which nine are onboard for any given voyage. They are specially selected for a posting to YOUNG ENDEAVOUR as a result of their professional competence as mariners and their personal skills as facilitators of the youth development program. The YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Youth Schemeconsists of defence civilians who oversee the content and delivery of the youth development program, and coordinate the processing of the Youth Crew applications, their selection for the different voyages,travel and other logistical requirements. The two halves of the YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Family work together to achieve the aim of providing young Australians with a unique, challenging and inspirational experience,which increases their self-awareness, develops their teamwork and leadership skills, and creats a strong sense of community responsibility.YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Glossary: Tack- (As in to tack the Ship)Changing the direction the Ship is heading by passing the bow throughthe wind. Wear-(As in to wear Ship) Changing the direction the Ship is heading by passing the stern through the wind.Thought of the Day: Never act a certain way to fit in, for when all your acting is done, you will have forgotten who you reallyare. Christopher Swift.Yours, AyeJohn CowanLCDR, RANHi Burnie, the weather is much better tonight, we are at anchor in Portland Harbour after an eventful night across Bass Strait. Strong winds, and a huge lean which actually put the portholes under water.Made basic living very much a challange. Moving into our ‘Command Day’ tomorrow followed by a half day sail with some guests Wednesday morning. Can recommend it to anyone, an enpowering experience. All mylove Lee, Tasmania.I have experienced so much more on this voyage than I ever would have thought. I have faced really bad sea sickness, a definite lack of sleep and aching muscles. At times I doubted my decision to come onboard Young Endeavour, but now that we are here, the night before our command day I can definitely say that it is an experience that I wouldn’t have missed for the world. In the past week I have learnt more about myself and others than I ever could have at home and being around such a wonderful staff and youth crew has made it so much more special. A big hello to my family and Aaron, I am missing you all heaps, and I’ll see you all soon.Ellen, 21 SydneyHello to all at home,I have had a great time it was a great experience I would never have missed the chance to come on board the Young Endeavour. Climbing aloft was an exhilirating experience and now comes easily to mostyouth crew as opposed to the start of the voyage. There are alot of things that the youth crew have gained and experienced from the trip so far. The tasks to come will be very rewarding to everyone as well.Miss everyone heaps and see you all on Thursday.Love Cass, 16 TasmaniaHi Everyone,This has been such a challenging experience. I’ve faced seasickness,tired muscles and lack of sleep but despite these things I have had a FANTASTIC time. A big thanks must go to the staff who are somotivating and enthusiatic making the voyage so much more enjoyable. I have learnt so much about myself and are ready to use thisexperience in my life after Young Endeavour. I thoroughly recommend this to everyone and anyone who want to challenge themselves and have fun. Hello to my family and friends, I love you lots and will see youall soon. Thanks for the memories Young Endeavour.Love Carrie, 22 Tasmania
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
At anchor off Portland. Wind: South at 15 kts, Sea State:1, Temp:12c, Cloud: 8/8
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

ARRRGH, ahoy there from the spectacular Jervis Bay! We’ve all been taken A-back by the crystal clear blue waters and snow white sands.
After a well deserved sleep in these sheltered waters which was a refreshing change to clinging to our bunk racks for dear life for the past few days, the ship rose to another banger of a morale tune “sung” by Blue Watch. Brekkie was fun after the early morning activity to get us all up and moving. We held another round of competitive not-competitive rope races which culminated in smashed eggs on deck and the mummification of said egg smashers.
Roast lamb for lunch was prepped by the staffies in the absence of our culinary wizard Steve. Once cleaned up, we took the RHIB’s across to Captains Beach bordering HMAS Creswell which was a mind-blowingly beautiful little spot. Pretty much everyone had a dip in the drink and a roll in the sand and played some creative beach games run by our Suitability legends, Speedy Sam and Eggs.
A few hours at the beach made everyone ready to head back home and attack a teak deck barbeque, devouring cheese platters, steaks, sangas, and salads. With our full stomachs, us youthies initiated the highly anticipated elections for our command day roles. Which will commence sometime around midday tomorrow. We held a vote for each available role that all willing youthies put themselves forward for.
The following roles were voted as follows: Captain – Warwick, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Ruscoe, Officer of the Watch – Dan, Watch Leader – Nick, Ben, Bridget, Master chef – Emily, Mackenzie, Alyshia
We were greeted after our elections by a low flying anti-submarine MH60-Romeo Helicopter which did a cool fly around our ship. *Thanks Squizz!!* And then watched an amazing film about the rounding of Cape Horn back in 1929 on a 7 story tall sail ship.
Signing off from our anchor watch, Ben and Giles.
“I believe that positive energy and optimism help us to take up any challenge in life and to succeed in even the most difficult tasks. I also believe that positive energy is contagious: We can transmit it to others”
