Cid Harbour and Hamilton Island

Ahoy shipmates,After a relaxing night at anchor, the crew of Young Endeavour awoke to a beautiful Whitsunday morning. After a brisk early morning activity to get the blood flowing, a hearty breakfast (see below) was had by all. Morning brief followed, the highlight of which was an information extravaganza by Salty, covering terms such as “scraping the bottom of the barrelâ€, and “not enough room to swing a cat†to name but a few…all terms with nautical origins. The “pool†was then opened for the enjoyment of all, followed by happy hour, another round of rope races, and lunch. With the forecast wind remaining from the east/south east we needed to make our way to the southern end of the Whitsundays to enable some decent sailing overnight. With that in mind we weighed anchor at 1300 and motored south from Cid Harbour, incorporating a “fly by†of Hamilton and Dent Islands with Youth Crew either aloft or on the bowsprit, enjoying the stunning weather (a landing jet at Hamilton Island provided it’s own fly by!). Once clear to the south, sails were set, I gave my sail theory presentation, and we have now set a course to the east in preparation for the on watch activities overnight, which will include the “bearexâ€, and exercise were each watch is set a challenge by their respective watch leaders involving the setting of a sail they have not used before. Our destination in the morning is the beautiful Whitehaven Beach…lovely. It’s now over to the boys…Fair winds,Captain Kenny Capitans LogAhoy land lubberrrrrrs, Today started at the carefree time of 0630, when we were woken by the beautiful sounds of Jack Johnson’s Bubble Toes blaring over the speakers. This was followed by our morning limbering of limbs and an amazing breaky of maple bacon, eggs two ways, yoghurt with fresh berries and Danish tarts. After breakfast we went for a fresh dip in the extraordinarily scenic sea off of Sawmill Bay in the Whitsunday’s which was followed by everyone’s favourite time of day, Happy Hour (this involves us cleaning the ship). Next we played the extremely competitive/non competitive sport of Rope Races, this involves competing against other watch groups by racing for different equipment and lines etc over the ship. Blue Watch is still currently in lead. No surprise. For lunch there was the simple sea fair of Fillet Mignon and Roasted duck breast in a plum sauce with Greek salad which we devoured before weighing anchor. Setting sail we passed the beautiful Hamilton Island, which we witnessed from high up on the fore mast. The day was round off with “Christmas in Julyâ€, roast turkey with rosemary potatoes, pumpkin, pork, crackle, peas and gravy, and for desert orange cake with ice cream and sprinkles. We are currently on Last dog watch (6-8pm), watching the whales off the starboard side of the Young Endeavour.Kind regards from Blue Watch Ziggy and Reilly “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath awayâ€.Maya Angelou
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Course:  065 true    Speed:  4 knotsWind:  Easterly at 11 knots    Swell:  South easterly at 0.5 m   Weather:   Clear
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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”


After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!