COMMAND DAY – PART TWO

Hi Everyone,                        Well the Youth did a fantastic job of sailing the ship all the way from Middle Percy Island to our current anchorage at St Bees Island. The main engines were not used once and they really did well throughout the whole of their 24hr Command Period. One of the final tasks for today was to write the Captains Log so please enjoy tonight’s entry again written by Youth Crew Members Jas. Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Gav 11th September: Command Day Handover back to StaffiesAt Anchor IVO St. Bees IslandGood evening!Over night the youth crew safely and swiftly navigated Young Endeavour to her destination! The wind gods smiled upon us, allowing us to arrive ahead of schedule, and without any need for engines to power us along.Our wonderful Sail-Master Marissa called wakey, wakey at 0700 to tack the ship hard to starboard, and shortly after we commenced ‘handing in’ sails to slow us down as we came closer to the jagged coral coastline. Everybody had tired faces and sore, calloused hands from our eight days of hauling in line, but we got the job done, pyjamas, bed-hair and all.We officially handed back the ship to Captain Gav and the Staffies at 1000. Exhausted after our busy day before, night watches and early morning sail work, everyone was happy to be awarded quiet time to relax or catch up on sleep. Some of us headed ashore to explore the island nature reserve and white sand beach, while others enjoyed the sunshine from the boat’s teak deck.Our wonderful Youthie Cooks cooked up fluffy pancakes and warm banana muffins for breaky as well as a delicious hot lunch of beef stir-fry and roast lamb. Yesterday’s Mexican Night had been a hit with all, and many had inked moustaches on in celebration of the occasion.We ended the day with a competitive round of non-competitive Rope Races (onyaa Reddies) and then a talent night full of surprises where each watch team performed something unique. The staffies composed an incredibly hilarious routine involving gantlines, tomato sauce and a cow named Daisy…Our 24hr command of the ship ran without any major hiccups. Reflecting on the experience, there were many things for us to take away from the challenge, whether it be the importance of time management, task delegation or the sheer achievement of successfully sailing a tall ship! Sleep well!Warm wishes from Jas and a tired but happy youth crew.Â
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently anchored at St Bees Island and enjoying light 6-8kt ENE winds with nil swell and the temperature is a pleasant 19 degrees.
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Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 9 of our voyage. Following a busy night of sail plan changes and early morning tacks the Youth Crew made their final waypoint at 0945 this morning which was a major achievement having safely sailed the ship all the way from Prosser Bay to the entry to Port Arthur. On achieving their final waypoint the Staff Crew took over and conducted a pilotage into Port Arthur coming safely to anchor at 1045. Once at anchor the Youth Crew set about completing the rest of their outstanding tasks prior to handing the ship back to the Staff Crew at 1300. With Command Day successfully completed the Youth Crew were ferried ashore early this afternoon where they completed the Command Day Debrief with all agreeing that it had been a challenging and rewarding experience. To finish the afternoon’s activities the Youth Crew were given a guided tour of the Historical Port Arthur Settlement before returning to the ship for another one of Chef Haydon’s fantastic dinners. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Jade, Lochie and Sophie who have done a wonderful job of writing tonight’s Log. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain Gav The last 13 hours of Command Day proved to be very chaotic. We started the day at sea with unideal sailing weather – cold and dark with minimal winds. From 0001, we continued our course from Orford to our final way point of Port Arthur whilst keeping our usual overnight watches. On the guts, Red Watch successfully tacked the ship without needing to wake up anyone else – a mighty fine feat! The Whiteys (On ya Whitey’s!!) and the Blueys also had hectic watches setting and furling many, many sails. Then began the 0530 tacks… All youthies were up before the sun to the call of “Attention all Youthies - all hands to tacking stations. Standby to tack the ship!” over the pipes. Within 6 minutes, all youthies were harnessed and up on deck ready to execute our first tack to attempt passing the notoriously difficult to sail, Tasman Island. After a successful tack, and after a big few hours, brekky was an essential! Master Chefs Aria, Anna and Tiff cooked up a storm worth stowing (in our bellies!) of pancakes, waffles and a feast of fruits which fuelled us for the rest of Command Day and the rest of the Command Day tasks that lay ahead. At 0605, we caught the first light of day touching the tops of the Tasman Island cliffs off our starboard side – ahhh what a sight to see! After another two tacks to set us on our final bearing to Port Arthur, the Youthie Command Crew held an awesome, but a little sleep deprived, morning brief featuring some naughty nautical yarns, nefarious nav brief - “sunscreen or die, hydrate or die”, and the one and only woman who makes the sea seasick, Captain Paige, with the inspiring quote “If you believe in yourself, then you’ve already done half the work”. By 1015 we had successfully made it to our final way point at Port Arthur! We weighed anchor and ate a delicious Aussie-themed barbeque lunch cooked by our awesome master chefs before jumping into Chucky’s favourite hour of the day – Happy Hour! This was then followed by the Captain’s Hand-over Ceremony where the ship was returned to the staffies in a somewhat pristine condition. Keen to get ashore, the youthies jumping in the sea boats to speed ashore for a guided tour of Port Arthur where we learned lots about the historic values of the area and the tragedies that were experienced during the 1800s. Back on the boat, the Staffies held a Command Day debrief where we achieved almost 2 handed thumbs-up for all our completed tasks. A fantastic achievement for the Youthie Crew of V03/23!! With the fantastic Haydo back in the kitchen, we were in for an infamous meal of chicken Penang curry, baked salmon, steak and roasted vegetables followed by golden syrup dumplings with butterscotch syrup sauce and ice cream. Jeez he spoils us! Also a shoutout to my not-so-little, little brother, Hugh. You’re going to love V04/23 mate! Good luck squeezing into your bunk ;) xoxo Lochie. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store! This is Jade, Lochie, and Sophie signing off!!

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