Command Day Part 1

After a restful night at anchor off Patonga we held morning brief, ‘happy hour ‘ and then ‘rope races’.At 1000 we conducted ‘Opposites’ where Youthies elected to leadership positions spoke to their opposite number Staffy to get the lowdown on what their job entails.At 1230 after lunch I handed Command to Youth Crew Captain Hari for the next 24 hours.————————Hey everyone,Your newly appointed captain Hari here!Today at 1230, the staff crew handed over the reins of the $22 million STS Young Endeavour to the youth crew, so no pressure. Furthermore, Captain Mike kindly gave us an extensive checklist of tasks to complete during our command day. We were also greeted with a creatively dressed staff crew, all ready to go on a brief and well deserved “summer holiday”. They dived straight into this holiday, quite literally, by swinging off the boat’s rope swing and into the water. Swings were misjudged, backflips occurred and many shouted “it’s freeeeeezing!!”.We all of course followed, enjoying a swim in the chilly waters of Patonga.Shortly after the fun in the sun, we were off. “Anchor’s a weigh!” shouts Megan, the Staffie hanging out over the side of the boat watching the anchor as it’s picked up by the cables. The engines rumble in the background and we slowly head to exit Broken Bay. I think if you measured our cortisol levels in those first 5 minutes, they would have been through the roof. The navigation plan was to immediately catch the westerlie winds predicted on the weather report that we received. Unfortunately about 15 minutes after the engines were cut and our sailing began, we were becalmed! The predicted westerlies were thoroughly absent and our new navigator had an easy job for around 2 hours, as our position only changed by about 0.2 nautical miles during that time. Tensions were running high on deck as the youth crew had a lot of work foisted upon them, with commands to set and furl sails coming at a lightning pace, making them sweat and pant with exertion.Eventually, the wind picked up, the sails filled and we were on our way, destination Sydney Harbour. Actually moving through the water with some speed after such a long time sitting still was an incredible feeling and I couldn’t help but notice how far we’d all come since our first day on the ship.We made good time, despite the slow start, and the Sydney skyline rose to meet us at around 2300. Whilst no one was looking forward to the anchor watch ahead, the youth crew meticulously inspected the ship, waking up at hours no one should have to wake up at, to ensure the safety of everyone on board. And thus ended the first leg of our command day.