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COMMAND PERIOD DAY TWO
Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 53 of our voyage and day two of our Command Period. I won’t write much tonight as I think that our Sail Master Liv has got everything well and truly covered. The only thing that I must mention is during the early hours of this morning I awoke to find Miquela chasing a flying fish around my cabin. How this fish managed to get there where not quite sure but the theory goes that he must have gotten a fair amount of lift of a large wave and managed to fly onto the bridge and down through the aft companionway where he managed to slide into my cabin. The good news is that Miquela did manage to grab hold of him and return him safely back into the Atlantic Ocean. It just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how long you have been at sea something new can always surprise you.Enjoy tonight’s Captains Log written by the lovely Liv.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain GavHi, hey, hello to everyone back home and beyond!Yet another day in command of the STS Young Endeavour has passed with all of the crew members putting all they can into some awesome teamwork and cooperation for day 2. We have had to do a few things in order to make it to our designated waypoints over this 24 hour period, including a lot of prior preparation, planning and a few Tacks and Wears thrown in the mix. As mentioned yesterday by the brilliant Bob, we had hands to tacking stations, dinner and then overnight we had the watches setting squares, doing some sail trimming and keeping fixes in order to maintain our Speed Of Advance (SOA) and stay on track for our designated waypoints.This morning began early with our GPS tracking going completely dark and the only form of navigation left was a dead reckoning. Basically guess work for our team up on watch. Our third waypoint was in sight and even with all our equipment off, we managed to hit it early and continue our course straight for waypoint four. A 15 minute sleep-in saw everyone a little happier when it came to a call across the pipes from me “Good morning everyone, hands to tacking stations, hands to tacking stations. Prepare to Wear the ship!â€. Weary eyed, some still in PJ’s, all watches were at their designated spot within 5 minutes and we were ready to go. One Wear followed shortly after by another, saw us back on track again, with another task ticked off our command period instructions list. With my voice a tad scratchy after yelling through the wind, watches were sent off to breakfast to fuel up for a big day ahead.The next task of the day was an awesome photo opportunity up the yards. Blue watch on the Course, White watch on the Topsail and Red watch on the Topgallant, everyone smiled their biggest toothy grin for the camera as Dougie snapped away. An incredible lunch time prepared by our new Galley Girls followed and with that, our fourth Waypoint! Rudy, Annie and Maddy prepared some amazing homemade burgers for everyone with delicious leftovers from yesterday, gorgeous salads and of course, gorgeous smiles. Another task and another creative opportunity came at midday with a mural at midships. It depicted each crew member in any shape or form, and lasted just long enough for a photo before being washed away by a stray wave over the bow.I am pretty proud to say that on completion of this first 24 hour period we confirmed with our Nav, Evan, and we have hit all four of our waypoints ending ahead of time, keeping us on track for arrival in Rio! 1300 came and the ship was handed over to a new set of World Voyagers to see us through our second 24 hour Command Period. After the excitement and full schedule of the first 24 hours, we started off with a siesta (helped by gaining an hour this afternoon when we retarded clocks back an hour crossing into the Oscar time zone). Heartfelt letters written to each other followed another awesome meal cooked by the new Galley member; Damo, Jess and Caitlin.Amy here- Liv has just ducked down to join in for a well-earned Macarena boogie at our Latin dance party in the 12-berth. That was short and sweet, but I’m back now…Yes! And finally to finish off another awesome day at sea we had a dance party awesomely organised by Vita in the 12 berth, fully equipped with flashing lights and PA system.Thanks again to my fellow command team for period one and all of the crew for your cooperation and hard work. You are all amazing people! Finally for me, as we wrap up our last week at sea I would like to take the opportunity to say I will miss you all (V06/15, staff included) at the conclusion of this trip more than you can imagine. You’ve all helped to make this the absolute trip of a lifetime, of which I will never ever forget.Liv, out.
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 760nm NE of Rio sailing close hauled on a port tack and experiencing strong 18-24kt ESE winds with a 1.5m ESE swell. Our current speed is 8.5kts and the temperature is 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!!
Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 8 of our voyage and Command Day. Thankfully the weather improved overnight and a well rested Youth Crew awoke to a beautiful Tasmanian morning with clear skies. Following Morning Brief I conducted Captain Setting and Furling Drills which is our final activity leading up to the Youth Crew taking command of the ship and I am pleased to announce that all watches passed with flying colours. Once completed, the Youth Crew Command Team were given 30 minutes with the Staff Crew so that they could ask questions that may assist them in their elected positions throughout their Command period. Once finished we rigged the rope swing and gave everyone a chance to have a swim in the cool (some would say cold) clear water of Prosser Bay. At 1300 this afternoon we all gather at midships and I handed over the Command Day instructions and the ‘telescope of challenge’ to Youth Crew Captain Paige which officially commenced the exciting 24hr Command Day period. One of the many tasks for Command Day is the writing of the Captains Log so here is tonight’s edition written by Captain Paige. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain GavHello all, Today’s events were very exciting for all youth crew, as today is the day the staff hand over the ship and let the youthies take control. The day for us youthies started by the staff woke us all up to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marring Aye and Timmi Terrell through the main broad cast. We then had a scrumptious breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, cereal, yogurt and toast. Which was provided to us by the amazing Haydo and the master chef’s Tiff, Jasper and Jack. Breakfast was followed by morning brief where we are informed of the weather conditions, the Captain always provides us with an inspirational daily quote, and what the daily plan is going to look like. Once morning brief was wrapped up red and white watch performed happy hour while blue watch performed the Captains setting and furling. This allows the staff crew to insure all the youthies are safe and capable to take command of the ship. Once all the watches rotated though performing the Captains setting and furling the elected youth crew sat down and conducted opposites which is where the staff command team discus with the youth crew the best way to go about performing the roles they are taking over for the 24 hour period. Since it was such a nice day the staff decided we do Swimex which is where staff and youth crew that are brave enough to conure the cold water temperatures of Tassie are allowed a short period of time to have some water fun this includes jumping off the rope swing, using the Lilly pad which is a large foam mat jumping off the side of the boat and the bow sprit. When the Swimex came of a close it was time for lunch which was pasta bake, Bolognese, lamb and Pork chops, cheese and garlic breads which were freshly made that morning by Haydo. Hand over to youth crew was conducted at 1300. During the 24hrs that the youth crew have control of the ship the staff go on holiday down stairs where they have access to a bowling alley, cinema, and Maddie opens the heated swimming pool along with other amazing facilities. Part of hand over the Captain, what given a sheet of 30 tasks that we need to perform as many as we can throughout the period of time we are given. The first task was to assemble a row boat team to row to shore to acquire the navigation instructions, other tasks includes creating a rope hammock that will support all the youth crew at once, Theresa’s knot tying challenge and many more exciting and challenging things. Once the navigator marked out waypoints we weighed anchor and set sail though Mercury Passage. We are now carrying out night watches and on our way to the next anchoring spot which is unknown as of the moment. Until the next log update Yours truly Captain Paige
Ahoy there Land-lubbers! Today has been the wettest yet! After a busy night of anchor watches and little sleep due to the rolling seas, this morning’s weather seemed promising. We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in Wineglass Bay with dolphins in abundance, chasing and playing alongside the boat. However, there was a spicy **Insert ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls here** call over the intercom from Chucky to don some wet weather gear. The ‘Captain’s Challenge’ (aka the Pre-Command Day Examination) took place after morning briefing, used by the man who makes the sea seasick (El Capitan Gav) to test the Youthies capability to sail the Young Endeavour by themselves. This was made incredibly difficult by the rain. While many hands were on deck and climbing the rigging, the elected navigators were busy (and dry) pinpointing our location. Given the circumstances, we were able to successfully complete the Captain’s Challenge with 10 minutes to spare! There was a brief respite for lunch, cooked by the ever-amazing Haydo and his Gordon Ramseys’. After which, all hands were back on deck to continue setting and furling sails. This task quickly turned from practice into reality, as we were hit by several squalls that became progressively worse over the course of several hours. The Youthies fought bravely against the roaring winds and blistering cold rain to furl the sails. We succeeded in making the ship safe. We have weighed anchor, and are taking shelter in Prosser Bay (near Orford) tonight. Command Day gives the Youthies (almost) total control of the Young Endeavour for 24 hours. This evening, we conducted elections to determine the leadership team that will be running the ship throughout this period. Here are the results: Captain Paige Sailmaster Sophie Navigator Lochie Officer of the Watch Jeremy Red Watch Leader Summer Blue Watch Leader Jack White Watch Leader Alistair Chefs Aria, Tiffany & Anna We wish all our (land-lubber) families back home all the best. Love ya, Gibbsy and Jezza xoxo