Day 02 – V20/25, Sydney -Sydney

Good evening shipmates, We’re finally back to sea!! The crew of Voyage 20/25 awoke at 0630L and conducted our traditional early morning activity onboard with the bustle of one of the busiest Naval Ports happening in the background. We remained alongside Fleet Base East overnight and it proved a safe and comfortable berth. Thank you for your hospitality!

At 0800L we cast loose our lines and conducted a sternboard all the way out past the sleek grey warships berthed within the base. Boatswain calls shrieked and our team proudly saluted the senior ships as we passed bridge to bridge.

After a short sail across the harbour we settled in to anchor under the shade of Taronga Zoo. The team worked through their deck safety processes and were initiated to the world of setting and furling sails. This was in preparation for our sail at 1500L where we ran a rack track to the East of Shark Island as we started building muscle memory to the call of “Two Six Heave!”. It was a warm day today but the team pushed on, looked after themselves and made more progress than they realise.

At 1800L as the sun reached for the horizon we set ourselves up to exit harbour and proceed to sea. Our headmark is the approach to Port Stephens with a target anchorage deep within the bay in the shelter of Salamander Bay. Our crew are looking forward to their first sea watches and to driving our beautiful ship to cover some sea miles overnight.

Check in tomorrow to see how our crew have fared. We’re expecting a little bit of a Southerly Blow through the first watch (2000-midnight) before it settles down for a lovely day.

This crew have brought a pure energy and genuine enthusiasm. It promises to be a great voyage!

Captain Leups Out +