Day 09 – V17/25, Adelaide – Geelong

Welcome to the Captain’s Log for Thursday 02 October – Day 9 of Voyage 17/25, Adelaide to Geelong. Thank you to Caitlin for writing tonight’s log:

We started the day with excitement and nerves as our 6:30 am wakeup gave us 3.5 hours to prepare for the youthies to take over the ship. After a chat with our opposites, the youthies were all set to step up into their new positions as leaders and sailors. Our knowledge of learning for the past 8 days really proved to be useful as it was finally our turn to run the ship. Our new team of chefs cooked up a storm for our first meal of command day, pork belly and honey ham. We enjoyed this while chatting nervously about our upcoming departure of Mornington. In the afternoon, after a quick safety brief and practice tack, the new leaders pulled up the anchor and we set sail across Port Phillip Bay on our way to Geelong. Overall, the whole youth crew have been working really great together, sharing and reflecting each other’s qualities of courage and resilience.

Our chefs, Caitlin, Aidan and Tom worked swiftly to prepare a much-needed and delicious snack of French Toast. The evening brought with it strong sailing conditions; heavy winds causing the bowsprit to take dives under the waves, some enjoying it in their wet weather gear, and others shivering, covered in salt.

As the chefs prepared dinner, our Watch Officer Will led the crew in a game of werewolf, a great distraction for hungry sailors. We all ate our homemade burgers with smiles on our faces, then smiled even more once Caitlin brought the mini pavlovas out of the oven.

For the rest of the night, the crew will be working hard finalising our course to Geelong (great job to our Nav, Ethan!) and setting the right sails for the wind to get us to our destination. We hope to arrive at our final waypoint nearby the Point Richards Channel at around 4:30am, with the wind and conditions going to plan.

Ethan: shoutout to my dad, all the points that you gave me before this journey have been so true! See you, Mum, and Zahra soon, navigating under the red light as I type this!
Caitlin: my cooking skills are getting great!! Can’t wait to see you all soon xx
Lucy: Hey Mum, Dad and Abby, see you all soon xxx!
Will says Hi Gracie, I’m in charge of a ship

Until tomorrow evening.
Yours, aye,
Captain Mike and his able-bodied crew

Latitude/Longitude:

Conditions:

AUTHOR: Peta Binns

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16 October 2025

Day 09 – V18/25, Geelong – Sydney

And to the sound of cannons firing in the mist the Young Endeavour sailed into Sydney Harbour this morning for the first time in nearly 7 months! Can you believe us Youthies sailed ourselves all the way into Sydney Harbour!? It feels like a dream! Day nine arrived with a round of happy birthdays for Youthie watch leader Eli at the midnight watch change where the Bilge Rats handed over to the Sea Cows. Overnight winds dropped as low as 0.5 knots sending on watch Navigator Jarrah into overdrive figuring out how to get us to Sydney by morning. A few gruelling hours later Nav Jarrah and Capt. Danni set a course that would see the Young Endeavor enter Sydney early the next morning. The whole youth crew worked tirelessly and effectively to do what we could with the wind dealt us. A few uneventful hours followed as we burned some dinosaurs to get to Sydney on time. Sailing into Sydney Harbour, we were contacted by the 7 News helicopter who congratulated us on our arrival and conclusion of the circumnavigation. They requested a firing round of canons and each Youthie was willing and able to fire their charge. As we turned through the heads we saw a shroud of fog covering our view of the bay and city, which slowly cleared as the early morning light brightened and burnt it off to reveal the magnificent skyline of the City of Sydney, the Opera House and the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. Once at anchor we deep cleaned the ship and enjoyed some well deserved rest, before spending the afternoon reflecting on our journey and just how far we had come. Not only through Command Day but as a crew forged by the trials and tribulations of sailing through Bass Strait and living life at sea. The final circumnavigation of Australia by this ship has been finished, but there are still plenty of adventure opportunities ahead. The crew are happy to be home, but some are already looking back out at the horizon wondering what the next adventure will bring. We will leave you with a small poem from Robert E. Howard: I have anchored my ship to a quiet port; A land that is holy and blessed But I look through my bars at the tempest’s sport And I long for the seas unrest.

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Day 08 – V18/25, Geelong – Sydney

Ahoy there mateys! Youthies here once again to provide an insight onboard during the toughest day of the voyage, Command Day! Following lasts nights diplomatic elections and insightful documentary that was older than the staffies themselves (thanks Phil), the Youthies headed to bed in anticipation of the challenges ahead. Our newly elected leadership team ran a morning brief, and the staffies officially decided it was time for a “holiday” and abandoned ship (literally) impressing the Youthies with flips and tricks as they jumped clear over the side of the ship. HMAS Supply was operating in Jervis Bay and it was so cool to host their Captain and a handful of their amazing crew onboard for a ship tour and to share some warries (tall stories!) about our experience so far. The Supply team then enabled 6 Youthies to take a joy ride on their RHIB, which was an amazing chance to get a taste of speed and power after multiple days of sailing at a snail’s pace. After a tour around our ship, the navy visitors were eager to escape the smell of a boat not cleaned yet after happy hour (it wasn’t that bad we swear). The newly appointed chefs cooked up a meal of scrumptious spaghetti meatballs with chorizo and grilled chicken wraps (supervised and supported by the one and only legend Kingy) After eating some scrumptious lunch, we all took turns going through safety checks making sure we know what we are doing with pins and cleats so that we can make it home with 10 fingers and all of our toes! We weighed anchor at 2pm and headed for the deep blue once again. Next stop Sydney – the final port in the Circumnavigation of Australia 2025 adventure. We felt so privileged to be a part of this final leg of the journey. As the sun set pods of dolphins surrounding the ship and put on an acrobatic display providing us hope in our time of need. Captain’s quote of the day: “More is lost by indecision than wrong decision” The Youthies have a long night ahead of them, so send your best wishes and keep us in your prayers! -Jeremy, Lucy, Reef and Julian

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