Day 1 – Williamstown to Mornington…Hot and 50+ Knots!

Ahoy shipmates, and welcome to Voyage 03/20…Melbourne to Adelaide. What a day it has been, and the word for the day is…HOT! It was a balmy 39 degrees as the youth crew embarked this afternoon at 1500, with the ship berthed at Workshop Pier, Seaworks, Williamstown. After quick tours for family and friends we all gathered at midships as I welcomed all and introduced the staff crew for the voyage. They are: Captain – Kenny, Sailmaster – Tracey, Navigator – Jerome, Watch Officer – Ivanka, White Watch Leader – Morgan assisted by Phoebe, Red Watch Leader – Reggie, Blue Watch Leader – Keithy, Engineer – Horto and Chef – Keely. With a strong wind and thunderstorm warning for the Melbourne area and Port Phillip, once our guests had disembarked we delayed our departure…a good move it turned out because very soon after we had 50+ knots across the deck as a series of squalls passed through. Once things had calmed down, we departed our berth and made our way to our overnight anchorage off Mornington, with the youth crew conducting ice-breakers and ship’s tours along the way. Enroute we were hit by some more 40+ knot winds, and no sooner were we at anchor then some 45+ knot squalls hit. Never fear…YE took it all in her stride. After a delicious dinner from Chef Keely (lamb shanks and turkey) we rolled through the initial briefs, hearing from Engineer Horto, Chef Keely, Sailmaster Tracey and myself, highlighting some of the do’s and don’ts associated with life on a tall ship, and encouraging the youth crew to seize every opportunity during the voyage. It was then time for the harness and safety aloft briefs, interrupted by some more squalls and rain, before finally White Watch and Blue Watch both lay aloft to the top of the foremast to the top gallant yard. In the interest of having everyone in bed by a reasonable time, Red Watch climbs were deferred until the morning. By 1030 everyone was back on deck and headed to their racks for some much needed sleep…Day 2 is always uber busy….and more storms are forecast…fun fun fun! That’s about it for now…until tomorrow, fair winds, Captain Kenny
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: SE at 10 knots Weather: Passing showers Sea: Mild Location: At anchor off Mornington
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

ARRRGH, ahoy there from the spectacular Jervis Bay! We’ve all been taken A-back by the crystal clear blue waters and snow white sands.
After a well deserved sleep in these sheltered waters which was a refreshing change to clinging to our bunk racks for dear life for the past few days, the ship rose to another banger of a morale tune “sung” by Blue Watch. Brekkie was fun after the early morning activity to get us all up and moving. We held another round of competitive not-competitive rope races which culminated in smashed eggs on deck and the mummification of said egg smashers.
Roast lamb for lunch was prepped by the staffies in the absence of our culinary wizard Steve. Once cleaned up, we took the RHIB’s across to Captains Beach bordering HMAS Creswell which was a mind-blowingly beautiful little spot. Pretty much everyone had a dip in the drink and a roll in the sand and played some creative beach games run by our Suitability legends, Speedy Sam and Eggs.
A few hours at the beach made everyone ready to head back home and attack a teak deck barbeque, devouring cheese platters, steaks, sangas, and salads. With our full stomachs, us youthies initiated the highly anticipated elections for our command day roles. Which will commence sometime around midday tomorrow. We held a vote for each available role that all willing youthies put themselves forward for.
The following roles were voted as follows: Captain – Warwick, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Ruscoe, Officer of the Watch – Dan, Watch Leader – Nick, Ben, Bridget, Master chef – Emily, Mackenzie, Alyshia
We were greeted after our elections by a low flying anti-submarine MH60-Romeo Helicopter which did a cool fly around our ship. *Thanks Squizz!!* And then watched an amazing film about the rounding of Cape Horn back in 1929 on a 7 story tall sail ship.
Signing off from our anchor watch, Ben and Giles.
“I believe that positive energy and optimism help us to take up any challenge in life and to succeed in even the most difficult tasks. I also believe that positive energy is contagious: We can transmit it to others”
