Day 10 – Command Day Part 2…and Goodbye, Farewell, Amen!

Ahoy Shipmates – Day 10 and that’s all she wrote. Sol and Cam have very eloquently described the past 24 hours so I will be brief. It has been an absolute pleasure to sail with this crazy and adventurous bunch of young Australians…the future is in good hands. Tomorrow we will arrive and HMAS Waterhen with the youth crew ‘manning the yards’ as in days of old, ending a remarkable 11 days. They are now part of the Young Endeavour family…they may leave Young Endeavour, but Young Endeavour will never leave them! It’s been fun. Wishing you all fair winds and following seas, Captain Kenny, out!———- Day 10 – Sol and Cam. Ahoy there me hearty’s! Command day is well underway after a hectic night of storm tri-sail setting, improvised hammock construction, 60 question trivia creation and not a lot of sleep for those on the bridge. New watches that went by the brilliant names of the Thunder Dragons and the Salty Dinos were created to cover the overnight and day shifts with a long list of tasks that needed completing before hauling anchor at sunrise. The youthies’ day started with a delightful, heart-warming, melodic, inspiring and not at all annoying and obnoxious song called “Big Booty” sung by the harmonious bridge team choir. The song has been commandeered from a game played on a previous day and has stuck in the minds of many a crew member. The entire youth crew tested one of the night watches creations by getting every member off the ground in one massive hammock. Was it comfortable? Debatable. Following that success, the hammock was deconstructed in record time, before heading to the best morning brief ever to be conducted onboard. The youth crew listened eagerly as our elected Navigator educated them on a particular avian species (as has become the tradition onboard). This particular bird was identifiable by its vibrant purple feet and the lack of feathers on its left hand side during mating season. Little did the crew know a special episode of s-house productions was in store for today, as our sailmaster walks them through the rich history of the greatest republic on earth, the ancient republic of pirates. The anchor was pulled up and we proceeded under engine towards the great blue yonder. Engines were switched off and full control turned over to youthies outside the heads. Sails were set, everyone bracing themselves, navigation plotted and hats secured tightly as we were faced with a frightening 12 knots of wind roaring through the sails…..achieving almost nothing. Due to these unfortunate circumstances, we only got the chance to pass through 3 of the 8 waypoints before coming to the most difficult decision to motor our way back to the harbour to meet the required anchor time in Athol Bay, next to Taronga zoo (unfortunately for Lili, missing out on meeting Robert Irwin). Those who got minimal to no sleep decided it was time to collapse on the deck and have a short nap before climbing aloft to harbour furl the square sails and admired the view of busy Taronga and the jellyfish spotted down below. Final tasks were completed as command day came to a close. Command day debriefs were to follow where Capt. Sol handed the ship back to his only slightly more experienced colleague Capt. Kenny. Reflections on the gruelling past 24 hours were made in small groups and our thoughts brought back a discussed as a crew. After Dinner was packed with activities. Each watch performed a piece of theatre of their own making based off of the voyage. Some were sad, some raunchy and some just downright confusing (staffies). After lots of laughter and pack up following the performances, one of the final tasks of command day was completed. To produce a slideshow of photo’s taken during the voyage. We all relived the best of the last 10 days and now are not looking forward to saying goodbye tomorrow morning. This feeling wasn’t helped as our next tasks were to write a letter to our future selves, decorate our watch picture and be presented with a small piece of the very jib that we witnessed snap under heavy conditions just days earlier. The trip has sailed by way too fast (unlike our command day voyage) and although we’ll surely see everyone again, we can’t help but all miss our sea family already. We feel we speak for everyone when we say this has been a truly unforgettable experience with unforgettable people and we can’t thank the staffies enough for all they do to make it such an incredible journey for us. Sol and Cam signing off for the final time. Thank you for everything.