Day 10 – Command Day Part 2 – Sea to Newcastle

Ahoy there, We the crew of the young endeavour were guilty of one thing over the last 24 hours. Adaptability!! Our planning was constantly tested, our sleep patterns were broken at best, and our eyes were heavy. When the going got tough the work was shared, when one crew laid out lines on the deck another would take control if the bridge, when someone was feeling down another would lighten the mood, and when one could not find time to sleep there were plenty more for company. As expected we kept true to our theme of tacking and wearing the ship throughout the night in order to strike our waypoints. The night wore on to morning, and our tacking procedures became somewhat refined for a crew under 23 with less than 10 days experience aboard a tall ship. We did not strike all of our waypoints but our sprits still rose with the sun on the ocean. In our final sights was our final way point. The most important; approach to Newcastle harbour. 0800 was our prescribed handover time to Captain Mike and his crew. We made this deadline with the help of every person aboard this ship, no more no less. I believe that we learnt more about ourselves in these 24 hours than at any other point throughout this trip. We came out the other side of our journey with an overwhelming sense of achievement. Captain Walky Ahoy there, I took the Ship back from Captain Walky just outside the port limits of Newcastle at 0800. We congratulated the Youth Crew on their achievements and then sent them to bed for a couple of hours while my crew and I took the Ship into the harbour and berthed starboard side to Queens Wharf. Once we were secure alongside we called the crew up on deck to harbour furl the square sails, which folds the sails on top of the yards so that they UV cover can be placed over them, both to protect the sails and also to make them look tidy for when the friends and family embark tomorrow. After lunch we de-briefed the crew on what a fabulous job they did on Command Day and then sent them ashore with their Watch Leaders for a leg-stretch and to do their end of voyage talks. On returning onboard the crew had a fantastic pizza dinner served-up by Squiz and then we sang an excellent song and watched an amazing slide show about the voyage, both composed by Sophie. It was then time for the crew to write letters to themselves about the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme retain and then post to the authors six months later. The final thing the crew did before hitting their racks for a very well earned rest, was to create their individual watch photo pages, which are retained onboard as permanent records of each voyage. Yours aye, Captain Mike