Day 10 – Mackay and the Final Farewell.

Ahoy shipmates and greetings from a windy Mackay. After a restful night at anchor in Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island, we made the 4 hour dash to Mackay Marina in windy and rough conditions. Unfortunately due to the weather the Community Day Sail was cancelled, however the Youth Crew did take the opportunity to show off the ship once we were alongside, giving some guests tours of the ship and reliving their experiences of the past 10 days. After an early lunch the Youth Crew lay aloft to harbour furl the square sails in blustery conditions. Considering the amount of wind, they did a fine job…an example of just how far they have come since those tentative first night climbs. Once complete they all headed off the ship with their respective watch leaders to grab some coffee/ice cream and complete their end of voyage talks, where they reflect on the voyage, goals achieved, and lessons learnt. Then after pizza on the upper decks we were highly entertained by the Youth Crew performing a number of skits linked to their voyage, some interpretive dance, a slide show and a heartwarming song composed by the youth crew. As I write Sailmaster Ivanka is briefing everyone on the obligatory last night admin (QC and voyage page). They are also encouraged to write a letter to themselves which will be posted to them by the Youth Scheme in 6 months time…a time to pause and remember their times in Young Endeavour. It has been an absolute pleasure having these 27 young adventurers onboard. We have had some fantastic sailing, visited some amazing locations, and had a bloody good time in the process. Tomorrow they disembark Young Endeavour for the final time. They are now all part of the Young Endeavour family. We wish them every success and in the words of Dr Seuss…’don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened!’. Wishing you all fair winds and following seas….Captain Kenny….OUT!