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Day 10 – Newcastle Community Day Sail…the Last Hurrah!
Ahoy shipmates…I’m back for one last hurrah. It has been a long day. We departed Nelson Bay at 0415 this morning for the 4 hour transit to Newcastle in beautiful conditions, arriving alongside Queens Wharf just before 0900. We then embarked our Community Day Sail guests including a group from Showstoppers Scone, a disability support group. At 1015 we left the wharf for a very pleasant sail around Newcastle Harbour, even venturing out to sea noting the calm conditions (only 1 guest was sea sick…sorry Peggy!). The Youth Crew were very gracious hosts, regaling our guests with stories of their adventure on the high seas. At one point we even had a blind gentleman on the helm…Stewart did a remarkable job, and may even have put some of the Youth Crew to shame! On our return to the harbour we fired our saluting cannon…a tradition of old indicating we come in peace. At 1300 we arrived back alongside Queens Wharf and farewelled our new friends. The Youth Crew then proceeded ashore to conduct their end of voyage talks (and coffee) and on their return we sent them aloft to harbour furl the square sails to make sure the old girl looks smart for tomorrow’s voyage finale. It was then time for pizza, poems and the obligatory feedback questionnaires. The Youth Crew also wrote letters to themselves that will be mailed by the Youth Scheme in 6 months time, allowing them to reflect on their time on Young Endeavour. Tomorrow morning we will be attending the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Nobbys Beach…another early morning, but for a very worthwhile event. We will also farewell our 27 young adventurers. They have been a pleasure to have onboard, coming together quite quickly as a team, a fact made evident on Command Day. Myself and the staff crew have thoroughly enjoyed their company. It has been a fantastic voyage…beautiful spots visited (Jervis Bay, Broken Bay, Broughton Island, Nelson Bay and Newcastle, the weather has been perfect (although a bit more wind would have been nice), and we managed to get in some outstanding sailing (Command Day – well done Youth Crew!). They arrived as strangers and leave as friends…part of the Young Endeavour family! That’s about it from me…wishing you all fair winds and following seas, and as I will say to the Youth Crew tomorrow…don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Captain Kenny…out!
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: NNE at 6 kts Weather: Fine and Clear Sea: Nil Location: Alongside Queens Wharf
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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”
After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!
