Day 11 – Russell to Whangamumu Harbour

Ahoy there shipmates,Sail Master Matt woke the crew at 0630 and invited them to have a morning swim and use of the rope swing. Surprisingly most people braved the 15 deg water temperature and took the opportunity to enjoy the first morning swim of the voyage. After the usual breakfast morning brief and happy hour we prepared to weigh anchor.We called up Spirit of NZ and they advised they were going to send over their first mate to chat about a potential program for today so we delayed getting under way.Spirit weighed and proceeded while we were still waiting for their boat visit. We got underway at 1030 and proceeded to anchor off Motuarohia Island just after lunch. We put the crew ashore by boat and they enjoyed a swim and walk to a lookout with a spectacular view north up the Bay of Islands.We weighed anchor again at 1500 and sailed in company with Spirit to Whangamumu Harbour, anchoring there at 1830. On the way there Sail Master Matt had issued an invitation to Spirit to attend a Ship’s Concert we had planned for tonight. On arrival at the anchorage we found the Tecla already anchored there so invited her crew to join us at the concert as well. We had tasked each of the watches to produce both a skit involving all their people as well as a video that they had compiled during the voyage to be screened at the concert. The Staffies opened the concert with their act entitled ‘Winning the hand of Princess Turtle’. We warmed the crowd up and then the watches followed with their skits and finishing up with their video clips. All were of an excellent standard and were rewarded with thunderous applause from the audience. At the end we invited the Kiwis to contribute and they sang a couple of great songs and did a very funny dance skit. The night finished up at 1000 pm and everyone headed back to their ships.It is intended to remain at anchor here overnight, during which the returnees will again keep anchor watches. We will weigh anchor early in the morning and sail in company with Spirit of NZ to Great Barrier Island, where we expect to anchor in the early evening on Mon 21 Oct.Yours AyeCaptain Mike Today\’s blog follows. Just attached yesterday\’s blog to my log entry for yesterday.Sun 20 Oct : can be summarised into five words: Freeze, breeze, please – competition and camaraderie.Freeze: We began our day with a brisk walk around the deck at 0630 followed by a snappy game of ‘Knights, Mounts and Cavaliers’. Both of which had the blood and the competitive spirit running once more. The true test came however, when Matt set us a challenge – “No regrets” he said, “Lets go for a swim.” No less than 15 minutes later with the crew from Spirit of New Zealand beating us to the punch over yonder, nearly half the crew were down to their swimmers ready and raring to go. With steam on our breath, and despite frozen feet we had a jig in our step as we waited our turn in line at the rope swing. The splashes and yelps of… delight, were soon heard as we plunged into the icy water. ‘It’s warmer in than out’ some said as their muscles froze up from the shock and they gallantly doggy paddled back to the ship. Despite the cold most returned to the rope swing attempting to add more style, flare, and some back flips to their entry. Needless to say, hot showers quickly followed our little dip. Later we heard that even the locals don’t swim in the ocean at this time of year due to the cold – We were frozen, but live with no regrets.Breeze: The middle part of our day was spent a short sail away enjoying the breeze ashore at Motuarohia Island, known in English as Roberton Island. Motuarohia is an island wildlife sanctuary which, worn down by hundreds of years of wind and waves, have left the landscape with stunning views through eroded rocks to the open ocean on the other side. Straight trees which surely must fight in defiance of these same elements stood tall along part of the island, while grassy hills rolled up to the rocky and pebbled shore where we pulled up. A 15 minute walk saw us to the peak, where a lookout gave us almost 360 degree views of the island and surrounding landscapes. As a team we enjoyed our down time soaking up the sun and spectacular sights. Back at the beach some time later, most worked on tans while we chatted with some of the Spirit of New Zealand crew. It was a sun soaked and relaxing afternoon yet by the early evening, we were all left rather exhausted; some sporting sunburns.Competition and Camaraderie: The evening saw us pleased to host our Spirit of New Zealand brothers and sisters aboard for a ‘Sod’s Opera’. The ‘Sod’s Opera’ is a collection of normally comical skits and songs which range from hours of practice and rehearsal to acts thrown together in an afternoon. The line up was full of comical renditions of our wakey wakey songs from throughout the voyage, music videos such as White Watches dance clip to ‘Bust a move’, and a collection of other skits. Kara, a Youth Crew member performed a poem she had written about the voyage, with Mick and John, our guests from Sail Training contributing with a rope challenge for the NZ crew. One of the many highlights was the Staffies tale of ‘King Neptune (Luke) and Princess Turtle (Tilly)’; the act was a competition between a selection of fabulously dressed suitors (the other staff members) as they fought for the Princesses hand in marriage. The suitors had to survive through three rounds of challenges: Round 1 = Talent quest, the highlight, in my opinion, being Shark (the Captain, dressed in wet suit, complete with fin)with his ‘piss weak magic’, being able to make one of his feet disappear behind a towel. Round 2 = Fender races; in two teams of two the suitors bounced across deck and after consuming a zooper-dooper and a dry wheatbix, bounded back. The final round was a tough-o-war where the suitors ended up being spontaneously assisted by members of the crowd, and even a winch. Needless to say, many laughs were had through these and other acts over the evening. Nearing the end of the Opera the New Zealanders were invited to take to the stage with a performance they had prepared earlier. A sing along to the ‘New Zealand anthem’ aka Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’, had us all entertained.It was a lovely evening and indeed a lovely day sailing in company with Spirit of New Zealand. The atmosphere is vibrant with each crew eager to meet and interact with the other, bonding over our shared Tasman Sea adventures. At one point in the afternoon, a sneak water bomb attack by the Kiwi’s had us turning on the fire hoses to respond, dousing them as they slowly paddles away in their inflated boats.If today and tonight is anything to go by, then there are many great times to come as the Young Endeavour and Spirit travel together towards Auckland. Tomorrow (Monday) will see us sailing together to Great Barrier Island, where on shore challenges are being organised by the Spirit crew. We may have lost the race and the Rugby, however we feel our performing arts skills and what will surely be a glorious victory in the onshore challenges tomorrow will redeem us and see us beating New Zealand once more.We look forward to posting of our success soon! – Wish us luck!Hayley Bennett and the Young Endeavour Crew.Shout out from Tim (White watch): Just wanted to send a quick shout out to my fellow Tough Mudderers (Burley Grunters), I trust you all smashed the course. Also wanted to say hi to Carly, I hope all is going well and I can’t wait to see you again.     “