Day 14 – Northern Coast of Sicily

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 14 of our voyage. As forecast the wind veered to the SSE overnight and we managed to shutdown main engines and sail under fore and aft sail this morning.Landfall was made at 1400 this afternoon when the spectacular mountains of Sicily were sighted. Given the perfect sailing conditions we decided to set the topsail and conduct a set of rotational tacks. This activity gives everyone the opportunity to experience each others tacking station and is important part of learning how everything works when tacking the Ship.On completion the wind continued to veer which enabled us to set the other two squares and now we are sailing beautifully downwind along the northern coast of Sicily. Overnight we will continue to sail east and given our current speed we hope to transit through the Messina Straits sometime early tomorrow afternoon.Tonight we are back to Red Watch writing the Captains Log so please enjoy tonight’s edition which has been written by Kelley. Enjoy!!Until tomorrow, take care.  Yours AyeCaptain Gav  Captains Log 17 April 2015  DAY 14For us girls in the 12 berth of this magnificent vessel, we can tell you the weather forecast without even getting out of our racks…or falling, rather. This morning we woke to the thrashing sounds of the swell against our bow, another washing machine cycle on repeat.So another day began in the marvellous Mediterranean, welcomed in by White watch. Unfortunately some fell again for the sickness of the seas as we tried to restore the balance in our heads and ears.As usual, we had a wonderful round of dad jokes and fun facts during our morning brief from our ever so humble Sailmaster, Knuckle…I can tell you he’s getting better and better as the days go by! Another trustworthy tale from Salty, aka the Taffinator (who likes the cut of our jib) and of course, some beautiful words by our fearless leader, Captain Gav!It took a few hours to warm up today as we were all hoping for the seas to settle so we could enjoy Double A’s delicious delights once again. After another one of his creations for lunch, us Reddies were straight into watch, with special guest watch leader, Tenille! Our luscious leader, Lauren left us in very capable hands.As fate would have it, the weather Gods were on our side and we had much improvement, and hallelujah! We were sailing with just wind power rather than the accompaniment of engines! It was a new chapter as we cracked the 10 knot mark with our sails fully set.And better yet, as we were laying aloft to cast loose the Topsail yard sail, LAND HO! The splendid sights of Sicily blessed our eyes. Knuckle tried to convince us it was a giant cloud on the horizon, but fear not! After 8 days without a sighting of soil, we finally reached a benchmark in our Mediterranean mischief. With favourable winds, we were able to brace the yards and set the square sails, and what a superb sight it is. Young Endeavour is truly a beautiful ship.This afternoon also saw us into round 4 of Rope Races and rotational tacks, sharing the love of each watches tacking stations. It was enlightening to see how the ship works in different areas.So as I sit here, glancing out the window of the bridge to see the mountains of Sicily, our square sails with a full belly of wind and a sunset over the sea, there’s not much else we could really ask for.Every one onboard is having a whale of a time, even if a few shoes do go missing for a few hours…We of the World Voyagers (aka Whisky Victors) have become close friends and there is more of an adventure to be had! Carpe Diem!Now, bring me that horizon.Yours Aye,Kel.P.S. A very special birthday to my one and only sister, Bonnie. Happy 25th beautiful girl, keep smiling!P.S.S. Mum and Dad – still alive! Having a ball, missing you very much! Xxx”