Day 15 – Great Barrier Is to Hauraki Gulf

Ahoy there shipmates,Sail Master Matt woke the crew at 0630 and got everyone on deck for a quick game of ‘Knights, Mounts and Cavaliers’, before we launched into another of Luke’s delicious breakfasts.Morning brief was held at 0805, straight after colours. We then prepared to weigh anchor and depart Fitzroy Harbour in company with Europa and Spirit. The returnees were able to go aloft to watch our transit through the scenic Man-o-war passage. Once we had cleared the harbour we joined up with Picton Castle and commenced our passage to Kawau Is. The crew then got into their second last cleaning stations for the voyage.Just after lunch we formed up on Spirit to perform a sailpast through Kawau Bay. We then sailed individually to our assigned anchorages in Hauraki Gulf. In transit the watches conducted their end-of-voyage chats facilitated by their Watch Leaders.We anchored off Matakatia Bay at 1800. Following the traditional last night of the voyage pizza night the crew progressed the end-of-voyage paperwork. At 2000 we viewed the returnee slide show depicting the experiences of the voyage.It is intended to remain at anchor here overnight and sail into Auckland Harbour in the morning led in by Spirit of NZ and in company with Europa, Oosterschelde, Lord Nelson, Picton Castle and Tecla.Yours AyeCaptain Mike     “Â
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
At anchor in Hauraki Gulf - Wind: 320 / 6 kts, Weather: partly cloudy, Swell: nil, Temp: 16 deg. C
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!