Day 2 – Bass Strait

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Day 2 of our voyage. It’s been an action packed day with plenty of activities and the weather gods have smiled upon us with some favorable winds and some good sailing. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Scott and Carolyn who have done a wonderful job of writing tonight’s Log. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain Gav
Day 2 – the sound of music awoke an enthusiastic youth crew at 0630 for a few laps around the deck and a fabulous view of the beginnings of a sunrise over Geelong Harbour. Then it was time for a lovely breakfast and morning brief, with a visit from Salty who taught us all about some nautical terms such as S.H.I.T. This was followed by our first “happy hour†– where the youthies all tried their best to make the ship squeaky clean. We then set sail under motor and made our way across the very calm Port Phillip Bay throughout the day. We then had a safety talk from “captain safety†including demos on liferafts, life jackets and thermal suits. Then it was time for a delicious lunch including chicken, duck curry, and pasta salad. After lunch we got into finally starting to practice setting and furling some sails. Then we played some deck games and were lucky to see a large pod of dolphins which was very exciting. Then it was time to go through “the Rip†and into Bass Strait – everyone was excited and keen, and everyone thought that they were not going to get seasick – but about half an hour after putting up the sails, we began to realize that we may have severely underestimated the sea. With many youthies giving the dolphins a full blown meal over the side of the ship, it was certainly a great challenge for all. Dinner was then served, with some lovely roast lamb and fried rice with a dessert of cookies and cream cheesecake and fruit salad – for the few youthies who could dare to eat at this point. Then it was all hands to tacking stations as we all got to practice tacking and wearing the ship. This was a big challenge but eventually a success for those that were simultaneously chucking up, or feeling a little under the weather. Thankfully some youthies have now recovered, although others are still recovering up on deck. We will all be keeping our first overnight watches tonight, which will undoubtedly be a test for those that are already very tired after a long and busy day! Carolyn – shoutout to my mum, dad and friends, I’m having a fabulous time and am feeling good after throwing up four times! Scott – Shoutout to mum and nan, I’m fine having the time of my life and yes I have been sick but have not thrown up yet!!
We have many days ahead of ourselves and we can’t wait until they come around!
Until Next Time,
Scott, Carolyn (C-Dog)
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 18nm to the SSW of Port Phillip Bay sailing under fore and aft sail and experiencing moderate-strong 15-18kt ESE winds with a 1.5m SE swell. The temperature is 16 degrees and our current boat speed is 5kts.
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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!!