Day 2 – Climbing, Setting and Furling…and Sailing at Last!

Ahoy shipmates and welcome to day 2. A still and cool morning greeted the crew of YE as they arose at 0630 for the first early morning activity of the voyage…some laps around the deck and a quick game of ‘my name is and my favourite thing is’. Following breakfast and showers all gathered at midships for the harness and safety aloft briefs, before laying aloft in their respective watches. Everyone made it off the deck, not necessarily to the top. Lunch was followed by a quick afternoon brief (Sailmaster, Navigator, Salty and CO) and ‘happy hour’. At 1400 the more in depth ‘Captain’s Safety’ was delivered as the staff crew weighed anchor, after which the youth crew commenced setting and furling drills in a steady 15 knot southwesterly breeze. After a quick trip into the D’entrecasteaux Channel and North West Bay for some sightseeing, we rounded the northern tip of Bruny Island and began making our way across Storm Bay. After dinner the Sailmaster gave the main and square sail brief, set a full press of fore and aft sails, and shut down engines…sailing at last. We then rolled into watches overnight, with the youth crew being introduced to the watch on deck routine. That’s my version of events…I’ll hand you over to Claire, Jordan and Daniel for theirs…until tomorrow, fair winds, Capain Kenny———-
After an early rise and shine to Tugga’s favourite ‘Sweet Caroline,’ day two of our Young Endeavour Hobart-Hobart voyage commenced. After being anchored not far from Hobart itself all night, it was due time to begin sailing to our next location, and today was jam-packed with new and exciting activities. These included climbing the fore mast, learning to use the sails, and sailing for the first time. The morning was filled with enthusiasm about Keely and Adam’s fantastic cooked breakfast, and a few dolphin sightings near and far off the coast. After the mornings great start we began climbing up the fore-mast, although this took quite a lot of time it was well worth it from the beautiful view to the crisp morning air brushing across our faces. We then began learning the basics of sailing on the ship, from stopper knots, to furling the sails, all taught as we put towards the evening of setting off for sail. After a truly amazing dinner of Steak and Butter chicken that filled all of our bellies we had a huge team effort setting some sails for real. With the guidance of our watch leaders and other staff we successfully began sailing, from rotating the yards to prevent extra drag from the wind, to setting one of the biggest sails on the ship, they were just the biggest learning experiences anyone could have. A few dolphins were spotted jumping next to the ship which made everyone get excited. But then a few large waves made the STS Young Endeavour rock back and forth and side to side which made a lot of us feel and look green and not very well. Tonight is the first night we start the watches, Red Watch is on first from 2000-0001 White watch is next from 0001-0400 and finally the Blue watch is from 0400-0800. Everyone on board is slowly beginning to get tired by the day and since it is only day 2, there are many more painful (not really) early mornings and late nights to come. However we wouldn’t change it for the world.