Day 2 – Departed Esperance

Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 2 of our voyage.Following a good night’s sleep the Youth Crew awoke to a slightly overcast but warm Australia Day morning. We kicked of the morning at 0630 with a “getting to know you exercise” followed by the normal huge Young Endeavour breakfast. At 0755 the Youth Crew were mustered on the port side of the bridge and introduced to the traditional ceremony of colours (raise flags and sing National Anthem) and morning brief. Being Australia Day we ‘Dressed Ship’ and made sure that that we proudly displayed as many Australian flags as possible.From ashore the ship looked extremely impressive and their were numerous comments from the crowds of people ashore stating how special it was to have Young Endeavour anchored in the harbour as a backdrop for the town of Esperance’s Australia Day celebrations.On completion of morning brief it was straight into the Youth Crews first set of cleaning stations (Happy Hour) which was followed by a comprehensive safety equipment brief given by Taffy the Ships Safety Equipment Officer.To complete the morning’s activities the Youth Crew spent time with their Watch Leaders focusing on the safety procedures for setting and furling sails and deck safety. At 1300 the anchor was weighed and once clear of our anchorage the ship was brought under fore and aft sail as we shaped a course to the south east and commenced our passage across Esperance Bay.By 1600 all of the Watch Leaders had reported that their watches could safely set and furl the majority of fore and aft sails and had been fully briefed on their tacking stations. On receiving this report the ship was called to tacking stations and in moderate conditions the Youth Crew successfully completed their first set of tacks as a crew. On completion of these tacks we altered course to the south rounded Cape Le Grand and then shaped a course to the east and have now commenced transiting through the spectacular Recherche Archipelago.The time is now 2000 and the Youth Crew have now settled into their watches for the night. Overnight we will continue our passage to Middle Island with the intention of anchoring at 0700 tomorrow morning.Kindly volunteering to right the first entry in the Captains Log for this voyage is Lauren from Red Watch, please enjoyHopefully everyone reading tonight’s Log had a great Australia Day!!Until tomorrow, take careYours Aye Captain Gav CAPTAINS LOG – 26 JAN 16In the journey to Esperance many of us endured a very interesting flight from Perth. There was a lot of eager faces when the pilot announced we were descending to the lovely scenic town of Esperance. Upon arrival there were some very shocked faces as we were surrounded by bright red soil and not a drop of water in sight. “Where ever are we?’ was a question asked by Claudia as she took in the surroundings.After a long wait in Esperance it was finally time to board the ship. Being unable to dock, the Youth Crew were transported in four teams to the 44 metre tall-ship that is the STS Young Endeavour. Having been assigned to either Red, Blue or White watches the youth crew were debriefed on safety and general onboard knowledge. The highlight of the evening for many was the opportunity to climb aloft the 34 metre foremast, after which with tired bodies we retired to our quarters for our last night of uninterrupted sleep.Bright and early Tuesday morning we were awoken to the words ‘I am, you are, we are Australian’. This could only mean one thing, It’s AUSTRALIA DAY! Throwing ourselves out of bed, we mustered on to the deck to be debriefed on our daily activities. Many of the Youth Crew took the opportunity to show some patriotism with classic Australia day tattoos and face painting.We spent the day learning how to set and furl sails as well as the appropriate rope knots in preparation for our exit from Esperance; with a cannon fire notifying the locals of our departure, we finally set sail! The weather was absolutely perfect for a bunch of 24 young Australians to be trained on how to safely steer (tacking and wearing) and organise the ship. With the overnight watches commencing at 1800, by some miracle we are yet to have our first victim of sea sickness, however the night is still young!Shout out: To Mum, Dad, Cameron, Lachlan and the Cressfield crew, having a ball so far. Yet to feel sick at all but I’m sure that will come in due course. Hope all is well and I’ll see you all soon! love Lauren