Day 2 – Light Conditions

Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 2 of our voyage. Overnight we have continued to make good speed to the south utilising main engines (iron headsails) due to lack of wind. From Mackay to Sydney is 940nm so we have to try and maintain an average speed of 4.9kts to make it on time. At present, due to the kindness of the \’weather gods\’ we are experiencing light conditions, which despite not assisting us with our sailing, is allowing us to maintain a speed of 6-7kts under engines. By morning brief this morning we were located 7nm to the south west of the Percy Islands experiencing light NW winds with passing rain squalls. Being our first morning brief for the voyage the Youth Crew were briefed on important things like the 90 second shower rule and the use of the ships toilet system (heads). With these things out of the way they were introduced to ‘Salty’ whose job it is to educate them on nautical names/terms and the history behind them. This morning it was all about where the term ‘shake a leg’ comes from and in true Young Endeavour style Salty used some very comical props (Jodie & Dougy) to act out the story behind this commonly used term. Following morning brief it was straight into ‘happy hour’ (clean ship) which is an extremely important part of shipborne life, as I am a firm believer in that a clean ship is a happy ship!!. Lunch followed with Chef Haydon spoiling us once again with his wonderful food then those of us not on watch enjoyed a short siesta so that we were refreshed for the rest of the day’s activities. At 1400 Sumo the Engineer mustered everyone at midships and introduced them to their first set of ‘Rope Races’. This activity helps the Youth Crew to learn the many lines, sails, parts of rigging and safety equipment that are located onboard Young Endeavour. It was a close event but I believe that Dougy and Jodie’s White Watch won this event today with the other two watches not far behind. Normally during the afternoon of Day 2 we would go to tacking stations and conduct a couple of tacks so that the Youth Crew is comfortable with their positions but due to the lack of wind this activity has been postponed until tomorrow. In its place we had previously noticed that we had a few small holes in the main staysail so we got the Youth Crew to assist us with dropping the sail and conducted some minor sail repairs. Late this afternoon everyone was again mustered at midships and without my knowledge they surprised me with a wonderful ‘Birthday Cake’. It is hard to keep secrets on Young Endeavour but I had thought that I might have gotten through the day without anyone making a fuss about it being my birthday but I should know better by now. So a big thanks to the Staff and Youth Crew for making my day special.The time is now 2015 and we are located 23nm to the NE of great Keppel Island still motor sailing due to lack of wind. In the past 24hrs we have travelled 151.6nm so are staying above our required speed. The forecast is for the wind to back to the SW and increase overnight which hopefully will give us a chance to set some more sail. Overnight the Youth Crew will remain in their sea watches and continue to consolidate some of their new mariner skills. Until tomorrow, take care Yours Aye Captain Gav PS Thank you to the many friends and family who have sent texts and messages wishing me a happy birthday it is most appreciated. Unfortunately I will not be able to reply until we are back in mobile range.Â
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 23nm to the NE of Great Keppel Island and experiencing light N-NW winds with .5m SW swell. Current temperature is 18 degrees.
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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!!

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”
