Day 3 – Bass Srait

Hi Everyone, Overnight the wind strengthened from the north east which enabled us to set all three squares and put the ship under a full press of sail. By morning brief we were located 20nm to the south west of Wilson’s Promontory enjoying perfect conditions and being entertained by large pods of dolphins. During the day we continued with the training program, completing a navigation brief then introducing the Youth Crew to their first round of ���semi’ competitive rope races. This activity helps the Youth Crew to learn the many lines, sails and parts of rigging that are located onboard Young Endeavour. At 1500, without warning (not forecast) the wind backed to the south west and strengthened to 30-40kts, which provided some exhilarating sailing for both the Youth Crew and Staff with the ship reaching impressive speeds of 11.5kts. These conditions lasted for approximately 4 hours during which time we reduced upper sail then finally clewed-up all squares and came hard onto the wind. Of note, some of the Youth Crew proceeded aloft (climbed the foremast) during this time to assist the Staff with gasketing the square sails which showed a considerable amount of courage and was most appreciated by the Staff and myself. By late evening the wind had again moderated which enabled us again to set upper sail and continue to make good speed along the west coast of Flinders Island towards Banks Strait. At the moment we are located 34nm from the entry to Banks Strait, sailing close hauled under fore and aft sails and making good 6kts of boat speed. Our intentions are to pass through Banks Strait (North Eastern point of Tasmania) during the early hours of tomorrow morning then make our way down to the spectacular Wineglass Bay were we will anchor late tomorrow afternoon.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Time 2100 - Currently located 16nm to the west of Finders Island and experiencing strong 22-24kt SW winds with a 2m SW swell
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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”
