Day 30 – A Little Sunshine

Hi Everyone,Â Welcome to day 30 of our voyage. The wind moderated again today which was quite unexpected and even the sun made a welcome appearance which really was a pleasant surprise. Looking at the forecast this is probably the calm before the storm as we are expecting the weather to deteriorate overnight and the wind to strengthen considerably which we really need so that we can round the Horn and make Ushuaia by the weekend.Â Â Today we again moved the Watches around which will be the final time prior to reuniting everyone in their original Watch for the final weeks of the voyage.Â Â Normally I have to call for volunteers to write the Log (sometimes â€˜Press Gangâ€™ them into it) but not tonight as Greg kindly volunteered to do it. Enjoy his story!!Â Â Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain GavÂ Â PSÂ Lindsey our Engineer & all the Staff and Crew on board for this leg of our World Voyage would like to wish his Beautiful Sister Amanda a Very Happy Birthday (20th Jan).Â xxox19th January 2015 (Day 30)Â Â Ahoy there family, friends, future World Voyagers and all others playing along from a home on the dry stuff that doesnâ€™t roll, with showers that you donâ€™t have to hold on in and plates that you donâ€™t have to rotateâ€¦Â Â Weâ€™re all still alive! Somewhere in the vicinity of 1200NM of that hallowed southern cape at the end of the world and the worldâ€™s southern-most city, Ushuaia.Â Â Today started with a rather cold and windy Guts watch for the Mopeds (Mother of Pearl) watch. With winds gusts of 30+ knots causing wind chill temps to plummet well below 0C, crew rotation below decks was important to ensure no one got colder than was necessary. However, by the end of this watch the wind decided to play games again and dropped right off. Sheâ€™ll be back though, as our resident navi-guesser Paige keeps telling usâ€¦Â Â We finished this guts watch with a 0330 sunrise (just the ever-present clouds getting brighter) always a bit of a strange experience but oddly enough one that we are all getting accustomed to. However, rumour has it that we are changing time zones tonight (from -7 to -6) so this problem of ridiculously early sunrises shall hopefully be alleviated for another few days.Â Â Following watch a well-deserved sleep was enjoyed until breakfast at 0700, followed by Morning brief at 0915. Spirits were soaring at the confirmation from Captain Gav that we will be rounding the Horn!! After nearly 4 weeks at sea by the time we reach it, this will be a significant high point for everyone and a perfect way to top off what has been a remarkable voyage for everyone aboard.Â Â The usual morning ritual of Happy Hour then followed, followed by lunch. Today marked the 2nd watch rotation of the voyage (new watches are Redskins (Red), Minties (White) and Ka-Bluey (Blue)). With watches beginning at 1600, this gave everybody the day off to catch up on journals, read a book, or just become reacquainted with our old friend, the Sun, who decided to make an appearance. Taffy also ran another of his PT sessions, which was greatly appreciated by the majority of the crew.Â Â Currently the time is 1920 and we are at 55.4S 98.01W. The wind speed has been a steady 15-20 knots and weâ€™re anticipating another change in the next 24 hours that will blow us all the way to our journeys end. Weâ€™re settling into watches overnight, as we keep our eyes peeled for signs of a world ashore that we will soon be re-entering.Â Â Yours AyeGreg (Mintiesâ€¦mmm)Â Â PS: Oh, and Karri is still yet to wear pants (long pants that is)Â Â Lindsey our Engineer & all the Staff and Crew on board for this leg of our World Voyage would like to wish his Beautiful Sister Amanda a Very Happy Birthday (20th Jan).Â

Latitude/Longitude:

55Â° 43' South / 97Â° 41' West

Conditions:

Currently located 950nm from Cape Horn and experiencing 15-20KT NNW winds with a 2m WNW swell. Current temperature is 7 degrees with a wind chill of -4.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

You might also be interested in

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

THE VOYAGE

Latest Captain’s Log

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Apply for Financial Assistance

FOR GUARDIANS

Youth Safety & Mental Health

FOR ORGANISATIONS

Scholarships for Local Youth

ABOUT US

The Young Endeavour Youth Scheme

OUR COMMUNITY

Make a Donation

Day 30 – A Little Sunshine

Latitude/Longitude:

Conditions:

You might also be interested in

Ready to set sail?

More Information

Donations

Contact Us

1800 020 444

Keep in Touch

1800 020 444