Day 44 – Final Night of Passage Two

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 44 of our voyage and the last night at sea for this wonderful Crew as we arrive in Cadiz tomorrow, which is our final destination for Passage two of Young Endeavour’s 2015 World Voyage. Since departing Rio on the 18th February we have sailed more than 5,000nm and have experienced some amazing highs together. A voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a 44m Tall Ship was never going to be easy but your motivation, enthusiasm, spirit, and great sense of humour got us through the most challenging of times.  From all of the Navy Crew (Staffies) of STS Young Endeavour we wish the Crew of Passage Two (ShellBacks) all the best and thank every one of you for the efforts that you put in throughout this amazing journey. Stay safe, continue to challenge yourself and we look forward to catching up on our return to Australia.  Please find attached the final Log for Passage Two written by Vinny and Blue Watch. Enjoy!!  Until next voyage, take care  Yours AyeCaptain Gav  PS A Big hello to all of my friends at the South Coogee Bowling Club who often read the Captains Log and continue to follow our progress by monitoring our Yellow Brick Tracker. Hope all of you are well and enjoying reading about our adventures. Gav  Captains Log – Day 44  Together as a crew, we have experienced a journey so unique it will be difficult to ever paint a picture of exactly what we have been through. Together, we 24 youth crew accompanied by 12 staff have shared a journey of such extreme contrasts: mental and physical highs and lows, laughs and tears, triumphant moments and also moments that our deepest weaknesses have been exposed to all.  Now, it feels almost surreal to be writing what will be our final captains log of the journey – we now sit 20nm off the coast of Cadiz, prepared for our pilotage into our final port tomorrow. Everyone is scurrying to make the most of the last sixteen hours aboard Young Endeavour – whether that be climbing masts, chatting amongst each other or just taking a moment to try to process all that has been. Personally, the last twenty-four hours has been an amazing time – a time in which I have focused on reflecting on the things I have learned over the last forty-four days. Prior to the voyage, I thought I may emerge as a different person on the other side, however, I now realise that I am exactly the same person who walked onto the Ship in Rio de Janeiro five thousand nautical miles ago. It is not that I have changed dramatically or that my values have been shaken to the core. Instead, I have realised that this has been an opportunity to learn more about myself, an opportunity from which I have been able to discover my strengths and weaknesses, and from there use this knowledge to grow and face challenges and opportunities ahead. At the moment there is a feeling of sadness as it sinks in that as we depart tomorrow, I do not know when I will again see everyone who has been my family, or the ship that has been my home. I am, however, thankful to have been lucky enough to complete such a voyage with such an amazing crew, and I now look forward to the next adventure. –  VinnyForty Four days at sea, five thousand nautical miles sailed (or motor-sailed), an ocean crossed, king Neptune conquered, two hundred and forty hours spent on the bridge – helming, navigating, avoiding collisions, whales and dolphins playing off the bow, climbing masts and singing sea shanties. It’s the kind of thing a five year old dreams of – a pirate’s life at sea. Well, we’re not pirates, and we’re not five year olds but the happiness I feel as I sit here watching the sunset over the Atlantic less than thirty nautical miles off the coast of Spain is one so pure I am sure that only a child could experience it.What an adventure it has been! It’s hard to believe how much one can experience in six weeks in the middle of the ocean, on a vessel a mere forty four meters in length with only the waves, wind, sky and your fellow crew as company. It’s impossible to think how close you can grow to those around you, how much you can share of yourself and how much you can learn about what you can achieve and what you believe. Stepping onboard in Rio I thought I knew myself, there were no secrets I was keeping from myself, I was self assured and knew my limits. I’m leaving this ship having learnt so much more than I could have ever imagined, being challenged beyond what I thought conceivable, achieving goals that I never thought I would be able to tick off. All whilst learning so much about the undeniable good in humanity that shines through in every member of this magnificent crew-if the future of Australia really does lie within the youth of today’s hands, then rest assured we are headed for great things.  A big thank you needs to be extended to the incredibly talented and passionate staff crew that have so willingly accompanied us on our journey. They’ve shared themselves, their stories, their experiences and knowledge. They’ve shared in our most triumphant victories and our lowest points, they’ve shared our smiles, wiped away our tears and instilled within us a passion for life that I am positive will never be extinguished no matter what life throws at us in the future. The never ending compassion and patience extended by each and every member of this talented crew has had a lasting impact on us and I’m one hundred percent sure we all are better people for having had the opportunity to work and grow beside these incredible people.  For all those who have tuned into the captain’s log, whether you’re a dutiful reader who doesn’t miss an episode or you’ve checked in once or twice we thank you. Thank you for sharing in our adventures at sea, for experiencing our challenges and our triumphs, our frustrations and our defining moments, our epiphanies and our vulnerabilities. Thank you for the support that we have received and for giving us a reason to reflect on our journey and how lucky we have been every single day of the voyage. You have been an instrumental part of this journey and I hope that we have been able to give you a slight insight into what it’s like to run away to sea.  As I sit here, I can only think about how incredibly lucky I have been to be able to have had this experience. I’m incredibly proud of everyone onboard and am so thankful to have been able to have the opportunity to learn from a seriously diverse and talented bunch of individuals. It’s surreal to think that tomorrow we will come alongside and be thrust back into the bowels of reality. No longer will we need to strap ourselves into our racks, stumble out of bed at ridiculous hours of the night to don wet weather gear and harnesses and stand out in the elements for hours on end. We will not need to hold onto our brew mugs with all our might only to have them (and ourselves) go sliding across the deck, “Oops, roll of the ship” will not be an accepted form of apology for bumping into someone and showers will go back to being stationary, effective and boring.How lucky are we to have had something so good, which makes saying goodbye so hard.With love that rivals the greatest depths of the ocean,The Blueys  “