Day 5 Hinchinbrook Island
Ahoy there everyone, Overnight the ship remained at anchor in Pioneer Bay located on the Western shore of Orpheus Island. Just as the sun crested the horizon at 0630 the Youth Crew were commencing their Early Morning Activity on the upper deck, after which, the ship weighed anchor and we waved goodbye to beautiful Orpheus Island and her magnificent fringing reefs. With vigour the morning brief was conducted and ���Salty Sea Dog’ Paul regaled us with tales of a bygone era when ships were made of wood and sailors were made of steel, this was despite the breaching whales trying to distract our attention. To make the most of a following sea Sail Master Adam presented a lesson on square sails, we used this timely knowledge to set our first square sail of the voyage, (the topsail) as we continued to motor sail north through the Inner Great Barrier Reef for Hinchinbrook Island, Australia’s largest island national park.During the forenoon, once happy half hour (cleaning stations) had been completed and Young Endeavour was abeam Lucinda, the worlds longest sugar jetty (6km), I presented the first lesson on sail theory to the Youth Crew to consolidate the practical aspects of the deck and sail work they have been conducting to date. This was followed by Watch Officer Paul’s ���Rules of the Road’ lecture, an important component of safely navigating the ship to avoid colliding with other vessels or running aground.Just prior to lunch Young Endeavour let go anchor in stunning Zoe Bay, located on the rugged eastern shore of Hinchinbrook Island. This pristine bay has the timeless look and feel of Jurassic Park, with imposing headlands and lush towering peaks shrouded in misty cloud. Both the ships sea boats were launched and ferried the Youth Crew ashore to conduct a trek to the breath taking Zoe Bay falls, were everyone cooled off in the refreshing crystal clear waters at their base, before returning back to the ship.After a magnificent sunset over Hinchinbrook Island, Young Endeavour weighed anchor and bade farewell to Zoe Bay. At today’s morning brief I had used the quote ���Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away’, as passed to me by one of the Youth Crew on their return to the ship, Zoe Bay had been truly one of those moments.The intention is to remain at sea overnight making ground to the south towards Townsville, with each of the Youth Crew watches conducting a ���Bear Exercise’. This exercise is designed to challenge each watch with an unfamiliar team orientated task in a set time, continuing the experience that is Young Endeavour.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Damien
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Overcast, Temperature 23.5 degrees, Wind SE 14 knots, Swell 0.5m, Barometer 1015 hpa
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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