Day 6 – A Strong Southerly

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Day 6 of our voyage. It was an early start this morning when we came safely to anchor at Port Fairy at 0600. Following breakfast the Youth Crew were ferried ashore where they conducted ‘mid voyage chats’ with their Watch Leaders then enjoyed a coffee and a quick leg stretch before returning onboard by 1030. At 1100 we weighed anchor and shaped a new course for King Island which weather and wind permitting will be our next anchorage. As forecast we are currently experiencing a strong southerly front so are enjoying some exhilarating sailing in wind gusts over 30kts. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Accalia and Annie to tell you all about our day. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain Gav

Watches commenced throughout the night, where the youthies in their watches were put up to the task of setting the storm jib, an unseen sail and were given written instructions. Working together as team, we had to think on our feet, being only able to ask three questions from our watch leaders on advice for setting the sail. Overall, all the watches completed the task very well, working together as a team smoothly in order to complete the task.
We started the morning off with a surrounding thunder storm, making for some fantastic photos. The crew was woken this morning when we went to anchor in Port Fairy, where we went to shore to grab a bite, hug a tree, and talk about our mid voyage goals. When reflecting on the past six days on the Young Endeavor, it is clear we have experienced vast development in our skills as a sailor, but also have seen personal growth in terms of leadership, self- confidence and teamwork. The time to reflect on the voyage goals allowed us to reminisce about the challenges we overcame as a team, ranging from sea sickness, fatigue and even learning to live with others in such close quarters.
After heading back to the ship from Port Fairy, we were blessed by a wonderful lunch by Keely, consisting of tandoori chicken and salmon. The youthies were then briefed by Captain Gav regarding important sail theory knowledge about operating the Young Endeavour, and reading the winds of the southern ocean which we are currently sailing through. Later on sail master Daz briefed us on using the square sails, the set of sails attached to the foremast which none of us have used. Consisting of new ropes such as the clew line and the reef line, Daz challenged us members of the youth crew to set the topsail (the middle sail on the foremast) without any help from the staffies. Working together, the youthies managed to complete the task successfully (with only minor changes from the staffies midway through the procedures). This gave us a good taste of what to expect on command day, when the youthies take control of the ship for 24 hours.
Afterwards, we conducted a variety of tacking drills, which consisted of setting and furling the fore and aft sails. This is once again helping us become more prepared for command day which is fast approaching. Watches commenced once again, where the youthies were put to the test by mother nature’s extremes such as strong winds and heavy rain when climbing up the foremast and when being on lookout on the bridge. In addition, the high winds began to increase. Combined with the turning off of the engine, the Young Endeavor has shifted onto a 20 degree angle, making simples tasks such as eating and showering from difficult to nearly impossible. Watches will continue throughout the night as we sail to King Island.
This current angle we are on has provided many great laughs and some exciting sailing.Signing off,
Accalia and Annie