Day 6 – Sea dogs R Us

Dear readers, you wouldn’t believe it but I went to volunteer a volunteer to write tonights log but they were all impersonating Rip Van Winkle! (Google = Tired Dutch bloke who slept for 20 years) They were sound asleep, boys and girls. Anyone would think we’re making them work… illegally (BTW check out our merch shop, most of it is handmade right here ;)) Jokes. So you’re stuck with me again… Oh well, let’s get through this together shall we? Good.
Well, it all started with an early morning activity at 0630 which is the norm whilst at anchor (as you know). Cheeky game, then some breaky. Boom. We raised our flags, sang the anthem, then boarded the boat for a wee peek at the lovely Brampton Island. There’s an abandoned resort there dont you know!? And a sweet hike up a hill. Wildlife seen: Butterflies, sea eagle, brahminy kite, lizards, whales and some wolverines… (i may have dreamt about the wolverines. Gosh!). Anyway, Attenborough eat your heart out! ha. Then everyone returned onboard and ate hamburgers for lunch 😛
Anchor aweigh and we sailed away from the anchorage, cleared the dangers and conducted rotational and demonstrational tacks in a lovely stiff breeze. Basically everyone moved to different tacking stations and me and Jordo yelled stuff out. I think it went well. We had fun anyway. Actually mums and dads, grand ma’s and pa’s… these young ozzies, youth crew of voyage 10/21, are turning into proper salty sea dogs! They actually know what they are doing!! Strewth we thought, better not tell them everything or we’ll be out a job! haha… er. Seriously though, I’m a very proud salty sea daddy! Um and now we’re sailing somewhere else… we’re going to remain at sea overnight and look for another tropical island to anchor in the morning.
Arm’s sore from the pinching! What an adventure 🙂 Captain Adam Charlie Farley+
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: ESE @ 20kts. Temp: 19. Weather: Cloudy.
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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”


After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!