Day 7 – Another Great Day in Bass Strait

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Day 7 of our voyage. Well it has been another eventful day full of plenty of activities, sail work and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Tomorrow I will hand the ship over to the Youth Crew for their 24hr Command Day and I am sure that they are ready for the challange. I will now hand over to the Youthies for their Captains Log entry on todays adventures, enjoy!!

Until tomorrow, take care

Yours Aye

Captain Gav

Day 7 – The Final Countdown
Today, we woke to our last morning before the long awaited command day, where we have 24 hours to sail the ship on our own. Overnight, we were anchored at Refuge Cove and this morning set sail for our next destination, Cowes. Once again, breakfast was an absolute treat with bacon egg and cheese muffins.
The morning’s briefing, despite being quite chilly, was especially entertaining and educational. We heard from our Navigator Daz, who told us about Flinders and his journey through Bass Strait. We were also enlightened by Salty’s story telling and theatrical directing, which explored the origin of the words ‘hunky dory’ and ‘hijack’. Despite being incredibly fun, the brief was also bittersweet as we had to farewell our most beloved mother of all seas, Nana. Over the last week, she has taught us to keep our racks tidy and also led us in multiple song and dance routines. During our briefing, the ship also passed the most southern tip of the Australian mainland.
Following another productive happy hour, each team was examined in the “Captains Setting and Furling test’, where each watch had 20 minutes to set and furl (pack away) 3 sails. Captain Gav explained that today would be an opportunity to bring all our collective knowledge and skills together before command day. Practising setting and furling on our own would ensure that as a group we can complete the task in a safe and timely manner. All watches passed with flying colours and came out with a reward of tim-tams, an incredible treat after a week at sea.
Following another delicious lunch of Mediterranean Chicken and Beef Stroganoff, we participated in the next round of Rope Races – where the topic was on “weird/miscellaneous things”. The bonus round today was “Youthies Vs Machines” where we had to act out several household items such as a washing machine, microwave and Dyson vacuum cleaner. We’re certain that it would have been entertaining to watch!
The big task of the afternoon was the “Captain’s Challenge,” where the whole group had one hour to set all the sails on the ship and brace the yards (turn all the sails in the ship to face the left side). After a shaky start, we all came together to achieve this in the end. We all agreed it was an invaluable opportunity to reflect on the dynamics of working in a big team.
In the afternoon, the group received a briefing from Captain Gav about command day, before holding elections in the evening. As a group, we elected our new Captain, as well as Sail Master, Navigators, Officer of the Watch, Watch Leaders and Chefs. All positions were highly contested, which reflected the enthusiasm of our group. We also decided as a collective to group ourselves into new watches, to give us all the chance to work with new crew members on command day.
As we’re writing this, the ship is heading into our next anchor point, Cowes. We’ve been able to spot several houses, first signs of civilisation for several days and for many it is a surreal experience. As we finish up for the day, there is a sense of excitement in the air about what is to come for the command day. We are certain it will be a challenge, but we’ve certainly prepared ourselves for it in the best way possible and looking forward to putting our skills to the test!