Day 7 – Gale Force Winds
Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 7 of our voyage. The Youth Crew awoke to overcast morning with passing showers. Following an early morning activity, breakfast, morning brief and a quick set of cleaning stations they were ferried ashore to the picturesque township of Bundeena were they were given the opportunity to visit the local shops then walk over to Jibbon Beach were a number of them enjoyed a swim (I was told the water was pretty cold) prior to being picked up and ferried back to the ship. Once back onboard they enjoyed lunch then proceeded aloft to cast loose the gaskets on all three squares and the mainsail. While this occurred a strong southerly change came through with wind gusts up to 30kts which made this task even more challenging for our new Tallship sailors. At 1315 we weighed anchor and departed Port Hacking. On reaching open water our strong weather warning had been upgraded to a gale warning with wind gusts forecast up to 50kts with a 4m sea. These were the conditions that I had been hoping for during this voyage as it gave me the opportunity to put the new masts and rig under load and to see how ‘post refit’ the ship would handle in these conditions. Any concerns that I may have had quickly vanished as once the ship was placed under a reduced sail plan it handled beautifully and with wind gusts now exceeding 45kts we quickly reached speeds in excess of 11kts. The Youth Crew excelled during this period and clearly loved being given the opportunity to sail the ship in these challenging and exciting conditions. By 1600 we had reached Sydney Heads and given the conditions I decided that I would sail all the way into our plan anchorage. This was achieved with some very good sail handling by the Youth Crew and at 1615 we came safely to anchor Hunters Bay. This evening following a BBQ dinner which had to be cooked and eaten in the ship’s café due to the inclement weather I conducted the Command Day brief which was followed by the Command elections. Elected Positions As Follows: Captain – Laura Sail Master – Tom Navigator – Dan H Watch Officers – Tallis, Arvin, Reuben Watch Leaders – Rob, Jordan, Lucas Chefs – Brodie, Ainslie, Crystal To complete the evening’s activities we are currently screening the classic Tallship movie ‘Around Cape Horn’. On completion of this movie we will settle into anchor watches overnight ensuring that everyone will be well rested for tomorrows challenging Command Day. Until tomorrow, take care Yours Aye Captain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently at anchor in Hunters Bay and experiencing moderate - strong SE winds with nil swell. Current temperature is 17 degrees with passing showers.