Day 7 – Gold Coast and Golden Weather!

Ahoy shipmates….Day 7, and I think I may be redundant when it comes to the Captain’s Log! See below. Fair winds, Cap K———-

Ahoy shipmates! Day 7 began with the glittering Gold Coast skyline and Valerie playing through the speakers as our alarm. After a long night filled with not only our regular watches but also with surprise “Bearex” challenges, we were all definitely slow to wake (for those at home wondering – Bearex involved us all completing a challenging objective during watch, with the help of very little information. We kicked off with a later-than-usual morning brief at 0915, where we missed the usual round of Jemma’s “jokes” and a visit from our friend Salty, and headed straight into the Happiest Hour of the day 🙂
Once below decks was looking shiny and clean and our bunks were all tidied (a particularly challenging task for some), we began some last-minute cramming for the Captain’s setting and furling tasks in preparation for Command Day. Later that afternoon, we put our weeks’ worth of learning to the test as each watch set and furled the Main Staysail, Topgallant Staysail, and Fore Staysail with no help from the staffies and under the watchful eye of Captain Kenny. Thankfully, each watch found themselves sharing a celebratory pack of Tim Tams as we passed the Captain’s test one by one, deeming us ready for Command Day.
For the first time since Day 1, we found ourselves with a free afternoon – and a beautiful day to go along with it. The sun was out, the wind wasn’t too chilly, and there were many whales to “woooah!” at. After a short but fiery round of our daily competitive non-competitive round of Ropies, the youthies found ourselves ~vibing~ with the afternoon sun, inside jokes, and two charcuterie boards at midships. At some point we must have gotten bored and taken the team bonding a step too far because we found ourselves – all 15 of us – connected together through our harnesses in a tiny, squishy circle. We tried walking to the bridge all jammed together but discovered that giving ourselves a little more room (connecting via the “shorties” instead of the “longies” on our harnesses) made that a whole lot easier. So – we marched all around deck in a big splayed out circle. Classic.
After a quick game of “wah” (another weird and wacky competitive non-competitive sport), we found ourselves listening to Captain Kenny as he gave us the Command Day brief. It was surreal to think that we had made it this far – from tomorrow at 10am, we’ll be taking over the ship for 24 hours. Some things that the Captain said really stood out to us: the best Command Days are those where crews make quick decisions, and maintain positive attitudes, and the most important people in the crew are in fact those without elected positions.
Tonight, we elect our Command Day Captain, Sail Master, Navigator, Watch Leaders and Cooks before heading away for a full night’s sleep in preparation for what is likely to be one of the craziest – and most rewarding – days of our lives!!
~ Khushi and Liv

Just in…election results: Captain – Khushi, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Cookie, Watch Leaders – Harry and Will B, Supreme Chefs – Roy and Laura.