Day 8 – Command Day Part 1

Ahoy Shipmates…Command day has arrived so effectively I’m out of a job for 24 hours…feet up time. Over to Captain Jackson. Fair winds, Captain Kenny———–
An exciting day for us all as Command Day has finally arrived. We woke up in the usual fashion after anchoring off Broughton Island for the night, and after the always-exquisite breakfast from Marcus, and a thrilling edition of Happy Hour, the Youth of Australia took charge of their own ship and began their 24 hours in command. The command team running this testing 24 hours: Captain Jackson, Sailmaster Jessie, Navigator Aaron and Watch Officer Pat G.
We received our list of challenges, and the leadership got stuck into furiously planning out the day. The first task involved our watches showing off their knot knowledge, then, on a less serious note, a short disco was held in the 12 berth.
At 1330, we weighed anchor and set sail, following some favourable winds from the Northeast at 15 knots. After sails were set, we had a brief detailing the schedule of events as projected by the new youth command team. With the wind booming into all our staysails, we advanced through the briny blue at unexpectedly high speeds. Despite the speed and aspect of the ship, our crew set to depicting the adventure in a mural of chalk at midships. The fantastic mural beared the iconic packet of Sao’s biscuits (a remedy for seasick stomachs), the legendary tug of war match between Blue and Red watch, as well as our mighty vessel, the Young Endeavour.
The mighty ‘Life Skills’ team produced an impressive show. We had an educational brief by Lara and Sarah on how to competitively dive and how to do butterfly. All Staffies and Youthies were enlightened and are keen to put their new knowledge in action when the next man overboard is called. The series continued into a wonderful master class on how to cook popcorn by the wonderful Em. This presentation informed the crew of how to purchase popcorn and how to make it in a microwave, this dramatic display had us all in a fit. We concluded with a more serious session on the key points of CPR. Kieren reminded us of the things to remember and we’re all well informed for when we need it next.
The glorious weather continued well into the late afternoon. The crew got stuck into their planning for all the marvellous endeavours for the morning. The super chefs were in action cooking up a delicious dinner, everyone on board were impressed. We conducted a tack around 1900hrs and watches will continue to keep us on course overnight. Team morale is high and we’re collectively enjoying this challenge, hopefully we make it to all our way points. Command team out!
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: ESE at 17 kts Weather: Fine Sea: E at 1.0m Course: 311 Speed: 6 kts Location: East of Port Stephens
You might also be interested in

Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

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”
