Day 8 – V01/26, Hobart to Hobart

Command day on STS Young Endeavor V01/26; a big day for us today as us youthies took over the ship at 1000, Matthew, our elected captain wore the pirate hat with pride as he stepped into the role with me (Sailmaster Aurora), James the Navigator, Zoe the Officer Of The Watch, and Cara, Dylan and Wil, our three Watch Leaders. We huddled ourselves into the cramped chartroom around a giant Tasman map with a list of task… 31 dot points of hard work. We listened with increasing horror as we the wind outside howled and debated the best course for both the boat itself and the crew within. However, as things always do at sea the conditions changed and it was unsafe for us to go ahead without plans, trying to keep up with all our necessary duties and inform the rest of the crew of the very little we knew, we spent hours pouring over charts and activity lists to create the best day we could despite the weather ahead.

We are currently setting up for a very long cold and rainy night of sailing in Storm Bay, excited, despite the long, brutal night watches, to spend time together as a cohort. I’m so happy to be trusted with this position and grateful to my fellow youthies for the constant support – particularly my fellows at the helm, Captain Matt, and Navigator James. Love you all, wish us luck – Sailmaster Aurora.

The Captain, Sailmaster and Nav had a hard day because the strong wind kept us in our anchorage into the evening. Explaining the situation to our team, and the constant replanning, was hard work, however the Nav sharpened his pencils and refined the plan. Our elected chefs, Abby, Ash and Katie, made a beautiful meal for lunch and dinner. The garlic bread was particularly delicious!

Today has been a big day and will be a massive night, due to the heavy wind forecast. The team and I have focussed on making sure we know how to look out for each other and handle the sails in the strong conditions. We have done mock tacks to ensure everyone in their new watches knows their position and follows their elect watch leaders, (Rainbow watch – Dylan, Pink watch – Cara, Navy watch – Wil) and Nav James has come up with a course that allows us to use the sails available with the wind speed to reach our destination points given to us by Captain Leups, Sailmaster Sarah, and Navigator Benny. Tonight will be a big night with high windspeeds, high swells and late night tacking and waring unlike what we’ve ever done before.

I am incredibly honoured to be elected as Captain of the STS young Endeavour by my crew. Check in on tomorrow’s log to find out how we went – and more importantly – if we made it to Iron Pot Lighthouse on time!!

This is Captain Matt – signing off on behalf of the Youth Crew of V01/26.