Captain's Log
V05/14
20 April 2014

DAY 9 – COMMAND DAY PART 2

Ahoy There Shipmates,After a challenging night at sea, my able-bodied Youth Crew have successfully sailed STS Young Endeavour to Gladstone. To maintain the planned speed, we were unable to set all sails and had to make use of an engine. The wind dropped off completely at around 1200 and a strong tide made it tough to stay on course. Unfortunately we missed the second waypoint, however all others were successfully achieved. Given the conditions, I’m extremely proud of the crew.With little sleep, our Youth Crew woke up for a delicious breakfast cooked by our Chefo’s. The morning consisted of a tack, sail furling and galley clean-up. Now that we’ve arrived in Gladstone in accordance with our Navigation Instructions, we will be handing the ship back to the Staffies. Before the hand-over, we requested a small extension for a morning brief with our very own ‘Salty’.It has been a privilege and an absolute pleasure to sail the Youth of Australia’s Tall Ship. The Youth Crew have been put under utmost pressure and have upheld the principles of Young Endeavour. Through the rough seas of Cyclone ITA, we have experienced high winds and seasickness. It has been the journey of a lifetime via a beautiful coastline. We have learnt plenty and have been challenged in all respects.Great work Youthies! Over to you CAPT Mike.Yours, ayeCAPT Liam Hey there shipmates,Thank you Capt Liam and your fantastic crew for taking such great care of Young Endeavour during Command Day. You were very successful in completing the tasks we set you and you managed to have a lot of fun along the way.I took the Ship back from Capt Liam at 0930, after a slight extension to allow the youthies to have their morning brief. The Staffies then anchored the Ship in Gladstone Harbour. After a quick ‘happy hour’ the youthies were given some free time before lunch.After another of Aaron’s delicious lunches we got stuck into the Command Day Debrief which focuses on capturing the ‘take-aways’ the youth crew have learnt from the command day experience. This was followed by the second last edition of ‘Ropies’ and then some time for the watches to prepare their skits for this evening’s SODS Opera (Ship’s concert), which was held at 1930 at midships following a fantastic ‘teak deck’ BBQ. The concert was very entertaining and was opened by the Staffie’s act, as is the tradition.The Ship will remain at anchor overnight with the youthies once again keeping anchor watches. It is planned to weigh anchor at 0730 and proceed alongside in the Gladstone Boat Harbour to pick up our Community Day Sail guests.Yours, ayeCAPT Mike

Latitude/Longitude:

23°50's / 151°19'e

Conditions:

Conditions in Gladstone Harbour: Weather: fine, Wind: 015 / 5 kts, Swell: nil, Temp: 24 deg. C