Captain's Log

Nov-16

20 July 2016

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day nine of our voyage . Command Day has now finished with the Youth Crew doing a fantastic job of sailing the ship from Dunk to Fitzroy Island, one of the final tasks to complete was to write tonight’s Captains Log so please enjoy tonight’s entry written by again by Maddie but with some input from other members of the crew, please enjoy.
Until tomorrow, take care
Yours Aye
Captain Gav

Day 9; The Remnants Of Command Day

Hi Team, Maddie here. Captain Gav was less than thrilled with our commandeering of his laptop but we convinced him to give us one more chance.

This morning began nice and early, or mildly horrifying and early. It was 0630 and Captain Ellen called all hands to tacking stations. This means everyone was out of bed, including our dedicated Staffies and our mildly resentful purple watch who had only just gone back to sleep after their guts watch (2359 â€“ 0400).

The delightful surprise at the end of the hour long tacking drills was that land was near, so close we could touch. Except due to the dismal wind levels we just bopped around the ocean looking at our destination for a while. Morning Brief was conducted by the Youthie Command team and a special guest or two. First was our own Salty who regaled us with stories of the origins of the shipping term â€œpoop deck,â€ THEN just when the crew thought it couldnâ€™t get better Sun Safe Betty dropped in to demonstrate how to adequately apply sunscreen after all as Betty would say â€œSun Safety is Fun Safely.â€ After morning brief, Sailmaster Alec and Captain Ellen engaged the ships engines to travel the final nautical mile to Fitzroy Island.

And finally after a 17 hour journey our command team had guided the Young Endeavour to Fitzroy Island. Our next task was to get our youthie crew to the summit of Fitzroy Island. Although described to us as a â€œleisurely strollâ€ we came to realise it was more an advanced rock climbing course. Upon reaching the Summit we raised our flag and sung a brilliant rendition of the Australian Anthem. Then we headed back down to cool down with a swim.

After handing back the ship to Captain Gav at 1600, because by this point we were beyond needing a nap and more than a little bit delirious, Gav and Chef Keely prepared a â€œsummerâ€ barbie for us to enjoy on deck. Before bed we finally got to enjoy the Sodâ€™s Opera in which our Staffies performed an Oscar-worthy performance of an aquatic version of The Jungle Book. Pretty sure theyâ€™re all in the wrong career paths, I can hear the Hollywood directors begging for them already. The youthies also performed various skits which we had been working on all afternoon.

All in all Command Day turned out to be an incredibly rewarding experience for all of us. The leadership team excelled in every way and left the rest of the youthies proud of how they had guided us through the day. The Chef team of Sandy, Michael and Sam kept us well fed for the day and again the rest of us were very proud of how hard they worked.

All of the Youthies would like to thank our watch leaders for all the invaluable knowledge and experience they passed on over the last 9 days that allowed us to be so successful. Only two nights left on Young Endeavour and we will all miss her greatly. – Until next time, Maddie

PS Shout out to Carolyn, Paul and Toby Staneke Iâ€™ll see you soon â€“ Ash

Latitude/Longitude:

16 55 S / 145 59 E

Conditions:

Currently at anchor at Fitzroy Island and are experiencing moderate SSE winds with nil swell and the temperature is 20 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

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Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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