Day 9 – Command Day Part 2…and Nelson Bay.

Ahoy Shipmates…feet still up! Captain Kenny

Day 9 – Captains Log
Command day has been interesting, we are all a little bit tired but we are all quite proud of what we have achieved. Here is a little bit of an outline of how today panned out…
Our overnight speed averaged around 6 knots but we managed to reach 7.8 knots with sail power alone, simply unheard of! The weather changed on us and our course had to change too, hands were called to tacking stations to ensure we stayed away from the mainland. We tacked again a little later in the night and headed straight to Port Stephens. The crews were quite resilient and we are proud of everyone’s efforts to do the best even when they were half asleep. We anchored in Nelsons Bay around 0130hrs and youthies continued their watch rounds during the night.
The marvellous kitchen team worked exceptionally well to produce a morning feast consisting of French Toast, Bacon and an array of exquisite breakfast cereals. All crew then clambered up on deck to host an exceptional morning brief featuring details of Port Stephens. The cast produced an amazing display of both humour and facts of where the name ‘Port Stephens’ came from and the fabulous food on offer in the area. We then commenced a frantic ‘Happy Half Hour’ where youthies simultaneously cleaned the ship, polished the Saluting Guns and created an impressively large hammock. Now this was no ordinary hammock, this hammock had to have all youthies above deck! The knot tying practise came in handy, it was impressive to watch all youthies getting involved in constructing the wicked web of ropes. We successfully completed this challenge and all youthies enjoyed the hilarity of sitting in this enormous hammock. Photographic evidence was secured from the staffies then we set to disassemble the rope work masterpiece so that we could continue with our next challenge.
With our rope hammock strewn across midships, we scurried for our harnesses to begin laying aloft like monkeys up a tree. Two by two, we reached higher and higher up the foremast, until we had finally ornamented the yards with all of the youth crew. We waved to those who passed by, awestruck by the majesty of the vessel. We sang shanties and enjoyed the unity of all being together on the yards. We then clambered back down, finished polishing our cannons (as per our tasking), and completed some last minute cleaning to ensure the craft was in ship shape for handover. As the clock struck 1000hrs, we mustered at midships, and the Captain handed over the command of the ship back to Captain Kenny. The telescope and hat that had been bestowed upon him were returned to Captain Kenny, master of the seas.
After a brief and a reflection on the previous 24 hours of command, we were granted down time for the greater part of the afternoon. Seizing the opportunity, the crew went to shore in beautiful Nelsons Bay to swim in the cool waters, soak in the sights and gobble up tons of ice-cream. Upon our return to our pirate ship, the crew were divided into groups for a more in depth debrief session where we assessed what we believed was good about command day, not so good, and the lessons we took from the experience.
Dinner was Mexican themed and we all enjoyed this time together, serenaded by some Mexican themed tunes. Before we all prepared to hit the hay, we conducted a SODS (Ships Operatic Department)-Opera skit show at midships. This amazing one night only performance featured a Staffie rendition of Moana, a tale of 3 Disney stories, a fiction of watch leader Morgan having an airline egg adventure and a musical about life on the Young Endeavour. With heavying eyelids, the crew have now slipped down to the bunks for some well deserved rest. We have Community Day Sail tomorrow and we can’t wait to show them our awesome little home. Command team out!