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Day 9 – Command Day Part 2…Tangalooma, Wrecks and Snorkelling!
DAY 9 – End of Command Day
Ahoy shipmates! Boy, do we have a packed day to recount today. At the tail end of our Command Day, there were a fair few exhausted faces, with a few youthies feeling under the weather. Our (supreme) chefs, Roy and Laura were up at 0400 ready to prepare a lovely French toast for breakfast, which the youthies devoured in between the night and morning change of watches. As half of us headed to bed to catch a couple more hours of sleep, those of us who were on the bridge steered Young Endeavour into Tangalooma right on time, after a night full of tactful navigation and some sailing overseen by our Navigator and Sail Master.
We were all glad to anchor – both because our regular rounds were switching to slightly easier anchor watch rounds, and because we were all excited for the inevitable swim later in the day. Those who were awake set about finishing off some of the remaining tasks – setting up for the morning brief skit, and building the 15-person rope hammock at midships ready for the crew. As everyone awoke to “All I do is Win†at 0830, the clouds parted slowly and the weather warmed up, signalling a good day to come.
Morning brief at 0900 was certainly a Command Day highlight. We were able to show off some of the work we’d done overnight. Sail Master Hughy showed off a very long and questionably funny joke as he kicked off, along with Navigator Cookie’s weather brief and fun fact. We then had a few visits from “Saltana†(Captain Khushi) and “Vomit Princess†(Chef Roy) as part of a skit, hosted a staffies vs youthies trivia, and sang the Australian National Anthem to three different tunes (Hedwig’s Theme, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and Let it Go). We all had a lot of fun, and it was great to see everyone in the youthies’ crew have a part to play.
As Command Day came to a close, we had a few more tasks still to tick off! After getting through the Happiest Hour of the Day, we all jumped onto the hammock and viola! It worked (which is good, because 15 of us falling on deck would likely have resulted in a few extra bruises). Finally, we all headed to the 12-berth for a Disco DJ’d by TJ and Reggie, featuring Hughy and Will as a duet.
After the Fun Police shut down our disco, Captain Khushi handed the ship back to Captain Kenny, and many of us put our heads down for a nap before grabbing lunch and heading off to shore for the swim we had all been looking forward to! At Tangalooma, the youthies went snorkelling around the shipwrecks, swam through the cold water, and climbed some giant sand dunes (Will may or may not have almost faceplanted as he ran back down one…)
As the sun set magnificently over the horizon, we climbed aloft for a group photo taken by Reggie, before having a chilled out and ~vibey~ barbecue dinner, accompanied by good music and great conversation.
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind: 0 Weather: Fine and clear Sea: Calm Location: At anchor off Tangalooma, Moreton Island.
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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”
After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!
