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Day 9 – Some More Bad Weather
Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 9 of our voyage. Sadly gone is our sunshine and smooth seas and we are back to cold days, strong headwinds, and now lightning and rain. I know that these things are sent to challenge us but it’s about time we were given a break. Looking at the current forecast that’s about 36hrs away but hopefully it may come just a little sooner. All of that said, we are still smiling and remaining positive about the adventures ahead. Given the bad weather overnight I decided to give everyone a sleep in this morning so that they could enjoy some well earned rest. You have to remember that everyday the Crew spend a minimum of 8hrs on that open bridge in all weather conditions (plus all the other activities that we give them to do throughout the day) so I really do believe that they deserve a sleep in every now and then and especially on a Sunday.  Tonight is White Watches turn to write the Log so please enjoy tonight’s edition written by Amanda and Jess.  Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain Gav  PS. Having a few problems getting Photo’s on the Log but will hopefully rectify this issue over the next couple of days.   Captains Log 12 Apr 15Day 9Ahoy there!Aghh the Mediterranean, warm, sunny, beautiful days…or so we thought. White Watch did the guts shift (1200-0400) and we encountered the complete opposite. It was a dark and stormy night, lightning lit up the sea around us as we battled through the rain and the hail to steer to course. Furling the fore staysail and centring the main staysail as waves crashed over us was a challenge that we rose to as a team.  In the morning, sea sickness took over again and people were back to sprawling across the deck. Due to the rough weather, Captain Gav graciously gave us the pleasure of a sleep in (yahoo!) which we gladly took. All activities were put on hold for the morning and after lunch we finally were able to get up on deck and listen to the afternoon brief.  Hearing the footy updates from back home put us all back in good spirits (thanks Lindsey!). Let’s not bring up the Super 15’s score. Still waiting for the news that the Bunnies beat the Cowboys tomorrow (Jess), or here’s to wishful thinking.  Taffy once again entertained us with yet another pirate story about the origins of the call “2, 6, Heaveâ€. We are still not quite sure what they are but we heard a great story about how the American Civil War related back to KFC. It was, at least, highly amusing (thanks Taffy!).  Following this we launched into our happy hour cleaning routine, which at this stage is very important as there is a nasty cold going around ship at the moment. Shaun then kindly gave us a not-so-brief low down on the in’s and out’s of the engineering of the ship, despite people falling asleep and trying not to vomit. Thanks for trying Shaun!  Our second watch of the day was a great learning experience as we were taught how to put fixes on the chart to plot our headings. Our confidence has grown with taking the helm and steering to the course set by the navigator. Matt, our watch leader, has taught us how to be sexy at the helm and shown us some of his great moves (which we hope we don’t see again).  Dinner was nachos, pork stir-fry and roast chicken. Sadly we lost half the nachos but the half we had were delicious! Thanks AA!  Our third and final watch of the day has begun with us seeing dolphins surfing the waves with the sunset as a backdrop. What a day!Ciao!Amanda and JessP.S A big Happy Birthday to Murray! Love you 65. Love JessÂ
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 280nm to the east of Gibraltar and experiencing very strong 25-30kt NE winds with a 2m ENE swell. Current temperature is 12 degrees.
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Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 9 of our voyage. Following a busy night of sail plan changes and early morning tacks the Youth Crew made their final waypoint at 0945 this morning which was a major achievement having safely sailed the ship all the way from Prosser Bay to the entry to Port Arthur. On achieving their final waypoint the Staff Crew took over and conducted a pilotage into Port Arthur coming safely to anchor at 1045. Once at anchor the Youth Crew set about completing the rest of their outstanding tasks prior to handing the ship back to the Staff Crew at 1300. With Command Day successfully completed the Youth Crew were ferried ashore early this afternoon where they completed the Command Day Debrief with all agreeing that it had been a challenging and rewarding experience. To finish the afternoon’s activities the Youth Crew were given a guided tour of the Historical Port Arthur Settlement before returning to the ship for another one of Chef Haydon’s fantastic dinners. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Jade, Lochie and Sophie who have done a wonderful job of writing tonight’s Log. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain Gav The last 13 hours of Command Day proved to be very chaotic. We started the day at sea with unideal sailing weather – cold and dark with minimal winds. From 0001, we continued our course from Orford to our final way point of Port Arthur whilst keeping our usual overnight watches. On the guts, Red Watch successfully tacked the ship without needing to wake up anyone else – a mighty fine feat! The Whiteys (On ya Whitey’s!!) and the Blueys also had hectic watches setting and furling many, many sails. Then began the 0530 tacks… All youthies were up before the sun to the call of “Attention all Youthies - all hands to tacking stations. Standby to tack the ship!” over the pipes. Within 6 minutes, all youthies were harnessed and up on deck ready to execute our first tack to attempt passing the notoriously difficult to sail, Tasman Island. After a successful tack, and after a big few hours, brekky was an essential! Master Chefs Aria, Anna and Tiff cooked up a storm worth stowing (in our bellies!) of pancakes, waffles and a feast of fruits which fuelled us for the rest of Command Day and the rest of the Command Day tasks that lay ahead. At 0605, we caught the first light of day touching the tops of the Tasman Island cliffs off our starboard side – ahhh what a sight to see! After another two tacks to set us on our final bearing to Port Arthur, the Youthie Command Crew held an awesome, but a little sleep deprived, morning brief featuring some naughty nautical yarns, nefarious nav brief - “sunscreen or die, hydrate or die”, and the one and only woman who makes the sea seasick, Captain Paige, with the inspiring quote “If you believe in yourself, then you’ve already done half the work”. By 1015 we had successfully made it to our final way point at Port Arthur! We weighed anchor and ate a delicious Aussie-themed barbeque lunch cooked by our awesome master chefs before jumping into Chucky’s favourite hour of the day – Happy Hour! This was then followed by the Captain’s Hand-over Ceremony where the ship was returned to the staffies in a somewhat pristine condition. Keen to get ashore, the youthies jumping in the sea boats to speed ashore for a guided tour of Port Arthur where we learned lots about the historic values of the area and the tragedies that were experienced during the 1800s. Back on the boat, the Staffies held a Command Day debrief where we achieved almost 2 handed thumbs-up for all our completed tasks. A fantastic achievement for the Youthie Crew of V03/23!! With the fantastic Haydo back in the kitchen, we were in for an infamous meal of chicken Penang curry, baked salmon, steak and roasted vegetables followed by golden syrup dumplings with butterscotch syrup sauce and ice cream. Jeez he spoils us! Also a shoutout to my not-so-little, little brother, Hugh. You’re going to love V04/23 mate! Good luck squeezing into your bunk ;) xoxo Lochie. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store! This is Jade, Lochie, and Sophie signing off!!
Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 8 of our voyage and Command Day. Thankfully the weather improved overnight and a well rested Youth Crew awoke to a beautiful Tasmanian morning with clear skies. Following Morning Brief I conducted Captain Setting and Furling Drills which is our final activity leading up to the Youth Crew taking command of the ship and I am pleased to announce that all watches passed with flying colours. Once completed, the Youth Crew Command Team were given 30 minutes with the Staff Crew so that they could ask questions that may assist them in their elected positions throughout their Command period. Once finished we rigged the rope swing and gave everyone a chance to have a swim in the cool (some would say cold) clear water of Prosser Bay. At 1300 this afternoon we all gather at midships and I handed over the Command Day instructions and the ‘telescope of challenge’ to Youth Crew Captain Paige which officially commenced the exciting 24hr Command Day period. One of the many tasks for Command Day is the writing of the Captains Log so here is tonight’s edition written by Captain Paige. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain GavHello all, Today’s events were very exciting for all youth crew, as today is the day the staff hand over the ship and let the youthies take control. The day for us youthies started by the staff woke us all up to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marring Aye and Timmi Terrell through the main broad cast. We then had a scrumptious breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, cereal, yogurt and toast. Which was provided to us by the amazing Haydo and the master chef’s Tiff, Jasper and Jack. Breakfast was followed by morning brief where we are informed of the weather conditions, the Captain always provides us with an inspirational daily quote, and what the daily plan is going to look like. Once morning brief was wrapped up red and white watch performed happy hour while blue watch performed the Captains setting and furling. This allows the staff crew to insure all the youthies are safe and capable to take command of the ship. Once all the watches rotated though performing the Captains setting and furling the elected youth crew sat down and conducted opposites which is where the staff command team discus with the youth crew the best way to go about performing the roles they are taking over for the 24 hour period. Since it was such a nice day the staff decided we do Swimex which is where staff and youth crew that are brave enough to conure the cold water temperatures of Tassie are allowed a short period of time to have some water fun this includes jumping off the rope swing, using the Lilly pad which is a large foam mat jumping off the side of the boat and the bow sprit. When the Swimex came of a close it was time for lunch which was pasta bake, Bolognese, lamb and Pork chops, cheese and garlic breads which were freshly made that morning by Haydo. Hand over to youth crew was conducted at 1300. During the 24hrs that the youth crew have control of the ship the staff go on holiday down stairs where they have access to a bowling alley, cinema, and Maddie opens the heated swimming pool along with other amazing facilities. Part of hand over the Captain, what given a sheet of 30 tasks that we need to perform as many as we can throughout the period of time we are given. The first task was to assemble a row boat team to row to shore to acquire the navigation instructions, other tasks includes creating a rope hammock that will support all the youth crew at once, Theresa’s knot tying challenge and many more exciting and challenging things. Once the navigator marked out waypoints we weighed anchor and set sail though Mercury Passage. We are now carrying out night watches and on our way to the next anchoring spot which is unknown as of the moment. Until the next log update Yours truly Captain Paige
Ahoy there Land-lubbers! Today has been the wettest yet! After a busy night of anchor watches and little sleep due to the rolling seas, this morning’s weather seemed promising. We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in Wineglass Bay with dolphins in abundance, chasing and playing alongside the boat. However, there was a spicy **Insert ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls here** call over the intercom from Chucky to don some wet weather gear. The ‘Captain’s Challenge’ (aka the Pre-Command Day Examination) took place after morning briefing, used by the man who makes the sea seasick (El Capitan Gav) to test the Youthies capability to sail the Young Endeavour by themselves. This was made incredibly difficult by the rain. While many hands were on deck and climbing the rigging, the elected navigators were busy (and dry) pinpointing our location. Given the circumstances, we were able to successfully complete the Captain’s Challenge with 10 minutes to spare! There was a brief respite for lunch, cooked by the ever-amazing Haydo and his Gordon Ramseys’. After which, all hands were back on deck to continue setting and furling sails. This task quickly turned from practice into reality, as we were hit by several squalls that became progressively worse over the course of several hours. The Youthies fought bravely against the roaring winds and blistering cold rain to furl the sails. We succeeded in making the ship safe. We have weighed anchor, and are taking shelter in Prosser Bay (near Orford) tonight. Command Day gives the Youthies (almost) total control of the Young Endeavour for 24 hours. This evening, we conducted elections to determine the leadership team that will be running the ship throughout this period. Here are the results: Captain Paige Sailmaster Sophie Navigator Lochie Officer of the Watch Jeremy Red Watch Leader Summer Blue Watch Leader Jack White Watch Leader Alistair Chefs Aria, Tiffany & Anna We wish all our (land-lubber) families back home all the best. Love ya, Gibbsy and Jezza xoxo