Day Eleven – Final Night of Voyage 02/16

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day eleven of our voyage. The Young Endeavour crew awoke to a fine but windy morning but well rested following a good nights sleep. Following an Early Morning Activity (EMA), breakfast and morning brief we gave the ship a thorough clean both above and below decks in preparation for our Half Day Sail Guests. At 0930 we welcomed 22 guests onboard, including members of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Community Group and a number of staff and volunteers from Operation Flinders. At 1000 the lines were cast off and we departed our berth, conducted a turn at rest in front of the Bascule Bridge then commenced an enjoyable sail down the Port Adelaide River. During the three hours that followed the Youth Crew did a great job of keeping our guests entertained and everyone enjoyed a fantastic sail in near perfect conditions. Sadly the time passed to quickly and by 1300 we were again back alongside our berth at the Port Adelaide’s Inner Harbour. Once we had farewelled our guests the Youth Crew proceeded aloft and completed a good set of harbour furls then went ashore with their Watch Leaders to local cafes for their end of voyage talks. By 1630 everyone was back onboard and normally I would depart the berth and proceed out to anchor but due to the strong winds and lack of a suitably sheltered anchorage I decided to remain alongside overnight for the final night of the voyage. This evening we enjoyed a dinner of Chef Marcus’s world famous pizza’s which were served on deck. Once we had cleaned up from dinner the Youth Crew adjourned to the café and completed end of voyage questionnaires and “letters to themselvesâ€, which are returned to each Youth Crew member six months after voyage completion. Whilst the Youth Crew were completing these final administration tasks the Staff Crew took the opportunity to conduct the ‘end of voyage’ debriefs. With these tasks complete, at dusk we commenced a photo slide show up on deck capturing various moments and experiences during the voyage. This slide show has become a popular part of the Young Endeavour Program and gives the Youth Crew an opportunity to reflect on the past 11 days and their amazing experiences throughout the voyage. At 0900 tomorrow morning Young Endeavour will depart her berth and proceeded a short distance down the Port Adelaide River before turning around then heading back to Port Adelaide’s Inner Harbour this time passing through the Bascule Bridge which will be opened especially for our arrival at Port Adelaide’s McLaren Wharf at 1010 tomorrow morning. Once alongside family and friends will be invited onboard for a tour of the ship and to witness my final address and the presentation of Certificates of Achievement to all of the Youth Crew. Following this presentation we will say our final emotional farewell to the Youth Crew of Voyage 02/16 as they depart the ship. On a personal note, I would like to thank all of the Youth Crew of Voyage 02/16 for the effort that you have put in throughout this voyage and being part of the Australian voyages that are assisting in getting the Ship home to Sydney following the 2015 World Voyage. You are a great group of young Australians and all of the Staff Crew of Young Endeavour have enjoyed spending the past 11 days sailing with all of you. The Ship will now spend the weekend in Port Adelaide prior to embarking the Youth Crew for Voyage 03/16 who will sail the Ship from Adelaide to Hobart. Until next voyage, take care Yours Aye Captain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently alongside Port Adelaide's Inner Harbour and experiencing moderate SSE winds with nil swell. Current temperature is 19 degrees.
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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!!