Day One – The Adventure Begins!

Ahoy there everyone, Welcome to Young Endeavourâ€™s fourteenth voyage for 2012. Our journey starts from sunny Mackay and concludes in booming Gladstone. We have a magnificent tall ship to sail for this voyage, a brilliant forecast of wind for our sails and the East Coast of Queensland to explore. The potential is limitless and sense of adventure is infectious. To facilitate our adventure under sail I would like to introduce the nine Staff Crew that will guide and shape our voyage during the next 11 days: Captain Matt Sail Master Tim Navigator Kristy Watch Officer Jordo Red Watch Leader Luke White Watch Leader Broodie Blue Watch Leader Squiz Chef Chad Engineer Mick Voyage 14/12 officially commenced at 1500 today when 27 Youth Crew (15 males and 12 females) from across Australia embarked in Young Endeavour berthed at Mackay Marina. Once all ditty bags (A sack in which a seaman carries his personal belongings) had been stowed bellow, all hands were mustered on deck for a welcome address, staff introductions were conducted before friends and family were farewelled. Due to the lack of a protected anchorage near by we plan to remain alongside the marina tonight to allow the Youth Crew to settle into the ship and learn some of the important bits and pieces about living at sea before we head out to sea tomorrow. So after the friends and family departed the Youth Crew under the direction of their watch leaders, conducted ship familiarisation and a number of â€˜ice breakerâ€™ activities to integrate the members of each watch. One the ice had been sufficiently broken I took the Youth Crew aside to have a chat about life at sea and what they should expect. Then it was on to dinner and it was a bountiful feast that Chad provided, that was eagerly devoured by all. After dinner the Sail Master Tim discussed with the Youth Crew, voyage expectations, requirements and safety aspects for the next 11 days onboard. Then without further ado, some nerves, a few â€œjelly likeâ€ legs, a great deal of courage and a lot of determination every single member of our new team proceeded aloft onto the foremast for their first night climb. I am very pleased to report that all of the Youth Crew performed extremely well on their first day and I am from the outset impressed with both their individual efforts and team attitude. After having a celebratory hot chocolate followed by a 90 second shower, each has now turned in for a well deserved first night sleep in Young Endeavour. Tomorrow morning we will awake at 0630 and to do our final preparations before our departure which is planned for 0900 tomorrow morning. We will be shaping a course South towards Gladstone via some of the most amazing spots on the East coast of Australia. I look forward to telling you all more about our adventures tomorrow. Until tomorrow evening, take care. Yours Aye Captain Matt

Latitude/Longitude:

21Â° 6' South / 149Â° 13' East

Conditions:

Wind SSW 9Kts Swell Nil Temp 17

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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V07/23

01 April 2023

Day 6 – Bermagui to Sea

ARRRRRRGH, Ahoy there land lubbers. Pinch and a punch for the first of the month! We began our day finishing up out anchor watches, giving everyone a little more sleep and a break from our normal routine of watches. We were all awoken at 0630 to the blaring sound of ‘My Island Home’ and Evans cheerful voice. Breakfast was extraordinary as usual, brought to us by Chef Haydo and our Masterchefs. We then headed to our morning brief where White watch raised the flags for the youthies and staffies, and we and the staffies sung a rendition of Advance Australia Fair to Working Class Man tune. We were all excited to head on land and feeling grass once more at Bermagui, NSW so we sped through happy hour cleaning and out the transport and run ashore brief. While waiting for our turn to head ashore as we engaged in the Macarena and Nutbush, all laughing and having a jolly ol’ time. We spent the morning exploring Bermagui, enjoying the small things like a fresh hot coffee, fish and chips, swimming at the beach, cute dogs and shopping at woollies for snacks. Fun fact of the day the ships name Plaque is hand crafted with flowers of every Australian state and territory and from the countries of the United Kingdom who gifted the YE to us! For today’s lunch menu we had beef burger chicken pesto pasta bake. As we weighed Anchor we spotted a pod of dolphins. We set off north to sail past Sydney in preparation for command day. Unfortunately no swimming as the water surrounding us is famous for its great whites as Bermagui was once a whaling town as it is located close to the continental shelf. All youthies gathered at midships to set the jib, main staysail, mainsail and topgallant staysail, great effort and teamwork from everyone. After today’s round of Ropies, all teams are neck and neck even with our attempt at acting out an advertisement for bonus points, coincidentally we all chose KFC as our ad, competition was fierce. We are well on our way to Sydney, having passed Montague Island, and soon passing Ulladulla, with swells reaching 2 metres high. We are now passing around seasickness tablets and strapping our bunk meshes to keep us tucked in, desperately fighting to stay in bed and stay upright as we walk around on-board. And as usual, plates were flying as Haydo cooked us a meal short of nothing but delicious, complete with tim tam chocolate ripple cake and curried sausages at 1715. We are now heading into the night, also while on our watches tonight, the blue and red watches we going to have to stay up longer as daylight savings comes to an end. We are writing while White Watch (Tom, Ben, Hunter Em, Mack, Anna, Ariyah and Kaitlyn) are starting the first watch (2000 to 0000) listening to music (Ariyah’s song Bottled Emotions- Rysiesss) keeping a good lookout, taking turns on the helm and doing rounds. Stay Salty, from your Salty Seadogs, Anna and Kaitlyn

V07/23

31 March 2023

Day 5 – Sea to Bermagui

Good evening, Tonight we are hearing from three Youth Crew members who have provided individual contributions. The Youth crew began today with substantial winds and a drastic sea state. The conditions though treacherous, eased as the day progressed into a beautiful autumn day, so bright it even caused sunburn. Captain Mike Today was a day of teamwork. As exemplified in the quote “society is but the aggregation of individuals” it is clear to see that our voyage, youth crew and staffies, one and all is becoming a society unto its own. All that the youthies learn is taught to us by our knowledgeable staff crew (none with so great a breadth of knowledge as our gallant captain). Whether it is hauling in on the Jib sheet as one entire crew or tacking away working as an individual watch, we give all that we can for as long as we can. It is in this fulsome contribution that we can be assured of the strength of the shoulders of those who stand beside us, this strength having already brought us from the stormy seas of Bass Strait, to the looming shadow of Mt Dromedary. Each inch of progress we have made, is our own, one and all, as a society.

Ari Mintoff

Today the youthies enjoyed the sun after a few days of rain. We refined our knowledge of sailing and sail lines through the ropes race and lots of tacking. Also, our amazing navigator, Seb, walked us through some navigation exercises. Continuing on… today we saw albatrosses and gannets. You may ask, what’s the difference between an albatross and a gannet? Gannets have a yellow head. That was not a joke. This is a joke. Did you hear about the red ship and the blue ship that collided? They were both marooned.

Nourah

After 40 knot winds and a 6 metre wave at one point the previous night, the sun was welcomed by all the youthies and staffies. The daily routine kept as usual with breakfast at 0630 and the morning brief with Evan at 9 with everyone dressed in their finest floral fits for ‘floral Friday’. As we were underway, the watches then took place with an aim to anchor by the end of the day. Later, all three watches competed in ‘rope races’ with the blue watch now on the board. In the afternoon, youthies were given the chance to climb the foremast to secure the gaskets to the squares. The winds picked up during the ascent and I personally spent 2 hours up on the yards. The youthies enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked up by Haydo and we practised our tacking skills before relaxing for the night. Missing the family and having a ball anchored off Bermagui.

Molly Barnett

Thank you Ari, Nourah and Molly from Captain Mike

V07/23

30 March 2023

Day 4 – Flinders Island to Sea

Ahoy there, The Youth crew woke up this morning bright and early after completing their overnight anchor watches. YE was anchored in the beautiful Blythe Bay, Flinders Island. Starting off with the morning with colours, we raised the Australian flag and Ensign while singing the national anthem. Followed by the morning brief, captain’s inspirational quote of the day, the daily agenda and then straight into ‘Happy ½ Hour’: cleaning stations! Before weighing anchor the youthies participated in the squares brief before climbing the foremast to cast loose the gaskets on the squares. It was challenging as the swell was 1 metre high and very unpredictable. By lunch time we had weighed anchor and set the sails, which was made easy, thanks to our amazing chef Haydo who fuelled us with delicious sausage rolls and hot dogs before we entered the Bass Strait. The rest of the afternoon was spent sailing through the Bass Strait, which we soon learnt was not easy. As we continued to sail the swell and winds grew leading to every youthie clipping onto the ship for safety. By 14:00 travesty hit with the course sail getting slightly damaged, leading to all three watches jumping into action to clew up the course sail. 4 youthies were then selected to climb the foremast in order to tie up the gaskets. As the night continued on and everyone tried to settle down for the early evening, we soon learnt it was going to be a long rolling night – as dinner proved challenging. It didn’t seem to want to stay on the table! The night watches have now started with White watch at 18:00, due to the weather it will be all hands on watch as the sails have to be furled in challenging conditions. The night will continue with broken sleep while changing watches, moving into early morning. Tomorrow will consist of ongoing sailing through along the VIC and NSW coasts, where hopefully we can anchor south of Sydney by night fall. Emilie says hi to her family and friends and misses them very much (but is having so much fun!), Ariyah says she’s having a blast but she’s missing Alby and Molly says happy 16^th birthday to her brother Charlie. Goodnight and sleep well, Emilie and Ariyah.

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Day One – The Adventure Begins!

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