Captain's Log

Feb-16

25 January 2016

Day One – Voyage 02/16 Commences

Hi Everyone,
Itâ€™s Captain Gav returning to the ship for Voyage 02/16 and reassuming command from Captain Adam who did a fantastic job of sailing the ship from Fleet Base West to Esperance giving me an opportunity to take a much needed break following the completion of the World Voyage. This voyage will see us spend the next 12 days sailing from Esperance to Adelaide and along the way experiencing some of the spectacular West Australian Coast prior to crossing the Great Australia Bight and reaching Adelaide.

The YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Staff Crew for this voyage are as follows:

Captain â€“ Gav
Sail Master â€“ Kenny
Navigator â€“ Kyle
BOATSO â€“ Jarrod
Red Watch Leader â€“ Jordo
White Watch Leader â€“ Taffy
Blue Watch Leader â€“ Adam
Chef â€“ Marcus
Engineer – Horto
Assistant Watch Leader – Rachael

The voyage commenced at 1500 today when the new Youth Crew joined Young Endeavour at anchor in Esperance Harbour. Rather than use our own boat to ferry everyone onboard the Port of Esperance kindly provided their Pilot Launch and Crew to pickup everyone and ferry them from the wharf out to the ship. Once onboard and all gear stowed, everyone mustered on deck for my welcome address and Staff Crew introductions. On completion it was straight into ship tours and some â€˜ice breakerâ€™ activities.

The first of many very tasty dinners crafted by our very own â€˜Master Chefâ€™ Marcus followed
with tonightâ€™s menu consisting of a choice of Braised Lamb Shanks, Steak Pies and Salmon all served with Fresh Vegetables then followed with a mixture of deserts which included Fresh Fruit Salad, Ice Cream and Chocolate Mousse.

Following dinner both Kenny the Sail Master and myself sat down with the Youth Crew and gave them a brief on the voyage program then discussed our expectations for the next 12 days. Once completed it was straight into a safety aloft brief and a demonstration on how to climb the foremast prior to the commencement of first night climbs.

The time is now 2230 and I am pleased to announce that first night climbs are now complete with everyone successfully making it to the topgallant yard (highest yard) which is a huge achievement for all of the Youth Crew on their first day onboard. This completes todayâ€™s activities and after a hot cup of cocoa the crew will now turn in for their first nights sleep onboard Young Endeavour.

Given the current weather forecast it is our intention to remain at anchor overnight then weigh anchor early tomorrow afternoon and shape a course to the east and start making best speed towards the picturesque Middle Island where we plan to anchor and spend a few hours ashore on Wednesday morning prior to commencing our passage across the Great Australia Bight.

Already you can see that this has the makings of another fantastic voyage on this magnificent Tall Ship and all of the crew are excited about the journey ahead of us.

Until tomorrow evening, take care.

Yours Aye

Captain Gav

Latitude/Longitude:

33 52 / 121 53

Conditions:

Currently at anchor in Esperance Harbour and experiencing light-moderate NE winds with nil swell.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

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Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

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Day One – Voyage 02/16 Commences

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