Devonport Community Day Sail

Ahoy there Shipmates, A well deserved night’s rest in the Badgers Point anchorage was had by all. I think everyone onboard slept very soundly and for good reason, most were exhausted from Command Day. That didn’t stop Sail Master Baggers from waking us up early to the sound of AC-DC’s ‘It’s a long way to the top’. We had a busy program for today hence we needed to weigh anchor and get going towards Devonport, where we would pick up our Half Day sailors. By the time an upper-deck wash down, Morning Brief and Happy Hour were completed, we were entering Devonport harbour. We berthed at Wharf 3 at 0900 and embarked our 38 Community-Day sailors from the Richmond Fellowship Trust, the ADF Reserve Support organisation, some local media, local YEYS ambassadors and some Pilots and their families from the TASPORTS organisation. We departed the wharf at 1000, exited the port limits and spent the next 3 hours sailing, firstly to the north east of Devonport and then we reversed course. We set fore and afts and the Topsail and Top Gallant square sails. During the 3 hours the Youth Crew hosted the visitors, conducting tours of the Ship, involving them in setting and furling sails and generally spending time with them. We berthed back at the Wharf 3 at 1300 and farewelled our guests. Once we’d done a quick tidy-up of the Ship the Youthies proceeded ashore with their Watch Leaders to conduct the End of Voyage Chats. When that was completed we conducted the harbour-furl of the square sails. To achieve this all of the Youth Crew proceeded aloft on the yards to fold-up the sails and then stow them inside their UV covers. Next was dinner and Marcus treated us to a pizza night! After dinner we heard brilliant poems about the voyage by Bridgette and Will, which was followed by an epic slide show, depicting the voyage, composed by Melinda and Ashleigh Jane.  After another massive day we encouraged everyone to have an early night. Until tomorrow,  Yours Aye Captain Mike
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Weather - fine, Wind 020 / 7 kn, Swell - nil, Temp - 18 deg. C
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Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 5 of our voyage. Overnight and during the early hours of this morning we continued to enjoy a great sail around the southern Tasmanian coast with all of the watches kept busy with setting and furling sails and doing some practical navigation. By sunrise we were located just to the south of Bruny Island now just sailing under fore & aft sail and hoping that the day would get warmer, which sadly it didn’t. But the cold and a little rain hasn’t dampened our spirits and we have still managed to fit in a lot of great activities today and our young mariners continue to impress with their endless energy and motivation. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Riley and Jack who have done a great job of writing tonight’s Log. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain GavV03/23 – DAY 5
This morning the youth crew of the STS Young Endeavour woke to the frightening sound of red watch singing a parody of Riptide by Vance Joy over the ships intercom. This was then followed by the message that blue watch, the watch that was on guts the night before, could have a well-deserved sleep in. While members from blue watch went back to sleep the rest of the crew made their way down to the galley to enjoy another one of Haydos fantastic meals. After everyone had had breakfast the morning brief was given at 0900 which involved informing the youthies of the day ahead and a very educational story by Matty on the origins of the nautical term “two six heave”. After the morning brief the crew went below decks for Chucky’s favourite part of the day: Happy Hour! (Also known as cleaning the ship hour). In the afternoon the three watches conducted rotational tacking stations. This involved the watches rotating through the positions that the other watches fill when we tack which helped the crew get a better idea on what happens when we tack. Captain Gav came up on deck to give us a crash course about sailing theory and the ships history. This was very interesting and gave the youth crew a helpful insight into why different sails are used depending on different wind conditions. Round 3 of the famous Rope races were then commenced at noon with a twist of the round being worth double points. This highly non-competitive competition ended with Blue and Red watch drawing making it a close race for the rest of the trip The biggest highlight of most people’s day was sailing through the straight between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar in the afternoon. We all gathered at the bow of the ship as we gazed upon the spectacular columnar basalt edged cliffs rose up on either side of the narrow passageway. We had to furl all the sails, which involved sending two youth crew members up the main mast in rough swells and high winds to gasket the sail. Engines where turned on for the first time that day so we could safely pass the straight. The effort was truly worth it as we passed the resident seal colony and schools of dolphins. One of the greatest things about the STS Young Endeavour is even though the ship may sway from side to side and youth crew struggle to walk straight without getting knocked into a wall; the ships Chef continues to work hard and impress us with meals made from a kitchen which is smaller than the size of most people’s laundry room. It continues to amaze me how he keeps this quality in these rocky conditions. Not enough praise can be given to the hard work this man puts in keeping everyone happy. Go Haydo!Hi mum and dad I’m still alive, somehow we are already halfway through. See you in six days. Jack. You probably won’t see this but love you to the moon and back mum and dad. Riley. Until next time… Youthies Jack & Riley

