FINAL NIGHT AT SEA FOR PASSAGE SIX

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 58 of our voyage and the last night at sea for our World Voyage Crew of Passage Six. It seems like the weather gods know that this voyage is coming to an end because overnight we were hit by a strong southerly which gave us strong headwinds for a couple of hours and cooled the temperature down considerably. Luckily we were due to alter course to the west just after 0600 this morning so to be honest it did not effect us to much with the exception of having to put up with an unpleasant 2m southerly swell today.Being the World Voyagers last day at sea they have been busy packing and doing those final little jobâ€™s like writing â€˜letters to themselvesâ€™ that will be returned to them in six months time. We have also fitted in the presentation of Certificate of Achievements and a fantastic slide show that Sam put together showing all the amazing experiences throughout this voyage.Tonight we are trying to make it a quiet one for the Crew because we have an early start tomorrow morning with plans to film the ship sailing into Rio prior to berthing. Once alongside we will have to clear Customâ€™s and Quarantine then complete our normal arrival requirements of harbour furls, rigging awnings, storing ship and then setting up for tomorrow nights reception so you can see that it will be another busy day.Currently we are located 55nm from Rio motor sailing in light â€“ moderate SE conditions. The good news is that we will arrive on schedule at 1000 tomorrow so Evan our new Navigator can now relax.Writing the final Captains Log for this voyage is Brad, Nina & Gilly who have done a great job of covering our final day at sea and sharing with you their feelings at having to say goodbye to this beautiful ship that has been their home since joining it 58 days ago back in Amsterdam.From all of the Staff Crew of STS Young Endeavour we would like to thank the World Voyagers of Passage Six for their efforts, support, sense of humour and most importantly your friendship throughout this voyage. You have been great ambassadors for the Ship, Youth Scheme and Australia and we have loved sharing this amazing adventure with you. Please take care and stay in touch, we look forward to catching up when we get the ship home to Australia.The Staffies!!!Â To all of our Captainâ€™s Log followers until the commencement of Passage Seven of the World Voyage on Saturday 24th October, take care.Â Yours AyeCaptain GavLand Ahoy! Visual landfall was made not 5 minutes ago, the first sighting of our final destination â€“ as the spotter, Adzie will receive the (last remaining) Twix of Triumph. This contributes a large day of wins for Red Watch; Ultimate Champions of Advanced Rope Races with Horto, Red are awarded the coveted Topgallant Yard for our entry into Rio de Janiero as well as bragging rights. We couldnâ€™t have done it without the stoic efforts of Brad, eating a cupful of dry imitation Milo in the shortest amount of time.Our voyage is concluding in a similar style to the way it stared; strong winds, heavy swell, grey skies and rain generated overnight. This reflects the mood of many World Voyagers, heartbroken this trip is drawing to a close – the deck is salty with Atlantic spray and the tears of many a voyager. The sea legs weâ€™ve proudly been developing over the last 58 days also seem to have abandoned us in this huge rolling swell and many will be returning home with fresh bruises.With a sense of dread, packs were retrieved out of storage and frantic packing has begun. With land in sight we know itâ€™s only a matter of time before we have to start wearing socks again. Engineer Horto has been seen skulking around the 12 and 6-berths, looking for clothing to reappropriate as rags with moderate success. Weâ€™re not sure why he asked them to be cleaned in advance?On top of the packing, todayâ€™s activities included writing letters to ourselves that will be sent out in 6 months time, reflecting on our amazing time aboard as well our goals for the future. A special gathering of staff and crew followed shortly after, to present the World Voyagers with certificates of completion for V06/15.We then enjoyed a delicious pizza dinner whipped up by our amazing chefoâ€™s, complete with chocolate brownies for dessert â€“ what a way to finish a big day! We are now waiting with great anticipation for the slideshow Sam has put together featuring photos taken by all voyagers throughout the trip before heading below decks for some (in our opinion) much deserved sleep.Itâ€™s strange to think that 58 days ago we were all strangers stepping aboard the ship to set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Our Sail master Dougie told us that the ship was now our ship and to treat it and our new shipmates with respect. After so long the ship truly does feel like our home and our fellow voyagers like family. It will be a strange feeling waking up in the morning and not seeing everyoneâ€™s smiling faces around us.On behalf of all world voyagers of V06/15 we would like to thank all Staff members involved in our leg for making us all feel so welcome. For having patience with us when we were a bit slow on the uptake and for pushing us that little bit further to help us accomplish something we didnâ€™t think we could. And most of all for being our friends and making this trip a once in a lifetime experience weâ€™ll never forget.Saying farewell for the final time,Brad, Nina and Gilly.SHOUTOUTS:Gilly: Hello to all my friends and family back home! Very excited to be coming home soon so I can tell you all about my adventure! I miss you all and canâ€™t wait to see you! XxBrad: Hey friends and fam back home, hope youâ€™re all well. Canâ€™t believe this journey is nearly over, time has flown by, but at the same time boarding the ship in Amsterdam seems like so long ago. This has been an absolutely amazing adventure with so many people Iâ€™m glad to call mates, will miss them all sorely when I leave for home. Still have a few days in Rio yet, but also excited to be heading home. Love you all, and will catch up with you all in another 10 days.Caitlin: Hey to all back home, hope allâ€™s well your end! Canâ€™t believe itâ€™s all coming to an end so soon; time flies. Have so much to share with you all, so prepare for all the marathon phone calls to come over the next couple of days or so! Love to all xxxxxMaddy: Hi to my fans back home! One more sleep â€˜til Rio â€“ start playing the song Mum! Lots of love to everybody and Iâ€™ll speak to you very soon. Give Jasper a pat too. Love xxxxVita: Beautiful familia and friends, land has been sighted and we are due to moor in Rio on the morrow!!! I will be in touch after a few well deserved caprinhas 😉 VxxJess: BIG shout out to Anna Courtice Happy 21st Birthday, canâ€™t wait to get home and help you celebrate. See you Saturday!!!!Brittney: Last Hola to Mumma and Dadda! Will call you in Rio! Wooooohoooooooo! Love you long time!!!!Zac: hello mum and reg loves you both ill give you a call when I get to Rio. Also shoutout to da boyzzz!

Latitude/Longitude:

23 degrees 7 minutes South / 41 degrees 59 minutes West

Conditions:

Currently located 55nm from Rio motor sailing in moderate to light SE conditions with a 2m SE swell. Our current speed is 6.5kts and the temperature is 17 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

You might also be interested in

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

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

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

THE VOYAGE

Latest Captain’s Log

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Apply for Financial Assistance

FOR GUARDIANS

Youth Safety & Mental Health

FOR ORGANISATIONS

Scholarships for Local Youth

ABOUT US

The Young Endeavour Youth Scheme

OUR COMMUNITY

Make a Donation

FINAL NIGHT AT SEA FOR PASSAGE SIX

Latitude/Longitude:

Conditions:

You might also be interested in

Ready to set sail?

More Information

Donations

Contact Us

1800 020 444

Keep in Touch

1800 020 444