Final Night of Voyage 08/12

Hi Everyone, A well rested Youth Crew awoke to a fine but overcast morning. Unfortunately the normal Day 10 Half Day Sail for young people with disabilities which had been programmed for today had to be cancelled due to the late notice of an available berth at the Port of Townsville. In its place Carly the Sail Mistress organised a full day of activities including a ships sports day that was held on an isolated beach not far from the ships anchorage. On completion of these activities the Youth Crew sat down with their respective Watch Leaders for end of voyage talks then on their return to the ship participated in their final round of rope races prior to proceeding aloft to complete harbour furls. This evening following a magnificent ‘Roast’ dinner the Youth Crew screened a photo slide show up on deck. 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 10 days and their amazing experiences throughout the voyage. The Youth Crew have spent the rest of this evening completing 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 our own end of voyage debrief. Tomorrow morning will be another early start for the Youth Crew’s final day of the voyage. Following breakfast and morning brief the Youth Crew will complete their final ‘happy hour’. Whilst this is occurring, the ship will weigh anchor and commences its 14nm passage from Horseshoe Bay to the Port of Townsville. As we near the port the Youth Crew will ‘man the yards’ so that we can make our normal spectacular entry into the harbour were we will then proceed to berth port side to Townsville Port Berth No 7 for the final time for this voyage at 1000. 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 19/11 as they depart the ship. On a personal note, I would like to thank all of the Youth Crew of Voyage 08/12 for the effort that you put in throughout this voyage. You are a great group of young Australians and all of the Staff Crew of Young Endeavour have thoroughly enjoyed spending the past 10 days sailing with all of you.Prior to the Ship sailing for Cairns I will hand it back to the fulltime Captain LCDR Damien Munchenberg. It has been fantastic being back onboard and I look forward to returning again for another voyage later in the year when Captain Mike (New Captain) will take a routine break. Until then, take care. Yours Aye Captain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently at anchor in Horseshoe Bay and experiencing mod-strong SE winds with nil swell.
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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!!