Captain's Log
21 July 2010

Final Night Of Voyage 12/10

Wednesday 21 July 2010-07-22Hi Everyone, YOUNG ENDEAVOUR weighed anchor at 0745 this morning and proceeded under motor to the Airlie Beach Marina. Unfortunately our arrival alongside was slightly delayed due to a large amount of vessels exiting the marina at our planned time of entry. The Ship finally berthed alongside at 0900 were we embarked fresh provisions and made preparations for the arrival of our guests. At 0940 we welcomed twenty five guests onboard, including members of Oz Care (this centre assists people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities) and members of both the Whitsunday Regional Council and Airlie Beach Rotary. Following my welcome address and safety brief the lines we cast of and we proceeded out into Pioneer Bay for an enjoyable two hour sail. During this period the Youth Crew acted as the perfect hosts by escorting our guests around the Ship, serving refreshments and demonstrating their skills in sailing Young Endeavour in strong conditions. On completion of this sail it was my intention to proceed back alongside but unfortunately the wind had strengthened to 25kts which would have made entering the marina extremely difficult and potentially dangerous. Given these conditions I decided to proceed to anchor and ferry our guests ashore in the Ships RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat) instead. Assisting with this transfer was the Volunteer Coastal Patrol who kindly provided their boat and crew to help ferry our guests ashore. With our guests farewelled the Youth Crew set about completing harbour furls then end of voyage talks. This evening we held our final teak deck BBQ for the voyage which was followed by a fantastic slide show on deck. This slide show gave all of us the opportunity to reflect on the great times that we have had over the past 10 days. The rest of the evening will be spent with the Youth Crew completing end of voyage questionnaires and ���letters to themselves��, which are returned to each Youth Crew member six months after voyage completion. Whilst the Youth Crew are completing these final administration tasks the Staff Crew will take the opportunity to conduct our own ���end of voyage�� debriefs. At 0930 tomorrow morning YOUNG ENDEAVOUR will weigh anchor then transit the short distance to the entry of the Airlie Beach Marina were we will negotiate the tricky ���S Bend’ into the marina and berth for the final time for this voyage. Once alongside we will invite family and friends onboard for a tour of the ship and to witness a short presentation. On completion we will say our final farewells to the Youth Crew of Voyage 12/10. This is the final Captains Log for this voyage. Young Endeavour will remain alongside in Airlie Beach until Sunday 25 July when we will embark our new Youth Crew for Voyage 13/10 which is from Airlie Beach – Cairns.On a personnel note, as I say my farewell as the Commanding Officer of STS YOUNG ENDEAVOUR, I would like to thank all of the Youth Crew that I have sailed with over the past 30 months, you are truly a wonderful group of young Australians and it has been an honour and a privilege to have served as your Captain. Assuming Command of Young Endeavour on Friday 23 July will be LCDR Damien Munchenberg, who I am sure will be a fantastic Captain.Until next time, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Gav

Latitude/Longitude:

20° 15' South / 148° 42' East

Conditions:

Currently at anchor in Pioneer Bay and experiencing light - moderate SE winds with nil swell.