Final Night of Voyage

Hi Everyone,                    Welcome to Day 10 and the final night of our voyage. This morning we awoke to an overcast morning with strong north easterly winds. Given our distance from Williamstown the Youth Crew received an early 0550 wakeup call and their Early Morning Activity consisted of a sunrise climb of the foremast with the task of putting sea furls on all of the squares.At 0630 we weighed anchor then transited the 20nm to Williamstown where we berthed starboard side to Workshop Pier at 0905. First job was to off load 10 days of garbage then rig the awning because by this time we were experiencing heavy showers.At 0940 we welcomed onboard, 22 guests from the Shepparton Access and Shepparton Sailability Groups, the Executive Director of the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme Mr Stephen Moss and a number of Youth Scheme and Staff Crew guests for our Community Day Sail .Following my welcome address and safety brief lines were cast off at 1010 and we departed our berth and proceeded out into Port Phillip Bay. During the three hours that followed the Youth Crew did a great job of keeping our guests entertained and everyone enjoyed a great sail in ever changing weather conditions.At 1300 we again berthed at Workshop Pier where we farewelled our guests then the Youth Crew proceeded ashore with their respective Watch Leaders to complete end of voyage talks. By 1530 everyone was back onboard and following the final set of rope races and a quick brief the Youth Crew proceeded aloft and completed at good set of harbour furls.At 1800 we again departed our berth this time proceeding out into Hobson’s Bay where we came safely to anchor just to the southwest of Station Pier. Dinner followed with Chef Keely spoiling us with her famous pizzas.Once we had cleaned up from dinner the Youth Crew mustered in the café where they completed end of voyage questionnaires and ‘letters to themselves which are returned to them 6 months after the completion of their voyage.With these tasks complete, at dusk we commenced a photo slide show up on deck capturing various moments and experiences during the voyage. 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.Tomorrow morning we will start our final day with an early morning activity. Following breakfast and morning brief the anchor will be weighed and once the Youth Crew have manned the yards we will proceed alongside berthing for the final time for this voyage at Williamstown’s Workshop Pier 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 01/18 as they depart the ship. On a personal note, I would like to thank all of the Youth Crew of Voyage 01/18 for the great effort that you have put in throughout this voyage. You are a wonderful group of young Australians and all of the Staff Crew of Young Endeavour have really enjoyed spending the past 11 days sailing with you.On Monday I will hand the Ship back to Captain Mike who returns from a well earned break. It has been great being back as the Relief Captain for this voyage and I look forward to joining the ship again in Devonport in February for Voyage 04/18. Young Endeavour will remain alongside in Williamstown until Monday 15th January when she will embark the Youth Crew of Voyage 02/18 who will sail the ship to Sydney. Until my next Voyage, take care.Yours AyeCaptain Gav  Â
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
We are currently anchored in Hobson's Bay and experiencing light north westerly winds with nil swell and the temperature is 20 degrees.
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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!!