Finally some shore leave!

Ahoy there Shipmates, What a night we had last night! With the wind backing to the north and the increasing frequency of the rain squalls we knew we would be in for an interesting night at sea. It was very unfortunate that after all the hard sailing we had done battling against the wind to get south. Now the wind had backed to the north we did not have enough sea room to have a simple run to the next anchorage due to our high speeds. With the winds gusting up to 30kts and then up to 38kts overnight we were forced to pick a course that would not see us blown out to sea yet still not loose to much ground to the south. The wonders of the modern weather forecasting world (not to mention our own personal forecaster Paige) all indicated that the wind would back to the west at approximately 0200 in the morning. Meaning the ship would be required to stay close to the coast and as far north as we could, to ensure we would be in a position to make our entry into the port of Brisbane at 0330 this morning. To facilitate this tricky piece of navigating we had to balance the sail plan with the crews comfort and the wind limits on the sails with the wind strengths we were experiencing. So after this quite exciting night we had a nice relaxing day. We started out the morning with a set of delayed Captains setting and furling drills (ironically enough after such a crazy night we actually ran out of wind in the forenoon). Then we proceeded to anchor for the first time in four days. There were a few sighs of relief when the anchor finally splashed down and we had arrived at Tangalooma on Morton Island. Our arrival happened to coincide with lunch and it was a happy go lucky crew that enjoyed yet another of Luke and his sous chef’s feasts. After lunch is was shore leave for everyone and a chance to stretch out our legs and play some sport ashore. Everyone had a great time on the sand dunes, the beach, exploring the wrecks, kayaking and swimming in the crystal clear water. Once everyone was back onboard Tim then opened up the pool over the ships side and the opportunity to experience the rope swing off the course yard. It was quite a hit with everyone and the fatigue from the night before was soon washed away by reals of laughter and applause at the attempted and successful backflips. After the rope swing and a short break so everyone could have showers I gave a command day brief up on deck to explain how command day will work tomorrow. They crew then elected their command team (about 10 minutes and they were done) and then it was onto dinner. There really is something about a teak deck BBQ on the deck of a tall ship, at anchor off one of the most beautiful beaches along the Australian coast, with 39 new friends, just on sunset, that you cant explain in words. After such a wonderful dinner Tim opened up the open air cinema and put on an old documentary about the tall ships of yesteryear. It’s a fascinating dit and you will quite often see the staff members there watching it for the 25th of 50th time. The Youth Crew will keep the anchor watches tonight, keeping the ship safe and giving everyone a chance to catch up on some sleep. Until tomorrow, keep calm and carry on CAPT Matt Life should not be a journey to the grave with the aim or arriving with a perfectly preserved body, you should skid in sideways with chocolate in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, pointing over your shoulder and saying “did you see that?” Under 11s Hawks I hope training went well tonight and you all trained hard ready for a big match against Maitland this Saturday Im going to miss the game being at sea . I’ll be thinking of all of you whilst here swimming with the dolphins at Tangalooma in Moreton Bay. Oscar I hope you get well soon I hear you’re a bit under the weather and a big shout out to Jack, Byron, Ashley Noah and Aiden I hope you guys trained the house down tonight, Paige.