Fingal Bay

Hi Everyone,               Its Captain Gav back as the Relief Captain for this voyage so that Captain Mike can take a well deserved break. As usual I am really excited to be back onboard Young Endeavour and in particular sailing the very picturesque NSW Coast.     The Young Endeavour Staff Crew for this voyage are as follows:Captain –                                            GavSail Master –                                     EvanNavigator –                                        James BOATSO –                                          PhilRed Watch Leader –                      Harry assisted by Col   White Watch Leader –                  TugBlue Watch Leader –                     BrendonChef –                                                  KeelyEngineer –                                          BrettSuper -                                    BlakeSuper -                                    DollyThe voyage commenced at 1500 this afternoon when our new Youth Crew joined Young Endeavour berthed alongside at the Queens Wharf in Newcastle. Once onboard and all gear stowed, everyone mustered on deck for my welcome address and Staff Crew introductions. On completion we farewelled family and friends and quickly made preparations to get underway so that we could depart our berth between other shipping movements in and out of the Port of Newcastle. With these preparations complete we safely departed our berth at 1600 then conducted our short pilotage out of Newcastle Harbour. Once clear of the harbour we altered course to the north east then commenced our 24nm passage up to Fingal Bay which was our planned anchorage for the evening. During this passage the Watch Leaders conducted some ‘ice breaker activities’ and ships tours. Dinner followed with Chef Keely producing the first of many great meals for this voyage.At 1920 we entered the confines of Fingal Bay and coming safely to anchor at 1930. Once at anchor Evan and I conducted Captain and Sail Master Chats then the Youth Crew sat down with there Watch Leaders and completed there Full Value Contracts before starting on some deck safety.Given the current weather forecast it is our intention to remain at anchor in Fingal Bay  overnight then complete first climbs of the foremast tomorrow morning before weighing anchor and sailing south. The winds for the next couple of days are forecast to be ENE so we should experience some nice sailing as we sail south. Until tomorrow evening, take care. Yours AyeCaptain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently we are at anchor in Fingal Bay and experiencing moderate 10-12kt ENE winds with a .5m swell. The current temperature is a cool 16 degrees.
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

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”
