Happy Birthday Liam!

Situation at 2330 Tuesday 1st April: Greetings.Young Endeavour Command Day Captain Sticksy.Today our command day marked a special event during our voyage from Melbourne to Sydney. The command day is a period of time in which the ship is handed over to the Youth crew of the Young Endeavour. We were all responsible for all tasks during the course of the command day, including sailing instruction, movements, navigation, meals,cleaning, ships morale and routine inspections.An election took place prior to the day and the youth crew went through the process of selecting a command team panel. The ship was handed over at 2130 Monday and was to be handed back to the staff at 0900 Wednesday. This morning it was all hands on deck for a quick get- away from our anchor point. We were given a series of activities and challenges to earn points towards our final command day score.Clear skys graced our ship however the lack of wind ensured a slow start to our adventure. The day was busy and much committment and co-operation was neccesary to meet our required check points, inlcudingthe setting and furling of sails, and tacking the ship. A highlight of the day was completing the challenge of having as many youth crew as possible aloft at the one time. With twenty-three of the twenty-four youth crew making it above deck it was an incredible sight with only myself taking charge on deck.Anchoring in Hunter’s Bay one minute and a half before the designated time, we scored ourselves a bonus 100 points towards our score. The celebrations then began with a magnificent Italian Banquette on deckprepared by our command day chefs. They also prepared a Tiramisu cake in celebration of Jenny’s 23rd birthday. Happy Birthday Jenny. Following this a ships concert was conducted at midships with each watch preparing an act. The staffies entertained us with their creative constumes and gleaming acting talent.The exhausted Youth Crew have all retired for the night with anchor watches being conducted every two hours. I have been very impressed with the level of committment from the crew throughout this exciting task. The staff have been a great support leading us into this event making certain that we were suitably prepared for what lay ahead.The close relationship that has developed between the staff crew and the youth crew signifies the challenges we have overcome together and the fun we have had while doing it.Tomorrow we will see even more determination and dedication from the crew as we attempt to complete the 36 hours of commmand day to the best of our ability. It will be a particulary proud moment to hand the ship back to the staff confident that we have been successful.Thought of the day: Great heights reached and kept by great menwere not obtained in sudden flight. But while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night. William-Henry WadsworthCaptain SticksyHey all well another command day nearly over and a day of paperwork and cleaning for me as a result of being kicked out of my owngalley. The product that was produced from the days chef and helpers was a credit though with great food. I am on tonight to say a HUGE HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY to my son LIAM and hope that his day was fantastic with lots of congratulations and presents. Just to let you know Liam that all of the Youth Crew on Voyage 07/03 sang you a HappyBirthday after Jennys’. So all my love and wishes.Polly(Dad)Just a quick hello to all my family and Sarah. I am having the time of my life. Thanks so much much Mum. I’ve made a load of great friends and learnt so much. I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.xo Jono