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HUGE winds
Ahoy there, Well, do I have a story for you!With a sail plan in order, the crew is woken up at 0630 with 30min to be on deck, ready to sail out of Broken Bay. We planned to set the forestaysail, mainstaysail, jib, mainsail and follow a heading of 090 for 7 nautical miles. All well and good, if you have wind… The forecast was SW 20-30kts but we were struggling with only 7kts. A wise man once told me that if you have an ideal sail plan, you will travel at 1/3 of the wind speed. So we are looking at 2kts… After a lot of struggling the staffies assisted us with the engines to get us to our first check point. Over this period, breakfast had been delayed and staggered for the youth crew. I questioned my leadership during this period. Could I really do this with the limited knowledge and experience I had?  I didn’t have long to ponder on this as once we hit our check point, we had to set the squares, furl the fore and aft sails, brace the yards to starboard and follow a new heading of 030 for 41 nautical miles. During this leg of the voyage we were challenged time and time again. A big storm moved in and caused the swell to increase from 4m up to 6m at times. It hailed, and poured down with rain. There was lightning and thunder, and HUGE winds up to 48kts. The youth crew managed to max the ships speed out at 14kts for a moment!!! The wind kept changing directions all the time and a few times it even died… On one particular occasion it died and things went quiet. We looked out to port and saw a water spout travelling towards us! The squares went WILD flapping about, wind exceeding the topgallant sails limit, so we had to clew it up. Naturally as soon as we did that the wind died again… Half the crew was seasick, myself included, but the show must go on. We had a delicious lunch of pies and fish. We were greeted by whales, dolphins and even a friendly seal. By 1600 we arrived at our destination. The staff took control to enter the Newcastle Harbour. Im incredibly proud of the youth crew and the resilience they displayed today. It was challenging both physically and mentally. I’m also very thankful for the opportunity to command the STS Young Endeavour it has been an absolute pleasure to work with everyone. Lots of Love,  Aussie (Austin) —————————————————————————————————— Ahoy there Shipmates, As Youth Captain Austin detailed, the Command day for the Youth Crew was an incredible journey, a day filled with individual and team discovery, challenges, rewards, lessons, friendships and beauty. Now that we are alongside the Queens Wharf in Newcastle we have many post-Command Day activities we need to complete before we can relax. The intention is to remain alongside overnight and sail tomorrow morning to allow the youth crew to host the half-day sailors and show them how much fun it is to sail Young Endeavour. Until tomorrow.  Yours Aye Captain Mike
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Weather - overcast and rainy, Wind - south-westerly at 10 kn, Swell - nil, Temp: 13 deg. C
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Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Young Endeavour’s Second voyage for 2026. This voyage will see us sail from Hobart to Geelong via the West Coast of Tasmania, which will give us the chance to see some spectacular scenery and be tested by some very unpredictable weather conditions, which is all part of the adventure. I have always loved sailing the Tasmanian Coast and of course, the notorious Bass Strait because of the challenges they throw at us but it really is a special part of this wonderful country. We have put together another talented Staff Crew for this voyage who I know will take great care of our new Youth Crew ensuring that they all have an amazing experience.
The Young Endeavour Staff Crew for this voyage are as follows:
Captain – Gav
Sail Master – Dion
Navigator – Jack
Watch Officer - Karson
Red Watch Leader – Mick
White Watch Leader – Simon assisted by Benny
Blue Watch Leader – Mitch
Chef – Nathan
Engineer - Dan
YEYS Voyage Coordinator - Matt
The voyage commenced at 1500 today when the new Youth Crew joined Young Endeavour berthed alongside Hobarts Princess No 2 Berth (UTAS). Once we had everyone on board and gear had been stowed, we mustered our new Youth Crew and a large gathering of family and friends on deck for my welcome address followed by Staff Crew introductions. On completion we farewelled family and friends then got straight into a safety brief. Ice breaker’ activities and ship tours. Dinner followed, with tonight’s menu consisting of Roast Lamb, Chicken Kiev, Americana Pasta Bake and numerous vegetables and a wonderful selection of deserts. Once we had cleaned up from dinner, I completed my Captain’s Brief, which was followed by Dion’s Sail Master Chat. With these chats out of the way we spent the rest of the evening doing full value contacts and deck safety then turned-in for a good night’s sleep.
Tomorrow morning we will depart our berth, head down the Derwent River and into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel where we will anchor for a few hours and complete first climbs of the foremast.
Until tomorrow, take care.
Yours aye, Captain Gav.
