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Iceberg reported – YE monitors
Having had a good nights sleep, anchor was weighed at 1030 and the ship sailed from her anchorage yesterday morning. The wind was from the NW at 15-20 kts and we were soon making good speed to the south with all sail set. During the morning we received an interesting maritime safety message regarding an iceberg that was unseasonally north and was posing a danger to navigation. This iceberg was reported to the SW of Tasmania. Quite bizzare. During the afternoon as the wind slowly backed to the west and freshened to 20 kts the ship conducted a series of tacks. Weather was starting to get unsettled but the forecast had nothing in it of any concern. The Course was clewed up as the wind continued to back. Early in the evening the wind backed quite suddenly to the south as a cold front passed through our position. Wind speed increased to over 30 kts and sail was quickly handed in as the ship was hitting speeds over 12 kts. Wind continued to increase with prolonged gusts over 45 kts and the seas began to build rapidly. As Mae West said ‘It’s going to be a bumpy ride tonight’. We wore ship and started slogging our way south as the wind backed even further to the SE. It was interesting to hear the weather report of a weak cold front with 15- 20 kts of wind forecast. Wind speed remained 25-30 kts throughout the night and it was bitterly cold. Late in the evening we received another maritime safety message on this rogue iceberg that was drifting further north closer to our planned track. At midnight a message was received from the Navy tasking YE to proceed to the iceberg position to monitor, report and warn shipping in the area. Dion, the navigator, was plotting positions, expected drift of the iceberg and calculating a course to intercept. The things you have to do in a tall ship. The youth crew, and some staff, were getting quite excited by the prospect of seeing an iceberg at close quarters. Not too close I warned them. This morning the wind has started to ease (20-25 kts) and we will set some more sail very soon. At our morning brief I had Dion explain our iceberg patrol tasking to the youth crew and as he was wrapping up I presented him with his very own block of ice. Yep, it was all a setup for April Fools Day and he had taken the bait beautifully. He was however, in very good company!Happy April Fools Day readers!Chat tomorrow – Andrew
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Wind 160/20 kts, Temp 13, partly cloudy
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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!!
