Into the Strait

Hi Everyone,                     Welcome to Young Endeavours fourth voyage for 2018. I’m back as the Relief Captain for this voyage so that Captain Mike can take another well deserved break following a couple of extremely busy voyages, our 30th Anniversary Gala Dinner and the Australia Day celebrations on Sydney Harbour. This voyage will see us sail from Devonport to Adelaide and along the way cross the infamous Bass Strait then explore some of Victoria’s and South Australia spectacular coastline.  We have put together another great 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 –                                            GavSail Master –                                     AdamNavigator –                                        James  BOATSO –                                          PhilRed Watch Leader –                      Jimmy   White Watch Leader –                  MeganBlue Watch Leader –                     HortoChef –                                                  ZacEngineer –                                          SumoMedical Care Provider                      JackThe voyage commenced at 1500 this afternoon when our new Youth Crew joined Young Endeavour berthed starboard side to Tasports Berth 4 in Devonport Tasmania. Once gear had been stowed family and guests were given a quick tour of the ship then mustered back on deck for my welcome address.With these formalities complete we farewelled our guests then went straight into a very thorough Safety Brief given by Jimmy our resident Safety Equipment specialist prior to making preparations to sail.At 1630 lines were cast off and we safely departed our berth and commenced the short pilotage out of the Mersey River and into Bass Strait. During this pilotage we completed a harness brief, ships tours and some ice breaker activities. Normally on this first evening we would then proceed to anchor but given the forecast of gale force winds for Bass Strait and the Western Victorian Coast for early Wednesday morning I have decided to cross Bass Strait as quickly as possible and head directly for Portland where we can get a sheltered anchorage while this front passes through.The time is now 2045 and we have completed all of our first day activities and have now settled into watches overnight. Given the current conditions we will continue to make best speed under sail to King Island where we plan to anchor late tomorrow morning for a few hours to complete first climbs of the foremast before pushing on to Portland. Until tomorrow, take care. Yours AyeCaptain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently we are located 13nm to the northeast of Table Cape sailing close hauled under fore and aft sail and achieving a good boat speed of 8kts in strong 25kt south westerly winds and the temperature is 17 degrees.
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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”


After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!