PORT STEPHENS

Ahoy Shipmates,Overnight under all three square sails and the assistance of a 20-25kt south wester YE made good speed up the coast and by 0900 this morning we were only 25nm south of Port Stephens. Despite the good sailing throughout the night many of the YC suffered from seasickness and come morning brief it was obvious that it was going to take a lot of work by the Staff Crew to keep everyone motivated and focused to get them through the morning’s program. After morning brief the wind had backed enough to bring the ship under full sail, with the YC achieving this task very quickly prior to commencing “Happy Hour” (cleaning stations). On completion all three watches mustered on deck and competed in their first set of hotly contested rope races. Early afternoon saw the wind abate to less than 10kts and torrential rain settle in, so we handed in all sail and commenced a very wet pilotage into Port Stephens, finally coming to anchor in the picturesque Nelsons bay at 1445. Once at anchor the YC were given a 30 minute navigation presentation then ferried ashore for a stomach settling leg stretch. On return to the ship everyone had amazingly recovered from their bout of seasickness (a medical mystery) and all devoured the chefs brilliantly prepared dinner. Once dinner was completed and the galley clean everyone crammed into the YC caf� (due to the continued torrential rain) for a very entertaining session of three way talks. As we are remaining at anchor overnight all watches have been reduced to anchor watches allowing both YC and staff the opportunity to get a good nights sleep, ensuring that everyone will be well rested for the challenging days ahead.Yours Aye,Captain Gav