SAFELY ACROSS THE NORTH SEA

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day 13 of our voyage. Well we have now officially crossed the North Sea and are now sailing along the picturesque coast of Norway. Since last nights log the weather has again improved and we are now enjoying blue skies and a light south westerly breeze.It has been a busy day for our World Voyagers with Captains Setting and Furling Drills this morning followed by the Captains Challenge this afternoon. Both of these activities are designed to prove to me that the World Voyagers are safe and that they are ready in all respects for next weeks Tall Ship race. The good news is that they passed both of these activities with ‘flying colours’ and they have proven that they are well and truly ready to race.  At the moment we are located only 43nm from Kristiansand and are sailing downwind under all three square sails. We are only doing 3kts but given the short distance left to go we will still arrive in Kristiansand on schedule at 0840 tomorrow morning. It will be a busy time for all of us in Kristiansand with the Tall Ship Festival now underway and plenty of enjoyable activities for all of us to participate in. Some of the main events will be the Crew’s Parade, Evening Firework Displays, Crew Sporting Challenges, Crew Party areas with live bands and many other activities going on throughout our three day visit. I am sure that the crew of Young Endeavour will have a wonderful time and this will be a truly memorable visit. It is back to White Watches turn for the Captains Log and writing tonight’s entry is Will and Nicola. Enjoy! As we will now be alongside in Kristiansand for the next three days the next Captains Log entry will be on the evening of Tuesday 28 July 2015. Until our next Captains Log, take care. Yours Aye Captain Gav CAPTAIN’S LOG – 24 JULY 15 Day 13 Captain Gav’s Challenge Hi everyone, It has been a busy day 13 here on the Young Endeavour. Today started with our first sighting of land in over four days. Luckily we were on target, it was indeed Norway and not a random destination. This morning our usual schedule was changed, due to the Captain’s setting and furling challenge. White watch was first, followed by blue then red. This challenge consisted of our watch setting (putting out) the Topgallant Staysail (Upper middle sail) and furling (putting away) the Fore Staysail (sail towards the front). We successful completed this challenge in approximately nine minutes; unfortunately no new world records were set, maybe next time guys. After quick congratulations we were handed our reward, which was genuine Australian Tim Tams. This was more exciting than actually successfully completing the challenge. After all the watches had completed the task we then had our usual morning brief. We heard news that they’d opened a new restaurant on the moon. The food was great but it had no atmosphere. Next on our schedule was our favourite time of day HAPPY HOUR!!! After happy hour it was time for THE CAPTAIN’S CHALLENGE. Captain Gav decided that is was time for the youth crew to take control of the ship, luckily this challenge didn’t end up like HMS Bounty. Captain Gav had asked us to set a full press of sails (all the sails possible) and reach a waypoint some distance away. It was good to see the whole crew working together to complete the task. We decided that due to the wind direction it was best to set the headsails and then the mainsail. However these were not the only sails to be set. The wind was strong and it was time to set the square sails. A team of six was sent aloft like sailors of old to prepare the square sails for setting. The rocking at the topgallant made this task difficult. Holding tight was of the highest priority. However our trusty climbers retuned triumphantly to deck task completed. It was then time for the setting of the topsail and topgallant. With our waypoint fast approaching it was time to get ready to wear (change direction), a complicated and time consuming task when you’re under sail. After handing the ship back over to the captain and staff we all took a breath of relief, glad to see that the ship was on course and in one piece. It was after lunch we prepped the ship for light speed racing by changing our Jib!! We went from a smaller more storm proof Jib to a bigger faster Jib more suited for racing. We could see the other tall ships around us quaking in they’re boots. Young Endeavour is ready for racing, watch out division A competitors. After swapping the Jib it was time for a game of I spy, the first tall ships had started to appear on the horizon and we tried to workout who was who. The first ship spotted was a three masted Brig off our port side, creating a beautiful addition to the rugged coast line of Norway. Additionally we saw a massive fully rigged ship making headway to Kristiansand. After a beautiful sunny day on the North Sea, we are on track to arrive in Kristiansand at 0840 tomorrow morning. However there is a hard mornings work in harbour before we are set loose in town, that’s if they let use through customs with our vegemite. White watch signing off Will and Nicola Hi Mum, Christine and kids love you and miss you Jessie xx Hi Family today has been an exciting day one of my wisdom teeth has officially arrived. Also be proud Dad, I was in charge of getting everyone to fold up the number three jib after we changed to the number two (it was really hard not having a lot of flat space). I miss you all and the North Sea has been a lot of fun. Talk to you when we get to Kristiansand. Lots of love Nica xoxoxoxo Hi Mum, Dad, Juzz, Taylor, Ray, Lyndon and the rest of my family and friends. It’s been a crazy few days. The North Sea has defiantly thrown up challenge. The other day was crazy!! The ship was rolling 10 degrees port and then 30 degrees to starboard. It turned the deck into a toboggan run at times. But naturally the winds were strong enough to dislodge some of the sea furling, so I had to climb to the very top sail to help secure it. Was AWESOME!! Scary as well. I was 28 metres above the deck so I’ll let you work out how far I was rocking. Anyway I’ll be in port tomorrow, talk to you guys soon. Lots of love Will. Happy birthday for the 26th bek! Hope you have a great day and I’ll talk to you tomorrow when we get to Kristiansand. Love Lollie Hi mum, dad, all other family and anyone else who’s reading. I’m having a killer time on the North Sea! Had some crazy experiences which I can’t wait to tell you all. We arrive in port tomorrow so I will give you a buzz at some point. Conditions are calm and there’s about 4-6ft of swell rolling towards Norway so I’m hoping for a surf sometime in the next few days! Anyway love you all. Jack Shout out to the crew at Glenhope Road! Jonno