Captain's Log

31 July 2008

Sailing, Capricorn Channel, Command Day

Ahoy there!Captain Carrie here. Just a quick update on todays events. Command Day has arrived. After a quick trip ashore Great Keppell Island for some fun and games the whole youth crew gained control of the fantastic Young Endeavour at 1300. I am in command for the first 12hrs of the day.Our Beach Assault Team went ashore to claim the beach and sing Australia’s National Anthem loudly and proudly. A large hammock was built to withstand the whole crew on the ship, including all staffies.We got moving in the afternoon with very little wind, and a few learning curves. Sailing now, although not as fast as we would like. We are thrilled at being given the chance to sail this amazing ship and look forward to sailing in to Gladstone tomorrow.Thats all from me for now. I wish Pete luck with his 12hrs of command.Cheers, Carrie 🙂

Latitude/Longitude:

23Â° 12' South / 151Â° 4' East

Conditions:

Wind NE 10 knots, sea calm; weather cool and clear

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Ahoy there armchair scrollers and vicarious adventurers! We made it. The ship has returned to the Noakes Shipyard for a short maintenance window after an amazing Summer Sailing Programme. We have had nearly 100 Youth Crew onboard in the last 7 weeks for four incredible adventures. Voyage 04/25 has now left us, it was a proud moment farewelling this crew as they had a very real and very exciting 11 day Voyage of self discovery and blue water challenge. We left Hobart, anchored in Coles Bay while the northerlies blew themselves through, weighed anchor on Day Five and made best speed for the South East Coast of NSW. Across Bass Strait we were met with a beautiful point of sail as we were full and by 120 degrees on a well balanced broad reach. The winds and seas built and we had some thrilling moments with 50 knot gusts and 5m seas reminding us that we are a small ship in a large ocean. Young Endeavour's pedigree saw us through as she has done countless times in the past and we felt safe, secure and exhilarated as we averaged over 11kn on our long stretch from Coles Bay to Jervis Bay. We anchored up and recuperated on Captains Beach. HMAS Creswell made for a tendresse backdrop as we had a BBQ on the teak deck and a swim at anchor. We rested and readied as our next stretch was Command Day with Captain Waz and his team sailing the ship over 96nm to get us home. Amazing voyage, inspiring Youth Crew and a resilient Ship Staff Crew made this adventure possible. I'd like to share some words of inspiration written by Mackenzie and Nick when they were asked to put pen to paper and summarise "teamwork" on Young Endeavour; "Teamwork, a word so often spoken, but its true meaning so rarely understood. Young Endeavour has shown us its authentic truth, that everyone has something to share; a small piece of an unfathomable puzzle, and it is only through working together with each of our small pieces combined that we are able to achieve what many would conceive an impossibility. 10 days ago, 24 Young Australians embarked on this journey. Today, we the youth crew brought together our small pieces to take Command and sail North to Sydney. Never underestimate yourself, you may just be the final piece that makes the impossible possible" Time for a rest and then we are onwards and upwards Circumnavigating Australia from April-October 2025. See you on the next voyage! Captain Leups Out +

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Day 10 – Exhaustion, elation and satisfaction

Ahoy there readers of this fine journal. We started Day 10 with Captain Warwick and his crew of scallywags still holding the weight of the conduct of the ship on their shoulders. We were motor sailing up the East Coast of Australia with the vista that is Sydney Harbour and the Eastern Suburbs as our backdrop to a beautiful sunrise. The urgency on deck was real as the team pushed to complete as many of their Command Day tasks as they could in the final hours that they had left. We found a Warship outside harbour limits who graciously invited us to fall in astern and escort us in to harbour. We set to work furling sails and increased engine speed as we tried to keep up with the sleek great silhouette of the Frigate. Whilst manoeuvring to take our station the Youth Crew were thrilled to be given the task of firing our cannons on approach to harbour limits. With sail handed in we entered Port Jackson. Sydney Harbour is a busy place and we were detoured around to approach Athol Bay via South of Shark Island to avoid a towing operation underway. Nothing is too much for our Navigator Tommo though and he dynamically repositioned the ship and gave us a tour of Sydney! Once at anchor in Athol and the final minutes of Command Day ticked by the realisation that this was it started to hit home for both Youth and Staff Crew alike. At 1300 I took the ship back from Captain Waz and his band and offered heartfelt congratulations to the team for their 110% effort and massive achievements in the 24 hours that they had. This really is the culmination of the program and the Youth Crew met the challenge with zeal. The debrief process after an ordeal like this is extremely important. So we gave the crew a rest before waking them up with a swim and a rope swing in Athol Bay. Nothing like the crisp water of the harbour to wake them up and re-energise the vibe. The debriefs revealed some profound lessons that will go with our Youth Crew as they leave the ship and return to Australian Society. This ship, this program truly changes each and every individual that joins as one but leaves as a member of a close knit team. Pizza Night closed the day of action and Youth Crew settled into their final night of anchor watches and sleep in their quarters. This has been an amazing voyage for all of us. Our beautiful blue ship with her trim sails and fine lines has delivered us from Hobart to Sydney once again. Look out for us on the Harbour as we will be under the Harbour Bridge by 0915 and firing cannons with youth in the yards on approach to HMAS Waterhen, Waverton at 0945 for a 1000 alongside. Take photos, share them online and help make us more famous than we already are!! Captain Leups Out +

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Day 09 – Command Day – back to the high seas!

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!!

THE VOYAGE

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