Sailing into 1770 in CAPT Cooks footsteps

Ahoy There, What a night we have had. There has been just enough wind to sail most of the night. We started off with a good press of squares and fore and aft sails on a reach but after we tacked at midnight we were forced to clew up the square sails as the wind backed to the South East. We continued to make good time until 0408 when the wind died and we were forced to come up on engines for an hour. Luckily the wind returned and we could shut down the engines once more and sail into yet another beautiful sunrise. Its strange the effect that a sunrise has on your day at sea, as you have been working for hours before to keep the ship sailing and heading in the right direction, itâ€™s a gift or a reward for a job well done and sets the tempo for the day yet to be. We started the days events early this morning with the watches cycling through Captains setting and furling. This is my chance to check that all the watches are safe in their procedures for sail handling and to ensure that nothing will go wrong on command day. All the watches performed to a satisfactory standard and have been deemed safe to conduct the sail handling on deck with minimal supervision from the Watch Leaders. We conducted a few tacks as we continued to beat our way to our anchorage at 1770 and it is obvious that this Youth Crew have really come together now as a crew and are working really well as a team. The second half of the sail theory/astro navigation split took place just before lunch. There seem to be a few light bulbs coming on in regards to sail theory and we had a few of the keen young navigators swinging the sextant to attempt to get a sun sight. We came to anchor just to the North of 1770 (The second place CAPT Cook landed on mainland Australia in 1770) during lunch. The Youth Crew were then sent ashore for some shore leave to enjoy a little bit of civilisation and have a latte or two. Once the last Youth Crew member was back onboard I gave a presentation on Command Day and how the process normally works. Everyone was quite keen to get into the voting process but we gave them a bit of a chance to have a chat to the Staff Crew members in those positions so they could get a fuller understanding of the role. There was also another amazing Teak Deck BBQ just on sunset to enjoy before the politics could destroy the moment. After everyone had had their fill of dinner the elections took place with a very strong command team chosen. We plan to remain at anchor overnight and the Youth Crew were stood down from any formal activities so they could get some rest for the big day tomorrow. However an impromptu dance party seems to have sprung up with a lot of the Youties living up to their name and enjoying being young and free. Tim the Sail Master even had the chance to demonstrate his Running Man dance technique. Until tomorrow, requiem facile CAPT Matt If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable Seneca There is nothing â€“ absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats Kenneth Graham â€ƒ Dear Mum and Dad, â€œwhen the winds donâ€™t prevail, take to the oars!â€ Kyle â€˜Richoâ€™ Richardson Hi Mum! Just letting you know that this fine sailing ship doesnâ€™t have anything big enough to fit my 10 weetbix in.. so stock up on the weetbix for when I get home. Shouting out to Daddy and Willow too! Keeping this ship hostile and mad hecktic as possible LOVE LIXY #787 Hey peoples! Having a fantastic time aboard this amazing ship, loving every minute of it! The awesome Crew make this trip even more so epic, and will remember this every day of my life. Tassie for the WIN! ~ Sarah H P.s Lix you should stop eating! P: Hi to anyone that is following our journey! Just letting you all know that Iâ€™m having an absolute blast, way more than I ever expected! The sun is shining, the water is clear, the dolphins are following us, and Iâ€™ll see you all soon! â€“ Cristy Hi Gunnedah basketball team. Itâ€™s Joe hope you guys get a win tonight, first game of the season and all. Have a great time canâ€™t wait to play. Iâ€™m having lots of fun Iâ€™ve been swimming, sailing and eating ice cream. GO GUNNY WOOP WOOP. ~ Joe

Latitude/Longitude:

24Â° 8' South / 151Â° 52' East

Conditions:

Wind: Nil (again!)Swell: Nil (I dont know who called them swells, there is nothing swell about them...)Temp: 19 Degrees

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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Sailing into 1770 in CAPT Cooks footsteps

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