Sampling Coastal Waters

Situation at 21:00 – Today has been another busy day for all members of the Ship’s company. The day started at 0700 with Wakey Wakey being called by the Whities this morning. After our normal morning routine of showers andbreakfast we turned up for Morning Brief at 0830 where the Ship’s ‘Mum’ made his first appearance. ‘Mum’ spends his mornings doingrounds of the messdecks ensuring everyone has put their clothes and towels away. Should he find anything askew he will usually do the offending person a favour by bringing the item up to morning briefand ensuring they get it back.Following the morning brief and cleaning routine, the YC were tasked with handing in all our sail in preparation for anchoring. We safely anchored at Airlie Beach and commenced lectures in Sail Theory and Navigation aswell as a sumptuous lunch prepared by Stonii and his three assistants in the Galley.Rope Races was next and already their is a fairly competitive spirit developing within the YC with all watches determined to winthe ‘prize’ at the end of the voyage. Rope Races is a competitive learning game which asks the YC to find and identify various parts of the Ship. Today’s races were primarily focussed on Survival Equipment, which referred back to yesterday’s safety lecture by Dutchy.Again, the sun got the better of us today, so we took the opportunity to sample the Airlie Beach coastal waters for a quickdip. The swing rope, rigged from the course yard, proved a big hit for many, whilst others simply enjoyed the sensation of swimming in the ocean from the side of the Ship. Finally after dinner tonight, XOPaige organised the YC into groups of three and a set of three-way-talks ensued. Three-way-talks comprise groups of three YC who have half an hour to learn as much about each other as possible. They are then asked to get up on stage and tel the group all about one of the other members of their group. The trick lies in the fact that whencalled upon they must assume the character of that person.The final event for the evening was the Anhor Watches brief and the announcement that the YC would only have to keep watches of an hour and a quarter tonight, as opposed to the normal seagoing routine of four hour watches. The announcement was well recieved, as you may imagine, and I suspect that it may be a rested and energetic YC that greet us tomorrow morning.Finally a small announcement. I would like to offer my congratulations to LSBM S.G. Folkes, who yesterday recieved advice that she would be promoted from Leading Seaman to Petty Officer at the beginning of next year. A wonderful achievement, and thoroughlywell deserved, Shez has been with the Ship now for six months and I know she will make a fine Petty Officer. BZ. (Naval Parlance for Well Done)Nautical Knowledge:All Ships have a vast number of lines in them, Tall Ship’s in particular, due to the amount of line required to rig a complicated sailing ship. Most Ship’s have very fewropes however, examples of ropes are: The Bell Rope, The Boat Rope and The foot-ropes. Almost all other lengths of rope are referred to as lines.Thought of the Day: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ -Dr Martin Luther KingMore to Follow, Paul BarrieLEUT, RANActing Commanding Officer