Santa joins the party!

At anchor in Sydney HarbourToday has been a great day for all hands. At morning briefSalty Sea-Dog Chooka answered the great conundrum-why two-six heave?Well done Logan. After happy hour and morning tea, Captain John ledthe Youth Crew through a series of tacks and explained the order thatthe sails are handled and how the process of altering course undersail takes place.After lunch all hands closed up to their tacking stations andthe Ship sailed through Sydney Heads. As we sailed down the harbourwe were one of dozens of different types of vessels, sail and power,large and small, that were going in every direction. We roundedBradley’s Head and sailed to our anchorage East of Kirribilli Point.The Youth Crew completed this complex manoeuvre with no difficulty,which is quite amazing as they have only had four days experience.After the sails and the upperdeck were properly secured, theYouth Crew decorated the Cafe in preparation for Christmas dinner.Before long, a strange looking craft was seen closing our position.In it was an even stranger looking character dressed in a red suitand sporting a huge white beard. YOUNG ENDEAVOUR was boarded by Santaand his two helpers who came bearing gifts for each person onboard.This was a great prelude to Chef Stony’s magnificant ChristmasDinner. This was a huge meal complete with Christmas crackers andplum pudding. It will go down in my memory as the best Christmasdinner at sea of all time. Dinner was followed by the Ship’s concert.It is amazing that so much talent can be found in such a randomlychosen group. Each watch presented a skit and some individualsprovided additional entertainment. BZ (Well Done in Naval Speak) toStu and Yuri for the great songs. The anchor watch has been set andthe Ship is starting to quiet down. Santa has departed and theserious business of keeping the Ship safe carries on.Voyage 23/02 will end tomorrow afternoon. The Youth Crew havebeen a terrific group of young Australians to sail with and they willleave the Ship having made some firm friends who shared an amazingadventure. This will be the last Captain’s Log entry for 2002. Sincejoining the Ship in June, I have been overwhelmed by two groups. Thefirst is the absolutely outstanding quality of young Australian’sthat come onboard as Youth Crew. Young people from all walks of lifeand all parts of the country, most with no experience of the sea atall, quickly rise to the challenge of sailing a tallship. They areable to overcome their fears and lack of experience and band togetheras a group to take command of YOUNG ENDEAVOUR and sail her safely toher destination. To do this they draw upon strengths they may notknow they have, overcoming sea-sickness, fatigue and in many cases afear of heights. The quality of young Australian that passes throughthe Ship inspires confidence that the next generation of leaders willrank amongst the best this country has ever produced. The otheramazing group I have come to appreciate is the Staff Crew. They areposted to YOUNG ENDEAVOUR because they have volunteered and have beenassessed as having the ability to work well with and easily relate toyoung people. Despite this, they are basically ‘Garden Variety’Sailors and Officers of the Royal Australian Navy whose backgroundsand professional abilities are similiar to the majority of today’sservice men and women. That they are able to adapt their skills tothe demands of sailing a tallship while conducting a world classyouth development program is testament not only to theirprofessionalism, but to the professionalism of the Navy they are partof.From all of us in YOUNG ENDEAVOUR to all of the Youth Crewswho have passed through the Ship this past year, we hope that youhave a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you have fairwinds and following seas throughout all of your future ENDEAVOURS.Thought of the day: Courage is an inner resolution to goforward in spite of obstacles and frightening situations. We mustconstantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.Martin Luther King, Jr.Yours, AyeJohn CowanLCDR, RANAhoy Nickels family, hello to the Mum the Dad Miss Kate Patsie androsie, Im having a great time, I’ve got a wicked big black eye, soattractive , but no seasickness, thank god. Also you will all beproud of my fearlessness because I climbed ALL the way to the top ANDout onto the yards, very scared but still managed. Love you all ,miss you , wish you were here, love MissJane xx