Swaying Amongst the Stars

Situation at 20:00- During the watches overnight the Youth Crew were challenged to complete a task assigned them by their Watch Leader. The object of the exercise was to identify and apply all the attributes that go into making a successful team and discuss the experience in an open and positive setting. Each of the watches were required to set and furl various sails without the assistance of their watch leader. The exercise proved to be very valuable and generated some very interesting and frank discussion. Overnight the wind picked up and we were able to sail Southward into Hervey Bay.Disaster has been narrowly avoided. Yesterday, the Ship’s freezer broke down and we were in danger of having all of the Ice Cream melt.Chef Polly was busy figuring out how he could cook a week’s worth of meals in one day before the food in the freezer spoiled. Fortunately,Engineer Stewy was able to identify the problem and all is now well. Fixing the defect meant that we had to go alongside in the Port ofBundaberg for a few hours, which provided an opportunity for the Youth Crew to stretch their legs and descend upon the local shop. It also allowed the mid-voyage talks to be conducted in a relaxed atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the ship.The Youth Crew have just completed their three-way talks and the anchor watch has been set. The green faces are now a thing of the past and all hands are fit, well and ready for whatever the remainder of the voyage holds in store.YOUNG ENDEAVOUR fact file: The Ship is fitted with two Perkins 6 cylinder turbo sabre diesel engines. Under engines, the maximum speedavailable is 9 knots (compared to 14 knots under sail-go sails).Thought of the day: Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. W.H. MurrayYours, AyeJohn CowanHi there, it’s Marnie from the youth crew and I believe it’s high time for an update. Five days have passed and the farewell in Brisbane seems worlds away. The sailing lifestyle suits me very well and I’m more than ready for remainder of the journey. Climbing aloft and swaying among the stars is just one of my lasting memories.The sense of team spirit on the ship builds by the day. Command day is just around the corner and I have every confidence in our abilityto sail to safety. That’s all from me. I look forward to recounting more stories in person.MarnieFrom Dr SueWe travelled closer to the Investigator’s actual path today, heading into Hervey Bay, but had to detour to Bundaberg. Flinder’s would have sent his people ashore to search for water and edible foods, presumably with Ferdinand Bauer advising which could be poisonous. Our own Youth Crew headed ashore on a similar mission, but themethods were somewhat different, their hunting and gathering centred on the Bundaberg Port Marina facilities. We have our own Bauer onboard, Daniel, but any botanic advice that he could offer would have been unnecessary.We push north again tomorrow, hopefully in favourable winds. Can you imagine what Matthew Flinders and his people would have thought ofour Iron Topsail that we have had to employ assisting the sails to get this far???Until next time,Dr Sue