TALL SHIP RACE
Welcome to day 17 of our voyage. Well we are back at sea again following our fantastic visit to Kristiansand, it really is great to be back with the Worlds Tall Ships and everyone is making Young Endeavour and her Crew feel really welcome. Normally on our first night back at sea I would have a little more time to tell you about our port visit and other things which have been occurring onboard but at the moment we are Tall Ship racing!! So I need to be on the bridge not sitting in front of a computer trying madly to write a Captains Log as quickly as I can. Luckily I have the World Voyagers who besides setting and furling sails tonight the members of Red Watch have also been busy writing tonight’s edition of the Captains Log. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but I am sure that it will be good, please enjoy! Until tomorrow, take care Yours Aye Captain Gav CAPTAIN’S LOG – 28 JULY 15 Aaaaarrgggh. Ahoy there! Red watch here bringing you the latest Young Endeavour updates. On Friday morning we began our approach to the port of Kristiansand, taking in the picturesque coast of Norway amongst a group of tall ships all making their way into port. As expected with a prize for most spectacular entry there was a lot of fanfare both from the tall ships and from ashore with horns blasting, cannons firing and music blaring. Throughout the weekend we left no doubt in anyone’s mind that we were from Australia with kangaroos inflated and Vegemite secured to the bowsprit. With the ship berthed and the neighbouring Russian vessel Shtandart secured we could explore the attractions of Kristiansand and the sail festival including live music, numerous food and merchandise stalls, free access to the local water park and laundry facilities, which were soon in high demand with waiting times stretching into hours. For the competitive types or at least the ‘early’ risers there was an obstacle race on the beach on Sunday morning with one of the Young Endeavour teams almost making the semi-finals, being pushed out in the last quarter final by the team posting the fastest time of the day. In the afternoon the crews paraded through the streets of Kristiansand with a strange mix of fancy dress and military uniforms. The Young Endeavour crew continued the Australiana theme with gusto through the liberal application of green and gold zinc cream the donning of thongs, board shorts, football jerseys and the creative use of the surf rescue board. At the end of the parade there was an award ceremony with Young Endeavour picking up the award for ship furthest from home port. The high spirits of the parade and following award presentation left everyone eager for the crew party that night which was an excellent opportunity for crew members to let their hair down and socialise with other crews from all over the globe. On Monday there was the opportunity for some of the crew members to visit the local zoo and the Kanonmuseum. The zoo chumps unfortunately couldn’t sleep in due to our bus leaving at 9am, but once at the zoo we were quite happy that we had several hours. The zoo itself is situated on about a hundred acres, and the enclosures are more like paddocks than cages. In some instances it took us quite a while to find the animals that were supposed to be there. The first port of call was a log ride that ended with a big splash and some very wet sailors. Then we bypassed a playground area that we would have been quite happy to kick all the younger kids off. We spent 5 hours wandering around and looking at the different animals from different corners of the world, and we were constantly amazed at the differences in the public places between Norway and Australia. There were amazing playgrounds and obstacle courses that Australian wouldn’t even allow you to look at for fear of getting hurt, plus a mass of herb and vegetable gardens that were amazingly neat and immaculate. The grounds resembled more of a forest than anything else, plus there was a small village in the middle that we weren’t sure if it was a historical village or part of a fairytale section. The Kanonmuseum is the worlds second largest land-based cannon installation. Built by the Germans in world war two, the cannon is an exercise in big numbers firing 500kg and 800kg projectiles with a maximum range of 55km. The bunkers were interesting along with all the equipment to support the cannon. The festival closed with a fireworks display and ships sounding horns ensuring nobody slept through the excitement. There was an early start for the crew on Tuesday preparing for the race. We did a thorough clean of the ship and made our way out of port with a myriad of other tall ships, everyone was excited to be under way with cheers and calls between ships. We even suffered a few direct hits from a water balloon slingshot. It seemed every vessel in Kristiansand was out to see the parade of sail with locals getting a close up view and lining the shores. Our arms were tired from waving to all the locals. The race started with much fanfare aboard and we quickly went about getting to the work setting and adjusting sails continuously. Currently we are making our way to the first waypoint in the race with every possible sail set. After the first waypoint we expect to be running into the wind where expect to have an advantage sailing close-hauled. Yours aye, Andreas and Chris E To all family and friends that may be reading this I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet. I Am having an excellent time and can’t wait to tell you about it when I get back to the real world. Andreas Hi Bookbag! Hope your thesis is going well, you must be getting so close now! Keep on smashing it. Missing you and sending lots of love from the North Sea! – StuÂ
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 30nm to the SW of Kristiansand sailing under a full press of sail and enjoying moderate 13-16kt NE winds with a 1m NNE swell. Current speed is 5kts and the temperature is 14 degrees.
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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