The Roaring 40’s!

Welcome to day 8 of our voyage. Late this afternoon we officially reached the Roaring 40’s! As forecast the wind has started to strengthen and from now on we expect to experience the favourable sailing conditions that we have been chasing since departing Cape Town.The day has again been sunny and unseasonably warm with all onboard starting to question why they packed thermals and a lot of warm clothing. I just keep assuring them that it will be used and there will be days and nights that they will be thankful for every piece of warm clothing that they brought with them.Being the start of a new week we have been busy with the training program and have conducted presentations on Rules of the Road and Emotional Intelligence. Throw in a set of cleaning stations, rope races, Bec’s Yoga Class and then your watches you can see its been a pretty full on day.Currently we are located 800nm to the SE of Cape Town still motor sailing in moderate NW conditions which we expect to continue to strengthen overnight.Writing tonight’s Captains Log before they went up the mast for a sunset climb are Nick and Brigida from White Watch, please enjoy.Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain GavCAPTAIN’S LOG – 30 NOV 15MondayHi to all,Once again The Mighty White Watch is on the duty of writing the Captain’s Log – written by the Helm Master (Nick) and Brigida. And what a day it has been on board the Young Endeavour.To kick start our watch yesterday we all climbed up the foremast and indulged ourselves in the beautiful sunsets that the Indian Ocean has to offer. The whole watch was keen to try and see the infamous “Green Flash”, and deem our Navigator Evan (affectionately known as ‘Navan’ or ‘Mousse-back’) not crazy. It was unfortunate but none of us saw the “Green Flash”, so efforts will have to be doubled for the next sunset.It all started again at 0800 with White Watch’s second shift. This watch was interrupted by the morning brief and some slightly better jokes from Kenny; ‘Nanna’ joined the party with more STOLEN goods from our bunks, with the main culprit being a fellow White-y (Ham Dog Hamish). We left the morning brief with an inspirational quote from the wise Kenny “life isn’t like a box of chocolates, it’s more like a jalapeño or a chilli, what you do today will quite likely burn your arse tomorrow”. Probably the funniest thing Kenny has said all voyage.We then broke for Happy Hour! with White Watch on the task of scrubbing the deck. Out came the fire hose and half a dozen scrubbing brushes. This kept Bec, Tammy, Brig and Jack busy. The windows on the bridge where cleaned and the ship was looking ‘tiddly’. Red and Blue Watch were in charge of the café and heads. Unfortunately we had a humpty dumpty. Matt Harland decided that going down the stairs was too mainstream and decided a fall was more appropriate. Luckily Doctor Nick was on the scene and Nurse Rose to assist. Matt is now on the mend with a bruised ankle.As time was our own for a few hours most of us made use of the beautiful sunny day and did our washing and chilled out white others took part in the daily Yoga Session hosted by the lovely Bec. There was an array of people spread over the deck reading books, doing washing, sitting on the bow sprit and a very keen Rose went for a climb to the top of the main mast. As always, Dougie was lurking with his camera scouting his photo models for his latest album to go on the TV in the Café.As the pipes echoed over the boat with the sound of old Black Betty, faces immerged from everywhere gathering for “Rope Races”. Team moral was at its highest and game faces were worn. Blue Watch came away victorious for the first and possibly the last time.We then got comfortable on the deck for a chat on Emotional Intelligence with Dr Nick. This captivated the crew and everyone took something away from the chat. We did some laughing activities and discussed some theories about happiness and how it affects us in our life.Then it was time for Road Rules with the Ranga (Adam) in which we used Matt and Jack as model boat and used fruit and potatoes as navigation lights. This cleared up any confusion as the model was very accurate and the sections cut from the fruit showed the angles the lights can be seen from. Adam then introduced us to a new type of Yoga. Laughing yoga.As it was one of our fellow voyagers Birthdays, The talents of chef Jenko who made a magnificent birthday cake which we all shared. A very happy birthday to Megan!The next 24 hours look to be more ideal conditions for sailing with stronger breezes forecast which will be favourable.Until next time, Your’s truly White WatchShout outsHappy Late Birthday Daniel! Love TamMum, Dad and Eloise, keep on kicking it! having heaps of fun, Love JackHi mum, Dad, Strommy and the Beans! I’ve had a great birthday, see you soon. MeganHi mum! Can you check the post; ….. Matt HarlandMum! We made Gouda Pie!!! From JamieHello to Mum, Dad, Matt. Healy and other lovers. Having an absolute blast. We made it to the roaring forties – now the fun begins. Haven’t been swimming yet or been sick or packed enough warm clothingHi Dad, I don’t know if you’ll get this but I love & miss you. Lots of love Matt G.Hi mum and dad, having a great time, hows my boy Archy ? Love Nick