Day 3 – Southern Ocean

Ahoy dear readers, entering the Southern Ocean overnight with 20 knot southerlies blowing all day with an accompanying 2m swell… it hasn’t been the most comfortable journey thus far, but that was expected.

It was however a gorgeous day with lots of birdlife, some sealife and the sunset was a crepuscular spectacular. Anyway my friends, due to the ill conducive conditions we paused learning today and focussed on watch-on-deck duties and getting rest when not on watch.

The wind is forecast to back to the SE overnight and hopefully the swell goes with it! Will continue pushing  NW overnight and look for somewhere to get out and hug a tree. Here’s Harry and Tess with their log for today.

Yours Aye, Captain Adam Charlie Farley+

Hey friends and family!

If any of you plan on sailing in the open oceans, don’t repeat our mistakes. We learnt that we needed to do this too late: buy motion sickness tablets and consume a lot of them (Captain’s Note – not recommended by Young Endeavour). You’ll need them to brave the merciless thrashing of the Southern Ocean. Indeed, all of us have now “fed the fish” although many of us are starting to recover.

While the food prepared by our chef Jenko was sublime, most of us had unfortunately lost the appetite for it. In fact, many of us skipped breakfast or lunch. But SAO’s – a type of bland biscuit – came to our rescue. Instead of meals, SAO’s provided us with enough nourishment to get us through the day. Even so, many of our members caught up on sleep during the times they were off watch – most choosing to stay on the deck to enjoy the fresh breeze rather than in their bedrooms.

With fairly strong winds and seas that sometimes reached 2m tall, our wet weather gear has become our unofficial uniform. You could spot us anywhere in our deep red clothing marked with yellow and white fluorescent strips. Indeed, this gave two of our members the courage to stand at the very bow of the ship to witness its rise and descent, and other members climbed the foremast again in this weather!

While many of us still felt unwell, we have almost passed the toughest leg of our journey. Today, our staysails (sails that run fore-and-aft along the centre of the ship) kept us heeling to starboard, and we’ve lost count of how many times we’ve stumbled as a result.

Whilst the Youthies were on watch, we spotted a few seals and a pod of dolphins. The dolphins frolicked around us in a pod, leaping out of the water in unison. The spectacle was incredible to witness – sometimes they came almost within 10m of us! Clearly, our diligence in keeping watch had paid off.

See you all soon.

Tess and Harry.