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Day 8 – Youthies have the Ship Arrrggghhhh!!!!
‘All stations all stations, two six hey’ This is Erin, Ruben and Taylor coming straight from the best voyage in the history of Young Endeavor.
At the crack of dawn we were awoken by the beautiful chimes of the Staffies and ate the delicious breakfast cooked by Kingy. The collective anxious stares meant only one thing… today is the start of COMMAND DAY!
In only 2 hours this ship was ours. We only had three rules, safety is paramount, no violence and have fun! We were handed our TOP SECRET orders containing our fate for the next 24 hours. A series of challenges, regulations and navigational deadlines requiring all hands on deck for the overnight sail. We got this!
Our first challenge was to create a hammock, but not just any hammock, this hammock had to hold all 24 Youthies only using ropes and knots. By no surprises it was a breeze. The structure held and we relaxed for a moment in the Southerly breeze to savour the triumph.
Our elected officials then held a morning brief to discuss the plan for command day. This brief brought to us by Captain Seth, Sail master Andrew, Navigator Isy and Moral officers Amaya and Harry left us feeling confident and excited in our final stretch to Melbourne. A little bit of structure for the day goes a long way.
The day continued with intentions of getting as many challenges done before weighing anchor scheduled for 1830. This included a mural which depicted our journey so far, a slideshow, rope races for the staffies, song writing and dancing. This wouldn’t have been possible without our bellies being fed by our master chefs Daisy, Sam and Darby who cooked up a storm in the galley.
As we weigh anchor and exit Port Phillip island and the safety of the bay tonight, we hope for calm waters for the remainder of Command Day and to sail to Melbourne with all fingers and toes intact.
Erin, Ruben and Taylor Out +
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Weather: Sunny Wind: 20kn S Temp: 18C
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ARRRGH, ahoy there from the spectacular Jervis Bay! We’ve all been taken A-back by the crystal clear blue waters and snow white sands.
After a well deserved sleep in these sheltered waters which was a refreshing change to clinging to our bunk racks for dear life for the past few days, the ship rose to another banger of a morale tune “sung” by Blue Watch. Brekkie was fun after the early morning activity to get us all up and moving. We held another round of competitive not-competitive rope races which culminated in smashed eggs on deck and the mummification of said egg smashers.
Roast lamb for lunch was prepped by the staffies in the absence of our culinary wizard Steve. Once cleaned up, we took the RHIB’s across to Captains Beach bordering HMAS Creswell which was a mind-blowingly beautiful little spot. Pretty much everyone had a dip in the drink and a roll in the sand and played some creative beach games run by our Suitability legends, Speedy Sam and Eggs.
A few hours at the beach made everyone ready to head back home and attack a teak deck barbeque, devouring cheese platters, steaks, sangas, and salads. With our full stomachs, us youthies initiated the highly anticipated elections for our command day roles. Which will commence sometime around midday tomorrow. We held a vote for each available role that all willing youthies put themselves forward for.
The following roles were voted as follows: Captain – Warwick, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Ruscoe, Officer of the Watch – Dan, Watch Leader – Nick, Ben, Bridget, Master chef – Emily, Mackenzie, Alyshia
We were greeted after our elections by a low flying anti-submarine MH60-Romeo Helicopter which did a cool fly around our ship. *Thanks Squizz!!* And then watched an amazing film about the rounding of Cape Horn back in 1929 on a 7 story tall sail ship.
Signing off from our anchor watch, Ben and Giles.
“I believe that positive energy and optimism help us to take up any challenge in life and to succeed in even the most difficult tasks. I also believe that positive energy is contagious: We can transmit it to others”
After a rather nonchalant guts watch with the Bluies, Reddies came in guns a blazing, setting our beautiful square sails preparing us for a speedy and eventful day at sea. Scaling (laying aloft) the Foremast, whilst the ship swayed kept the Reddies on their toes, holding on for dear life as they let out the gaskets for the Topgallant and Topsail Yards. A challenging activity to start off our day rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Starboard.
During the day we participated in a Meteorology Brief led by our resident Nav guru TOMO, learning everything there is about fluffy, rainy and stormy clouds. This was followed by Lunch and a needed Siesta.
Whilst some slumbered, Bluies kept watch. They had brave volunteers to climb both main mast and to the topgallant yard to sea furl the sails.
In the afternoon, our Watches came together to have Mid Voyage Chats, where we had the opportunity to reflect on our voyage goals, experiences and discuss our hopes for Command Day. There were some very heartfelt talks, from overcoming fears, to gaining confidence in working as a team, and we set our eyes upon what we want to achieve in the rest of the voyage.
The first dog (Reddies) (from 1545 to 1745) was full of excitement, with over 50kn winds and up to 50 degrees on the OOOH AAAH meter (heel). Watching the waves break higher than the rails was an exhilarating experience and kept us holding on tight. Sites of sharks and a Cargo ship kept our lookouts entertained, while Callum lead an engaging activity on Charts. At the end of the first dog watch, Nick and Phil braved these treacherous conditions to lay aloft on the mainmast to wrangle the mainsail!
Rockin and rolling, Youthies (the newest salty sea dogs) Hugh, Bridget, and Nick!!
