Captain's Log
V03/25, Geelong to Hobart
27 January 2025

Day 1 – Fearless Adventurers

Ahoy there readers of this fine journal. We are about to embark on another adventure on the high seas this time with our Youth Crew for Voyage 03/25: Geelong to Hobart. This journey promises to be filled with a Bass Strait crossing, expeditions around Tasmania and finishing up with a sail up the Derwent to our berth at Salamanca in Hobart.

The ship has just finished partaking in the Festival Of Sail and being hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club. A fantastic event which was a privilege to be a part of. Thank you to the RGYC and all who came down to say Hello. We had nearly 1,200 people at the open day yesterday!!

Our brave adventurers joined us at Wangim Walk in Geelong this afternoon. It became clear very quickly that we had some real characters on our hands. The level of chit chat was high with excitement rather than nerves the vibe of the gathering. I introduced myself, our ship and the crew; Sailmaster – Tommo, Navigator – Matt, Officer of the Watch – Bec, Engineer – Matty, Chefo – Steve, Red Watch Leader – Hutch, White Watch Leader – Sara, Blue Watch Leader – Sumo, and two suitabilities – Kaylee and Sam. We also have Greg from the YE2 project out to learn how the ship does business at sea and an old favourite, Gav, who is back and will be sharing his experience onboard.

Once we completed our introductions, friends and families departed and it was straight into Icebreakers, ships familiarisation tours and dinner. After dinner we introduced the climbing harnesses and then it was all watches to lay aloft. For the second voyage in a row we had all Youthies successfully climb all the way to the top of the mast and enjoy the view from the T’Gallant yard arm at sunset. Awesome stuff. Once everyone was back on deck the level of energetic chatting amongst the Youth Crew is making it clear that this group is connecting very quickly.

This promises to be an amazing voyage. The crew and I are looking forward to seeing how far we can take these Young Australians on their journey of personal discovery, development and adventure. We will be storing ship in the morning and then casting lines and departing – with bows firmly pointed towards the Rip and then out to sea. For anyone watching at home, we will be heading through the Rip around 1930L tomorrow. Come down and grab a photo – maybe tag the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme on socials and make us famous!

Massive Shoutout to Tildy who celebrated her 22nd birthday today by joining this beautiful ship and climbing the T’Gallant at sunset with 23 of her new best friends. Steve, our resident Masterchef, whipped up a surprise birthday cake and Hutch played an amazing Happy Birthday Tune on the trumpet. Awesome stuff!

Captain Leups Out +

Latitude/Longitude:

38 08.5S / 144 21.9E

Conditions:

Weather: Erratic Wind: 25KN NE Temp: 30C