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