Day 10 – Command day (part 2) and the penultimate day

Ahoy,
We began the second half of command day in an attempt to set as many sails as possible given the short window of wind we had for the opportunity. Through a solid effort of the youth crew we were able to fly all but the course (the lowest and largest square sail) before the wind direction required us to reduce sail again. We still enjoyed some solid sailing for the hours of the early morning before the wind failed us completely and we were regrettably forced to use the engines to make our final destination on time.
On the whole, command day was a huge success. We achieved all of our navigational and sailing goals, with the entire crew putting in a commendable effort to do so. We learnt a huge amount about ourselves, each other and our capability to achieve success in difficult circumstances. The self-confidence that grew in so many people was awesome to see. Ultimately it was an opportunity and experience that will stay with us forever and just as importantly, it was a lot of fun.
Command Day Captain Noah
Well, there you have it ladies and gents. A fantastic voyage, capped off by a very successful Command Day. We came alongside Port Adelaide at 1200 and conducted Command Day debrief, end of voyage debrief and stored ship for the next voyage, as the previous Youth Crew had done for us.
Our last night together consisted of pizzas, a voyage recap via photographic slide show and a couple of lovely poems, followed by spending some final, quality time on voyage with each other.
10 days ago, 24 youth crew from all over Australia, came together to sail this vessel, have fun and challenge themselves. They have not only done that but have faced and overcome fears and learnt a lot about themselves and each other along the way.
An amazing experience which started on day 1 and the Australian Wooden Boat Festival’s parade of sail, a visit to the pristine, Port Davey on the west coast of Tasmania and a lengthy crossing of the Southern Ocean to Kangaroo Island and the Gulf St Vincent. Some great sailing, gorgeous anchorages and spectacular parts of Australia were visited.
Tomorrow they will leave as different people, with new skills, improved persistence, resilience and adaptability, with a realisation that they can do difficult things. And of course, having made great new friends, some no doubt, will be friends for life.
It never gets old for us staff members, as we truly love our work.
Yours Aye,
Captain Adam Charlie Farley+
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

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”
