Day 6 – Jervis Bay

Ahoy there dear readers, as I write this we have just departed Jervis Bay and are “bound for Botany Bay”. Navigation training and sail handling consolidation will take place overnight, as final preparations for their Command Day commencing on Monday. Youth Crew are coming along very nicely indeed and I have no doubt that they will all be successful. I feel they have all grown so much already… Anyway, please enjoy tonight’s log with Mia and Brodie.
Captain Adam Charlie Farley+
With Jervis Bay on the top of everyone’s schedule, we woke up to happy faces, with a few tired crew members after a night of teamwork and leadership practice in preparation for Command Day. Many enjoyed Ash’s breakfast out on the deck, before being shortly rained out soon after. With everyone donned in their waterproof jackets, we set the staysail and braced the yards hard to port.
The rain came to a stop, with rainbows meeting us during our morning brief. We discussed our plans for the day (which were flexible, FYI) and learnt about how black cats weren’t superstitious to sailboats after all. We looked out to see that Jervis Bay was less than an hour away, leading to a very snappy Happy Hour. James and Maddy ran teamwork games to fill in the time before we anchored at Jervis Bay, with ‘Chicken Salt’ coming in a close second to ‘Pizza’.
We arrived to Jervis Bay’s white sands, which were a welcoming sight to all after two full days at sea. Alas, we did not even get to touch said white sand, as Chucky took small groups of six at a time to HMAS Creswell. All touched the grass and hugged trees, but with sea legs still being an impending factor on balance. Once all arrived, we kicked off (literally) with some sports games. We completed our land adventures and returned to the ship.
To finish off the afternoon, we all went for a dip in the pool (or so the ocean was called). Everyone had a turn on the rope swing (with Brodie walking on water??) and many failed flip attempts were held, but at the end of the day Captain Charlie was the only one who pulled off a double spin backflip.
After showers and a quick change of clothes, dinner was served. It was a Mexican night, although it wasn’t a Tuesday. Some underestimated the true spice of the chicken and cauliflower filling, allowing those to follow to not make the same mistakes. The majority of the youthies wound down for the night with competitive games of UNO, as well as other games. Night watches started, with the Red Dogs (aka the best) kicking off the night with immaculate vibes. Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing day as we make our way up to Sydney.
Youthies Mia and Brodie
Ps1 – Is the house quiet without me??… Hope you’re not missing me too much Mum, Dad, Soph and Dyl. xx -Brodie
Ps2 – Mum can you please give Sunny extra pats for me, and keep the boys out of my room xxxx – Mia
Ps3- Hey mum, Alby here saying hi!
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Weather: Cloudy. Wind: 075 @ 10kts. Swell: 220 @ 1m. Temp: 17.
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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!!