Day 5 – Sea to Bermagui

Good evening,

Tonight we are hearing from three Youth Crew members who have provided individual contributions.

The Youth crew began today with substantial winds and a drastic sea state. The conditions though treacherous, eased as the day progressed into a beautiful autumn day, so bright it even caused sunburn.

Captain Mike

Today was a day of teamwork. As exemplified in the quote “society is but the aggregation of individuals” it is clear to see that our voyage, youth crew and staffies, one and all is becoming a society unto its own. All that the youthies learn is taught to us by our knowledgeable staff crew (none with so great a breadth of knowledge as our gallant captain). Whether it is hauling in on the Jib sheet as one entire crew or tacking away working as an individual watch, we give all that we can for as long as we can. It is in this fulsome contribution that we can be assured of the strength of the shoulders of those who stand beside us, this strength having already brought us from the stormy seas of Bass Strait, to the looming shadow of Mt Dromedary. Each inch of progress we have made, is our own, one and all, as a society.

• Ari Mintoff

Today the youthies enjoyed the sun after a few days of rain. We refined our knowledge of sailing and sail lines through the ropes race and lots of tacking. Also, our amazing navigator, Seb, walked us through some navigation exercises.

Continuing on… today we saw albatrosses and gannets. You may ask, what’s the difference between an albatross and a gannet? Gannets have a yellow head. That was not a joke. This is a joke. Did you hear about the red ship and the blue ship that collided? They were both marooned.

• Nourah

After 40 knot winds and a 6 metre wave at one point the previous night, the sun was welcomed by all the youthies and staffies. The daily routine kept as usual with breakfast at 0630 and the morning brief with Evan at 9 with everyone dressed in their finest floral fits for ‘floral Friday’. As we were underway, the watches then took place with an aim to anchor by the end of the day. Later, all three watches competed in ‘rope races’ with the blue watch now on the board. In the afternoon, youthies were given the chance to climb the foremast to secure the gaskets to the squares. The winds picked up during the ascent and I personally spent 2 hours up on the yards. The youthies enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked up by Haydo and we practised our tacking skills before relaxing for the night.

Missing the family and having a ball anchored off Bermagui.

• Molly Barnett

Thank you Ari, Nourah and Molly from Captain Mike