Day 2 – Tasman Sea-legs

Ahoy there dear readers, the morning of day 2 found us snuggly anchored up in Hunters Bay enjoying a lovely, peaceful night until … The Sailmasters blaring wakey wakey at 0630! Strewth!! All hands were called on deck for an early morning activity. At least there was a gorgeous sunrise… And smiling youth crew 🙂
Breakfast and morning ablutions were next before morning brief at 0800. Theresa, our safety equipment expert, then gave the Harness and Safety Aloft brief and up the foremast they went. Not everyone made it to the top but I don’t really care about that folks… What I do care about was their willingness to confront their fears and have a go. Needless to say I was a very proud Captain indeed. It was also during this time that they commenced their seamanship training.
Lunch was next on the agenda where Ash outdid herself as usual, followed by Theresa, who was once again centre stage as she delivered a more thorough safety and survival equipment briefing and tour of the ships gear and gadgetry.
Staff Crew then weighed anchor and we departed the harbour, slipping out into the wild blue yonder aka the Tasman Sea. Sail handling drills commenced in earnest and by 1700 everyone was pooped from heaving and hauling and so our benevolent Sailmaster sent everyone away for dinner and then Full Value Contracts were completed before youthies were knocked off for the day… unless of course, they were on watch. Watch-on-deck duties will be conducted overnight in 4 hour shifts, consisting of helm, lookout and rounds duties. They will also consolidate sail handling and climbing skills overnight, as we proceed along our navigation track for Jervis Bay. Intend entering the bay and finding a southern anchorage during the forenoon.
Until next time, stay safe everyone. Yours Aye, Captain Adam Charlie Farley+
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Weather: Overcast and drizzly. Wind: Light and variable. Swell: S @ 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!!