Day 3 – Broken Bay and Patonga visit

Ahoy landlubbers, welcome to the Captains Log.

As dawn broke, our eyes opened, and the day had begun. For some the night brought calm and rest, while it presented challenges for others…of the green, seasickness variety. Speaking of green, Green Watch were on deck for a sunrise climb aloft and were treated to a stunning purple vista of coastal New South Wales, including of all things – WHALES! As the remainder of the youthies slowly emerged from the dead (of sleep!), they noticed the slightest, yet, most noticable list to starboard. A not-so-thorough inspection revealed the culprit to be none other than Stowaway – our resident mascot pigeon! He thoroughly enjoyed his sea-ride, but we were stumped when we noticed a few SAOs missing in action…

After being awoken to Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’, the embarked ambassadors closed up around the bridge for our morning brief where Sailmaster Tomo, Navi-guru Trev and Watch Officer Chucky shared some salty sea stories before the familiar strains of Happy Hour echoed throughout the ship. Special mention to whoever cleaned the heads – astounding work!

Under a clear blue morning sky, the youthies went to their tacking stations and everyone aboard worked hard together to safely crew the old lass through a series of manouevres, treating the maritime traffic off Barrenjoey Head and Palm Beach to the rare sight of Australia’s national sail training ship – in her 35th year no less – tacking and waring her way up and down the coast as if she has done it once or twice before!

Familiarisation with the ship’s rigging gave way to a scrumptious Mexican lunch, for some the first meal in what seemed like an eternity, prepared by OUR all star chef, Ash, and her champion masterchefs Ben, Lily, Charley and Marcus! Our safe anchorage manifested itself in the safe waters off Patonga and harnesses were cast aside (no – not OVER the side!) and feeling like a weight had been taken off their shoulders, the youthies were more than excited to once again feel the sweet stability of dry land. Thanks to Chucky’s lead-foot boat driving! With youthies enjoying cups of tea, coffee and other deliciously warm assortments, volleyball was played on the oval and we all congregated with our friendly Advisory Board youth representative Stuart to engage in a positive and constructive conversation about how we as ambassadors and the scheme more broadly may be able to best serve the young people of Australia, including some brainstorming of how to maintain our world-class program aboard our new, incoming Young Endeavour vessel!

Once again, we all boarded Chucky’s grey, trusty, noble steed (no – not Donkey from ‘Shrek’! We understand we like Shrek references, but…) and hastened back to our seagoing home. As the sun nestled behind the beautiful mountains ranges of northern Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, everyone aboard was treated to a teak-deck BBQ. The scene was something straight out of a fairy tale – a magical, relaxing, beautiful dinner punctuated by the sounds of jovial laughter and friendship.

As we settle in for the evening, youthies have been allocated night watches and are settling in for the night, at anchor (this way AJ doesn’t wake every 5 minutes to the sound of an anchor banging against the hull!). For some, this means an early night. For others, it means a nice brew and game of cards or whatnot in the cafe.

Messages from our enthusiastic authors Ben and AJ.

Ben – Mum, I’ve had a magnificent time thus far, and I have thoroughly enjoyed letting the world disappear behind me, even just for 5 days. Love you lots.

AJ – Hey all! Having a cracking time. Absolutely loving being back aboard the old lass and meeting all these wonderful, amazing people. Love you all, hope to see you soon!