Day 9 – Final night onboard (Command Day part 2)

We were abruptly awoken by the chime of our sail mistress, Nisha, calling all sailors to the deck to tack ship. Upon the successful completion of our tack, the smell of breakfast made by our fantastic cheffos lured our crew to the cafe to fuel their minds and bodies for the day ahead.

Before handing back the keys to Captain Adam Charlie Farley, we finished off our remaining tasks; a lovely midships mural, morning brief and the highly anticipated ‘happy’ hour. The keys were now back in the hands of our trusted staffies, and the command day debrief soon followed. As groups, we discussed our positves, negatives and takeaways, and reflected upon the events of the past 24, stressful, yet rewarding hours.

We were soon put back to work, with our engineer Sumo running rope races to decide the champion watch of the voyage. White watch was of course victorious, with the amazing Nova clasping the deciding point off Blue watch. After all our studious and practical efforts, trials and tribulations, the ‘amazing’ prize that came from our endeavours, was merely the choice of yard arm to conduct the dreaded harbour furling.

Harbour furling went fantastically, obviously, and gave the perfect vantage point to observe the stunning sydney harbour under the warm spring sun. Once all back on deck, the party kicked into gear, as the music started bumping and Ash’s famous pizzas started flowing.

We took the opportunity to savour our last night together on the ship, in denial of the inevitable end to our voyage. Life long memories and friends were made in abundance, courtesy of the incredible adventure that is the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme, and all the opportunities presented to us.

We are eternally grateful for the staff’s dedication and passion to providing the best experience for our crew, and the youth of Australia. We feel as though our perception of life has changed, with the bonds we’ve made, and the attitudes we’ve developed are irreplaceable.

As we write this, the shining lights of Sydney harbour rain down upon us, we dread our departure, yet we are excited by the prospect of reconnection with our families and sleeping in a bed, without the fear of falling out. This has been an experience of a lifetime and we are all forever grateful.

Signing off, Jesus and J-Dog.