Day 2 – A great day of sailing
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to day 2 of our voyage. It’s been an action-packed day with great weather and favourable winds. The morning started early for our young mariners with a 0630m wakeup call followed by an early morning activity up on deck. Breakfast followed with Chef Ash cooking up another one of here legendary ‘Big Breakfasts’ which was going to keep us going until lunch.
At 0815 we cast of our lines and conducted a safe departure out of the Mackay Marina. Once in open water we conducted our first morning brief and then given the favourable 15-18kt SE winds we set the main staysail and shutdown main engines. The rest of the morning was spent with the Watch Leaders teaching the Youth Crew deck safety and how to set our staysails as we main good speed to the north under sail.
Lunch was another feast and after a short rest the Youth Crew were back on deck learning how to set a square sail which was then put into practice when each of the watches was given the opportunity to set and clew-up the topsail. With this activity complete we then set the jib and the mainsail then conducted our first set of tacks as a crew which was the final activity for the afternoon.
During all of this sail work we have been entertained with numerous sightings of breaching whales and have passed some beautiful islands and it really has been a great day.
The time is now 2030 and we are located 25nm to the south of the Whitsunday Islands with our current plan being to stay at sea overnight so that the Youth Crew can settle into their sea watches and then head to Whitehaven Beach early tomorrow morning where we plan to anchor for a few hours before continuing our passage north.
Until tomorrow, take care.
Yours Aye
Captain Gav
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Currently located 25nm to the south of the Whitsunday Islands and experiencing moderate-strong 15-20kt SE winds with a 1m SE swell.
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Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike