Captain's Log
V14/25 Fremantle to Fremantle
18 August 2025

Day 08 – V14/25, Fremantle to Fremantle

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Day 8 of our Voyage and Command Day. Following a busy morning, I handed command of the Ship to Captain Millie and her loyal crew at 1300 today, and since then, they have been extremely busy sailing the Ship and completing as many of their tasks as possible. One of those tasks is to write the Captains Log for this evening, so please enjoy tonight’s Log written by Peter & Alyssa

Until tomorrow, take care
Captain Gav.

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Arr me hearties! It’s Command Day on the STS Young Endeavour, and we have taken control of the ship!

The day began with ‘Crazy Frog’ blasting through the pipes. The only saving grace was bacon and eggs for breakfast. We needed this as the day began with a challenge: Captain’s Setting and Furling. Essentially, Captain Gav assessed our preparedness to set and furl sails competently before we assumed command. We all passed and enjoyed our celebratory Tim-Tams.

Next, we moved into our morning brief. It was a quick one today, as Navigator Jack’s story ended yesterday, and ‘Chewing the Fat with Matt’ has ended – at least for the meantime. So, we were left with some parting inspiration from Captain Gav: ‘dream as if you’ll live forever and live as if you’ll die today’ (James Dean).

We cleaned the ship, and then we waited, rested and prepared for Command Day commencing at 1300. We commemorated the moment by passing on a Captain’s hat, and the Telescope of Challenge that was given to the original Captain of the STS Young Endeavour when it was given to Australia in 1988 by the UK Government. That telescope has a rich history, being handed onto every Ship’s Captain of STS Young Endeavour since then.

Captain Millie, Sailmaster Alice, Navigator Molly, and our Watch Leaders Charlotte, Gareth and Johnny took command and began assessing the tasks we would need to complete.

Our first, and most difficult challenge, was the weather. The winds dropped and, as of writing this Log, are still not very strong, so while we managed to set our ship full of sails, we are making very slow progress. However, the wind is expected to pick up during the evening, and we are confident that we will make steady progress towards our destination – Rottnest!

We have also been given a variety of other challenges that we have worked on tonight, including:

·         Passing a fender over the top of the 30-metre-tall topgallant yard without touching it once it left the ground;

·         Developing an equilateral triangle from the ships track history on the NDS screen;

·         Running rope races;

·         Maintaining regular rounds;

·         Keeping a constant lookout; and

·         Feeding the hungry crew!

With 15 tasks to complete before 0900 tomorrow, we are in for a busy evening making slideshows, writing letters and creating a mural. We’ll be so busy, the night’s watch will fly by!

Despite all the tasks to complete, we have still had plenty of laughs, given rounds of applause for each sail furled, set and clewed, and we always make time for whale watching. Spirits are high, and we know we can complete our goals.

Talk to you tomorrow!
Peter & Alyssa

Latitude/Longitude:

30 51.7 S / 114 55.5 E

Conditions:

We are currently located just to the west of the Pinnacles sailing under 3 Squares and majority of fore & aft sails and experiencing light – moderate 8-10kt NNW winds which are forecast to freshen later this evening.  The swell is minimal, and the current air temperature is 21 degrees.