Day 2 – Fitzroy Island Anchorage to Sea

The Youthies of V15/23 awoke to the startling sounds of Jet’s “Are you Gunna be my Girl” at a crisp 0600 for a few brisk laps around the deck. After a scrumptious English breakfast provided by the magnificent chef Cylvie, the youth crew assembled on the deck for the Climbing Harness Brief, followed by the YE Climbing System Brief. First climbs followed immediately afterwards and proved to be a daunting task for some, and nothing short of exhilarating for others, as the climb aloft the foremast offered stunning views of the Fitzroy Island anchorage. I am very pleased to say that all Youthies made it up and over the Top Gallant yard, a definite achievement by all. With the intermission of another excellent lunch, we undertook the detailed Safety Equipment Brief conducted by Watch Officer Matty.

On completion we weighed anchor, departed the anchorage and commenced our passage south. When we rounded the south western corner of the island we experienced the full force of the fresh south-easterly trade winds, which we expect to be dealing with all the way to Gladstone. After attending the first daily brief, from Sail Master Thomo, the Youthies got stuck into ‘Happy Hour’ (Cleaning the Ship) and then spent the remainder of the afternoon practising Setting and Furling the Stay Sails and learning Deck Safety.

Cylvie used her magic in the galley and produced delicious choices for dinner of Pork Ribs or Portuguese Chicken Nachos, although not all of the crew partook as a few were having difficulties finding their ‘Sea Legs’. The Youthies commenced night watches from the Last Dog Watch (1800 – 2000) and will continue after that with 4 hour watches through the night until 0800 tomorrow morning, experiencing the joys of shift work. Their duties while on watch will include steering the Ship, maintaining a safety visual lookout and conducting safety rounds of the Ship every hour.

From tomorrow you will hear from the Youthies about their adventures rather than from me, that’s if I can find some volunteers!

Yours Aye, Captain Mike

Latitude/Longitude:

17 16.8' South / 146 08.2' East

Conditions:

Weather: fine, Wind: South Easterly at 22 knots, 22 deg. C, Sea 0.5 m from SE, Swell 1.0 m from E

AUTHOR: Michael Gough

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Day 2 – Fitzroy Island Anchorage to Sea

Latitude/Longitude:

Conditions:

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