Captain's Log

Jun-16

23 March 2016

Voyage 06/16 Day 4

Ahoy there Shipmates,

Overnight the Ship continued to make ground to the north towards Port Stephens. The wind freshened to 20 knots during the middle watch which made for some exciting sailing. Sail was handed-in during the morning watch as we approached the coast and engines were started for the entry into Port Stephens.

We anchored off the Nelson Bay Marina at 0830. That was followed by Morning Brief, Happy Hour and then I think I saw every member of the youth crew lining up in the cafÃ© for some lunch. The first time I had seen this since lunch on Sunday before we sailed out of Sydney Harbour. Some faces I hadnâ€™t seen much of at all!

The first round of Rope Races was conducted at 1230. This is a game designed to improve the youth crewâ€™s knowledge of the ship, the sails, the lines (ropes) used to manipulate the sails and the important equipment on the upper decks in a healthy inter-watch competition. Points are scored each round and a prize will be awarded to the winning watch on the last day of the voyage. This was followed by a Navigation Brief given by Kyle and covered the theoretical aspects the crew will need to know for Command Day. They will have opportunities over the next two days at sea to gain practical experience of navigation.

The youth crew proceeded ashore by boat at 1330 for a leg-stretch and the opportunity to get a coffee and a slice of cheesecake. Many took advantage of the local beach and had a leisurely swim. Everyone returned onboard by 1600 looking relaxed and re-vitalised. After a quick climb to the lower top, for those interested, we all and enjoyed a â€˜Teak Deck BBQ on the upper decks, taking in the sights of Nelsons Bay whilst enjoying some more of Jenkoâ€™s delicious food. I was given an apron and allowed to cook the steak and the lamb chops!

Dinner was followed by an activity called â€˜three-way chatsâ€™. The youth crew are split into groups of three, one member from each watch, and they have to learn things about each other so that they can speak for 3 minutes but they donâ€™t find out which member of their group they will talk on until immediately beforehand. It is a great opportunity for the youth crew to learn more about each other and try out some public speaking.

It is intended to remain at anchor overnight, departing the anchorage tomorrow to conduct the remaining at-sea activities required to fully-prepare the Youth Crew for Command Day.

Until tomorrow.

Yours Aye,

Captain Mike

PS. Mary wishes her sister Liz a happy 28th birthday for tomorrow.

Latitude/Longitude:

32 43.0 South / 152 08.6 East

Conditions:

At the anchorage in Nelsons Bay: light and variable winds; Nil waves or swell; 19 deg C; fine and clear

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

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Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

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

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Voyage 06/16 Day 4

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