Voyage 11/13 Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Hello friends and families,This will be my last entry as captain. It has been an amazing 24 hours. Who knew that a bunch of strangers could come together and learn to successfully navigate and sail a tall ship after seven days of training.Overnight we continued to try to work with the wind, however, this was a difficult relationship to maintain. We experienced a number of situations as we set sails, furled sailed and bobbed in the ocean. Even with the low wind speeds we managed to get the ship sailing nicely for the majority of the night. It was great news when I was informed that we were actually travelling too fast at one stage and we needed to slow down.Overnight our team leaders, officers and crew worked tirelessly trying to achieve the navigation plan. It is thanks to their work that we arrived this morning almost on time.We were also graced by two more meals from the galley. This included bacon and egg breakfast with freshly baked bread and a lunch that included pasta and other assorted goodies. Once again, our youth chefs presented us with some culinary treats, this time it was a Coco Pop pancake for breakfast and an apple stuffed with fish, garnished with an olive for lunch…. Next time I think I will pass on the fishy apple…..It has been an amazing achievement from the youth onboard. Everyone pulled together overnight despite the ongoing battle with fatigue. I have no doubt that the last 24 hours will stay in our memories for a long time.We have just had the final debrief and the youth crew can be proud to say that we achieved every task presented to us. We have also spent some time reflecting on the last 24 hours and it is obvious that there have been many lessons learned. It is also obvious that the youth crew has really achieved a huge amount over the last 24 hours and the voyage in general. It has truly been a pleasure to have this opportunity and I will remember it for a long, long time.I wanted to finish with the quote that is posted on a plaque in our café that I really think sums up how many of us feel.“Ah! The good old time- The good old time. Youth and the sea. Glamour and the sea! The good, strong sea, the salt, bitter sea, that could whisper to you and roar at you and knock the breath out of you. But you here – you all had something out of life: Money, Love – whatever one gets on shore- and tell me, wasn’t that the best time, that time when we were young at sea: Young and had nothing, on the sea that gives nothing, except hard knocks – and sometimes a chance to feel your strength?” ~ from Youth by Joseph ConradFarewell,Youth Captain Andrew——————————————————————————————————Ahoy there Shipmates,As Youth Captain Andrew detailed, the Command day for the Youth Crew was an incredible journey, a day filled with individual and team discovery, challenges, rewards, lessons, friendships and beauty.This morning we anchored the Ship in Hunters Bay, Sydney Harbour. I took control of the Ship back from Capt Andrew, we then ferried the crew ashore to Balmoral Beach for some organised sport to stretch their legs after an exhausting Command Day. They returned onboard at 1600 and then undertook a few tasks to prepare the Ship for tomorrow’s activities. After dinner we conducted the Command Day debriefs to make sure we captured all the lessons people had learnt from the experience.Tomorrow we have the Half Day Sail, when the youth crew will host the half-day sailors from Windgap onboard for three hours and show them how much fun it is to sail Young Endeavour.Until tomorrow,Yours AyeCaptain Mike     “