Voyage 6/13 Day 3 – Sea to Patonga

G’day Shipmates,Welcome to day 3 of our adventure under sail. The ship continued sailing north overnight along the NSW coast on a quartering run. The wind remained southerly at 15 – 20 knots and a 1.5m easterly swell was experienced for most of the night. The rolling motion this generated did not deter our Youth Crew who remained immersed in the challenge of sailing a tall ship. At the four hourly change of watch from the middle to the morning watches the ship successfully conducted a wear to turn the ships stern through the wind onto a quartering run on the starboard tack.With the rising of the sun, the promise of a new day and a cheerful Wakey Wakey song (attached below) from Red Watch, who had the morning watch, the remainder of the crew awoke after their first night at sea in Australia’s National Sail Training Ship. Shortly afterwards the Ship entered Broken Bay and proceeded to anchor off Cottage PointAfter another of Squizy’s spectacular breakfasts we gathered on the bridge for the morning brief. Today the crew heard from ‘Salty the Sea-Dog (Sand) who explained why the toilets in a ship are called the ‘Heads’. ‘Nana Diesel’ (Mick) also made her first appearance, giving tips on shipboard hygiene and cleanliness, which provided a lead-in to the much-loved Happy Hour.On completion we ferried the Youth Crew ashore by watches so they could gather materials from which to make a wreath for Anzac Day. Once that was completed they had some spare time to grab a cup of coffee and a slice of cheese cake before returning onboard. We had lunch at 1230 and then the Ship shifted anchorage to Patonga. En route the Youthies received a briefing from Sandy on the Rule of the Road. This provided a basic level of knowledge of collision avoidance, which is necessary preparation for Command Day.After anchoring at Patonga we kicked off the first round of Rope Races (Mick the engineer’s favourite). This activity is a competition between the watches to test their retention of ship knowledge. The Youth Crew then proceeded ashore in the Ship’s Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) to provide them some free time to enjoy the beach and the opportunity to do their preparations for the evening’s planned 3-Way Chat activity, which is another ice-breaker which involves some public speaking. On return to the Ship the crew enjoyed a spectacular BBQ dinner on deck, whilst taking in the views of Patonga and the Hawkesbury River foreshore. We then held the 3-Way Chats, after which the Youth Crew to settled – in to anchor watches which they continued through the night.The intention is to remain at anchor overnight and weighing anchor in the morning to conduct training in setting and furling the square sails.Until tomorrow.Yours AyeCaptain MikeRED WATCH WAKEY WAKEY SONG – WED 17 APRAy, we just met youAnd you’re all sleepingIf you want breakfastThen listen maybe.It’s hard to look niceWhen we’re sailingWe’ll see you laterAt the morning briefingIt’s Wednesday, It’s WednesdayGotta get up on Wednesday.   “