Voyage 6/13 Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Hello friends,The second half of Command day was definitely more testing than the earlier half. We found that not only our teamwork, but also our skills improved exponentially as the night progressed.At around 2200 conditions became more difficult with the wind playing against us. It seemed that whenever we tacked in one direction, the wind would follow! This made navigation very difficult. As a result, the Youth Crew braved the early hours of the morning at 2315, 0200 and 0500 to change the direction of the ship in an attempt to gain ground. Much to our dismay, our navigation did not pan out as hoped – instead, we lost ground!During the night, we covered ground between the East Australia Current, Port Stephens and even further north to Broughton Island. With resilience wearing thin, it was time (0400) to handover another watch for some much needed rest. The Staffies recommended that we use the engines (usually a last resort) to make Newcastle on time. By 0830, our sails were handed-in and we were using maximum engine speed. We navigated through several way points and around other vessels before successfully arriving at our destination. After a long and drawn out 24 hours, we were more than happy to hand control of the ship back to the Staffies at 1200 to enter Newcastle harbour.At the end of Command day we successfully completed 20 out of 22 tasks and navigated though 5 waypoints. It was a successful and stretching 24 hours and I noticed everyone flourished in their assigned roles. The day will be remembered for a long time – it gave us a chance to concrete our friendships and find confidence in ourselves. I congratulate everyone in their efforts and wish them well in the future. I look forward to seeing everyone again!TTFG (ta ta for good)Youth Captain Emelie——————————————————————————————————Ahoy there Shipmates,As Youth Captain Emelie 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. Now that we are alongside the FORGACS wharf in Newcastle we have many post-Command Day activities we need to complete before we can relax. The intention is to remain alongside overnight and sail tomorrow morning to allow the youth crew to host the half-day sailors and show them how much fun it is to sail Young Endeavour. Until tomorrow.Yours AyeCaptain Mike     “