Voyage 7/13 Day 4 – Sea to Coffs Harbour

Ahoy there Shipmates,We had another busy night at sea with the crew monitoring the safety of the Ship throughout. As the wind remained light and variable we motor-sailed to ensure we would arrive at our planned anchorage at Coffs Harbour on time. During the morning watch the breeze freshened and backed to a NWesterly so we set the fore-and-aft sails to maximise the crew’s experience handling sails in stronger conditions.Wakey wakey was provided courtesy of the White Watch who had the morning watch today (see lyrics attached). We all mustered on the bridge at 0900 for the morning brief. Salty explained the origin of another nautical expression ‘not enough room to swing a cat’, after which Nana paid us a visit and gave the crew some more pointers on the importance of tidiness and cleanliness onboard. After that she added another song, ‘three little ducks’, to our repertoire.The crew then launched into ‘Happy Hour’ while the Staffies prepared to anchor the Ship in Coffs Harbour. The anchor was let go at 1130 and, before heading ashore, we had another delicious Squizy lunch. The Youthies were then ferried ashore in the Ship’s RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) by Watch Officer Paul. The carrying capacity of the boat is 8 and the wharf was a 10 minute trip so it took us an hour to get everyone ashore. The purpose of the visit to Coffs was to give the crew a short break off the Ship, a chance to get some exercise, go for a swim, go to the shops and also to prepare for tonight’s activity known as the 3-way-chat. The crew were broken up into groups of 3 and had to learn about each other to enable them to speak for 2-3 minutes on either of their group members. It is a very effective way for the whole group to learn more about each other as well as providing a public speaking challenge to everyone.The youth crew returned onboard by 1630 and had the next session of Ropies while the staff prepared for our ‘teak-deck’ BBQ, cooked by me and served on the deck, allowing us to enjoy the views of Coffs foreshore at night. We kicked-off 3-way-chats at 1900 and I was very pleased that everyone had taken the task seriously and had learnt enough about each other to be able to talk for the 3 minutes.Navigator Tim briefed the crew on their duties during anchor watches, which the crew began on completion of the brief and continued through the night. We have planned our anchorage to allow for the expected wind freshening and shift in direction during the night. It is intended to weigh anchor and sail in the morning straight after breakfast to take advantage of the expected southerlies and continue making ground northwards.Until tomorrow evening.Yours AyeCaptain Mike———————————————————————————– WHITE WATCH WAKEY WAKEY SONG – WED 01 MAYWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorEarl-ay in the morning.Shove ‘em up the main mast till they’re sprightlyShove ‘em up the main mast till they’re sprightlyShove ‘em up the main mast till they’re sprightlyEarl-ay in the morning.What do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorEarl-ay in the morning.Splash ‘em with a fire hose till they’re drippinSplash ‘em with a fire hose till they’re drippinSplash ‘em with a fire hose till they’re drippinEarl-ay in the morning.What do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorWhat do you do with a sleepy sailorEarl-ay in the morning.Stick ‘em on the helm for a good 4 hoursStick ‘em on the helm for a good 4 hoursStick ‘em on the helm for a good 4 hoursEarl-ay in the morning.     “