Whale Mother and Child

Last night everybody had a go at climbing and most people made it to the top. Good effort. This morning it was up bright and early for some fun exercise on deck and then at 0800 we had our first morning brief. ‘Happy hour’ was next on the agenda where the YC learnt that communal living means communal cleaning. We weighed anchor and sailed from the anchorage at 1000 in a light SE breeze. We soon had all plain sail set and we were racing along at 3kts.After lunch, as the YC were getting a lecture on tacking, we spotted a humpback whale and its newborn calf. They swam very close to us and it was a real treat for everybody. They stayed with us for about 40 minutes. We eventually went to tacking stations and did two tacks before the wind all but died away. I threw the life ring in the water and we practiced a man overboard exercise. Part of that exercise is to hand in all sail and this was done in a timely manner. With the day getting hot and lacking any wind there was only one thing left to do and that was to open the pool and go for a swim. We rigged a swing from the course yard and most people went in and enjoyed the perfect swimming conditions. As we were closing the pool we spotted another humpback whale and this one did a full breach and made a huge splash that was spectacular. We got underway and started to motor northwards in search of some wind. We enrolled the help of the infamous ‘Brother Nutzie’ to help us get in contact with the wind gods. As he often does, he proved his powers by levitating the entire YC and we are now hoping that the breeze will find us soon. It has been a glorious day and everybody is in high spirits and working well together. Hopefully sometime this evening we will get some wind so that we can set some sail and shut down the engine. Tomorrow we are hoping to muck around in the Whitsunday area and anchor in the afternoon, probably off Hayman Island.YC entry by Alana McEwan (age 17 from Townsville) – An experience of a lifetime is one of the only ways to describe this voyage. Already, all 24 YC are cooperating and making the operation of the ship a thrilling success. The staff is a real pleasure to be with. They are fun to work with and easy to get along with. Woody, our friendly and highly talented chef, is always working hard in the kitchen making sure each and every one of us is prepared a healthy and delightful breakfast, lunch and dinner. Getting along with everyone and having a great time isn’t a hard thing to do on the Young Endeavour. However, having to live in tight compact spaces is rather difficult. It is something that needs getting used to. Everybody seems to be getting along well with each other despite having to live in such conditions. So far so good. To watch myself and other people work hard, achieve and reach goals is an experience like no other. I’m looking forward to seeing what else this group of fine young Australians can achieve.It’s been a real tough day in the office today. Chat tomorrow.Andrew (and Alana)