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Whitsunday Passage and Cid Harbour
Ahoy shipmates,Today was one of those days that make you glad to be alive. After a night under sail (including a midnight tack – always popular!), and with each watch consolidating their newly learnt skills, sunrise found us sailing past the magnificent Pentacost Island as we made our way towards the southern entrance to the Whitsunday Passage. After a hearty breakfast and morning brief, and with the wind freshening to 15 knots,  we slipped straight into rotational tacks, where each watch goes all the tacking stations positions that the Youth Crew are responsible for. Under sunny skies we all then enjoyed a glorious transit through the passage, taking in the sights of Dent Island, Long Island, Hamilton Island, South Molle Island, and more, finally arriving at our anchorage off Sawmill Beach in Cid Harbour in the early afternoon. Quick as a flash, all were in their swimming attire and the pool was opened…yes swimming in winter…who’d have thought. Once the Youth Crew had their fill of jumping off the boat, it was the mundane but important task of cleaning the boat (happy hour). Noting that in a few days the Youth Crew will be taking Command of this fine vessel for 24 hours, Ian (aka Salty) imparted his wisdom regarding the rules of the road at sea (i.e. how not to bump into other ships). Mixed in amongst all this activity was round two of rope races. Twilight saw all crew enjoying a cheese platter and deck games, whilst yours truly provided the culinary skills for the first teak deck BBQ of the voyage. The penultimate activity for the day was an early evening climb in beautiful conditions to sea furl the top gallant, topsail and main sail. The day closed with the Youth Crew being briefed on their anchor watch responsibilities, as they will be assisting in keeping the ship safe overnight. And then with weary smiles, it was time to hit the hay in preparation for Day 5…bound to be another busy one as we take in the beauty of this part of the world. Until tomorrow.Fair winds,Captain Kenny Ahoy family and friends! Today we began our day sailing through the Whitsunday Passage and then anchored at Cid Harbour. In the morning we had a very special guest visit us (Nanna), reminding us the importance of maintaining tidy cabins. We had a beautiful lunch of tacos prepared by Zac the Chef, as well as Youthies, Zara, Jacob and Reilly. Everyone enjoyed a swim alongside the Young Endeavour; a well deserved treat after a mornings worth of tacking the ship and starting to work more efficiently as a team! Some chose to jump from the bowsprit at the very front of the ship, of course taking this opportunity for selfies.  After the swim we showered and organised our cabins and then began the happiest hour of the day onboard the ship and cleaned it from fore to aft. After happy hour the watches participated in highly competitive non-competitive Rope Races followed by a talk on the ‘rules of the road’ when it comes to sailing and other ships. We then had a relaxing afternoon playing games and eating delicious food on the deck, which consisted of a cheese platter and a barbeque cooked by our lovely captain, whilst watching the glorious tangerine sunset over the ocean. The perfect conditions of the Whitsunday waters have been so calm and relaxing, and we are all looking forward to another day at sea tomorrow!P.S A shout-out to Michelle, Owen, Caitlin, Mitch, Jeremy, Grandma and Grandad – I have so much to tell you about when I return! –Hayley “Opportunity favours the bold – if someone offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it laterâ€Richard Branson
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Course:  At anchor    Speed:  0 knotsWind:  Light and variable    Swell:  Negligible   Weather:   Clear
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Hi Everyone, Welcome to Day 5 of our voyage. Overnight and during the early hours of this morning we continued to enjoy a great sail around the southern Tasmanian coast with all of the watches kept busy with setting and furling sails and doing some practical navigation. By sunrise we were located just to the south of Bruny Island now just sailing under fore & aft sail and hoping that the day would get warmer, which sadly it didn’t. But the cold and a little rain hasn’t dampened our spirits and we have still managed to fit in a lot of great activities today and our young mariners continue to impress with their endless energy and motivation. That’s enough from me I will now handover to Riley and Jack who have done a great job of writing tonight’s Log. Until tomorrow, take care. Captain Gav This morning the youth crew of the STS Young Endeavour woke to the frightening sound of red watch singing a parody of Riptide by Vance Joy over the ships intercom. This was then followed by the message that blue watch, the watch that was on guts the night before, could have a well-deserved sleep in. While members from blue watch went back to sleep the rest of the crew made their way down to the galley to enjoy another one of Haydos fantastic meals. After everyone had had breakfast the morning brief was given at 0900 which involved informing the youthies of the day ahead and a very educational story by Matty on the origins of the nautical term “two six heave”. After the morning brief the crew went below decks for Chucky’s favourite part of the day: Happy Hour! (Also known as cleaning the ship hour). In the afternoon the three watches conducted rotational tacking stations. This involved the watches rotating through the positions that the other watches fill when we tack which helped the crew get a better idea on what happens when we tack. Captain Gav came up on deck to give us a crash course about sailing theory and the ships history. This was very interesting and gave the youth crew a helpful insight into why different sails are used depending on different wind conditions. Round 3 of the famous Rope races were then commenced at noon with a twist of the round being worth double points. This highly non-competitive competition ended with Blue and Red watch drawing making it a close race for the rest of the trip The biggest highlight of most people’s day was sailing through the straight between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar in the afternoon. We all gathered at the bow of the ship as we gazed upon the spectacular columnar basalt edged cliffs rose up on either side of the narrow passageway. We had to furl all the sails, which involved sending two youth crew members up the main mast in rough swells and high winds to gasket the sail. Engines where turned on for the first time that day so we could safely pass the straight. The effort was truly worth it as we passed the resident seal colony and schools of dolphins. One of the greatest things about the STS Young Endeavour is even though the ship may sway from side to side and youth crew struggle to walk straight without getting knocked into a wall; the ships Chef continues to work hard and impress us with meals made from a kitchen which is smaller than the size of most people’s laundry room. It continues to amaze me how he keeps this quality in these rocky conditions. Not enough praise can be given to the hard work this man puts in keeping everyone happy. Go Haydo!Hi mum and dad I’m still alive, somehow we are already halfway through. See you in six days. Jack. You probably won’t see this but love you to the moon and back mum and dad. Riley. Until next time… Youthies Jack & Riley