Woody the Wonder

1800hLast night we left sight of land near Eden and ploughed south into a large, steep swell and 30 knot westerly. We made huge progress if not a little uncomfortably. The bulk of the race fleet is ahead of us but we are gaining on them and soon we will reveal our secret weapon to grasp line honours. The sun has come out today and lifted spirits a lot. At this morning’s brief we got smacked by a 45 knot squall which tore the clew from the jib, hence we are now sailing without a jib and our speed has dropped a little, but that’s life during a Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Youth Crew entry by Ian Tran, 23, of Williamstown, VICIt has been wet, windy, cold and unbelievably beautiful over the last few days. In the last 24 hours we have all encountered some trying times but inevitably something that has made us step out of our comfort zones and find inner strength that we never knew we had. For myself the return back to the Young Endeavour was like shaking hands with an old friend again. Although the faces had changed somewhat the feeling of friendliness, happiness and excitement remained exactly as how I remembered it. Today we have covered almost 50% of our travel distance. My watch was fortunate enough to be on watch as Young Endeavour sailed into Bass Strait against a freshening 35-knot wind. With a swell of 2-4 metres the constitution of all the youth crew was tested to the extreme. With not all able to withstand the weather and forced to spend some time with their heads in the toilets. It was at this time that the all-conquering and supremely great Woody, chef and medic extraordinaire, went to the rescue of the girls at the front of the ship. Without his awesome cooking and questionable sense of humour I think many of us wouldn’t have been able to make it this far. With the smell of the ocean and the spray of the waves to greet us at our watches everyday, I can see an adventurous spirit smiling through the faces of all of the youth crew on board the ship. I would like to thank all the Naval personnel onboard the ship for making us safe, happy, wet, tired, but above all wrapped up in the adventure of Young Endeavour’s voyage in the 2000 Sydney to Hobart Yacht race. I’d like to also thank my family, the Ovadias, the Skipworths, Jess and Cathy, Tuls, Vic, Paddy and Kaz and all those others that have been invaluable friends and provided me with support in my times of need over the last few years. Thanks to you all. See you all soon. Ian Tran Speak tomorrow, Andrew Davis