You Won’t Gain Without Paying

Again we flew up the coast, through some narrow passages between the reef and the mainland, meeting many fishing trawlers and merchant ships enroute. The scenery has been ever changing, but the thought that returns is that this is a BIG country and is extremely beautiful in a rugged kind of way. We’ve been sailing for five days now and in the early hours of tomorrow morning we will round Cape York, the most northerly tip of Australia, and anchor off a small island there called Possession Island, where a monument proclaims Cook’s Landing. I’ll tell you what the inscription reads tomorrow. The Youth Crew have been working tirelessly: the ‘Bear’ teamwork exercise last night went really well and their teamwork and commitment is starting too really pay off. Well done, guys and gals. Youth Crew entry by Philip Whittaker, 19,Sydney.As I am writing this entry, I am witnessing an awesome skyline. Today has been a challenge, both mentally and physically, as has been the past 5 days. All crew are really working well together and are gearing up for command day. This has to be some of the best days of my life. As not many people travel this region, and the fact that this is the centenary of federation circumnavigation makes me feel extra special. My only goal now is to beat Potter at UNO, but that remains to be seen. I just wanna say hi to all the people back home, and a special hello to Alison, whom I cant wait to see soon.Rusty ‘Aka’ PhilYouth crew entry by Nikki Sneddon, 16, Canberra. It is hard to believe that it is day 6 all ready the time just seems to be flying by. I am having a great but extremely challenging time, climbing aloft doing GUTS watches (12 to 4 AM). I do have to say that these last few days have been some of the most amazing days of my life. We (youth crew) seem to have been working hard but having a very good party at the same time in the most amazing conditions. The old saying ���You won’t gain with out paying’ is so true but it is all so rewarding, I seem to be not only learning about sailing but many other important life skills. My message to you all out there is get out there and push yourselves and you will be amazed by what you can do.Ps love to all my family and friends back home you know who you are – see you soon Nikki.Stay tunedAndrew Davis
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
CO's Log Saturday 26 May 01Current situation at 1900: At sea just south of Cape York. Wind sou'easterly at 18 knots. Temp 24C. Position 1105S, 14252E.
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Ahoy followers of our Young Endeavour journey! Command Day. We made it.
The beautiful weather at our anchor point at Jervis Bay made for a spectacular day under the command of our fellow Youth Crew! A morning stretch and some wise words from the Ship Crew gave Captain Waz and the team a step in the right direction.
With the new watches all set and ready to go, Captain’s Setting and Furling gave all our youthies the chance to prove their abilities on the high seas. Strong performances from all three watches; Sharkies, Chompers and Narwhals!!
Morning brief gave the Sailmaster a chance to give us the daily orders and help get everyone on the same page. With the staff crew getting ready for a holiday and giving us the ship, floral shirts and party music filled the deck and, with some final preparations, the ship was ours.
The Captain was given a small but very significant envelope that contained the essential, non-essential and completely optional tasks to be done over the course of the next 24 hours. 2 tacks were to be made at a minimum before leaving the bay and safety checks were the essential tasks to start our journey. However.
More amusing, optional tasks allowed some of our youthies to become part of the “Beach Assault Team” while others were put to the task of making a slideshow of the voyage, tying all the knots on the list, etc. These were some activities that bided the time for our incredible navigator - Ruscoe to set out a plan and work together with the Sailmaster - Hugh to create a sail plan.
Tacking stations were the focus for our late afternoon, preparing to weigh anchor and leave such a beautiful bay, for our last stretch of this incredible voyage.
Happy Birthday to the Capitan, Warwick, who turned 24 today! The wonderful MasterChef’s created a “cherry ripe” cake out of rice crispies, coconut, chocolate, and love. With a beautiful ceremony to end our day.
Sailing into the night leaves us the ability to see the lights from our destination. Sydney, here we come!
Wish us luck! From Nat and Tom!!

ARRRGH, ahoy there from the spectacular Jervis Bay! We’ve all been taken A-back by the crystal clear blue waters and snow white sands.
After a well deserved sleep in these sheltered waters which was a refreshing change to clinging to our bunk racks for dear life for the past few days, the ship rose to another banger of a morale tune “sung” by Blue Watch. Brekkie was fun after the early morning activity to get us all up and moving. We held another round of competitive not-competitive rope races which culminated in smashed eggs on deck and the mummification of said egg smashers.
Roast lamb for lunch was prepped by the staffies in the absence of our culinary wizard Steve. Once cleaned up, we took the RHIB’s across to Captains Beach bordering HMAS Creswell which was a mind-blowingly beautiful little spot. Pretty much everyone had a dip in the drink and a roll in the sand and played some creative beach games run by our Suitability legends, Speedy Sam and Eggs.
A few hours at the beach made everyone ready to head back home and attack a teak deck barbeque, devouring cheese platters, steaks, sangas, and salads. With our full stomachs, us youthies initiated the highly anticipated elections for our command day roles. Which will commence sometime around midday tomorrow. We held a vote for each available role that all willing youthies put themselves forward for.
The following roles were voted as follows: Captain – Warwick, Sailmaster – Hugh, Navigator – Ruscoe, Officer of the Watch – Dan, Watch Leader – Nick, Ben, Bridget, Master chef – Emily, Mackenzie, Alyshia
We were greeted after our elections by a low flying anti-submarine MH60-Romeo Helicopter which did a cool fly around our ship. *Thanks Squizz!!* And then watched an amazing film about the rounding of Cape Horn back in 1929 on a 7 story tall sail ship.
Signing off from our anchor watch, Ben and Giles.
“I believe that positive energy and optimism help us to take up any challenge in life and to succeed in even the most difficult tasks. I also believe that positive energy is contagious: We can transmit it to others”
