COMMAND DAY

Hi Everyone,A well rested Youth Crew awoke to an overcast and cool Botany Bay morning. Following morning brief and cleaning stations they were given one hour with the Staff Crew to ask relevant questions that may assist them with their elected positions during Command Day. At 1000 I officially handed over the Command Day instructions and the ‘telescope of challenge’ to the Youth Crew Captain James and in doing so gave the Youth Crew the responsibility of running the ship for the next 24 hours.One of the many tasks that has to be completed over the 24hr period is to write the Captains Log so please find attached Captain James log entry for this evening.Yours AyeCaptain GavCOMMAND DAY CAPTAINS LOGVOYAGE 2-10Today is the day! There has been much excitement and preparation over the voyage in anticipation for command day. Emotions were on a high as the southerly buster roared through Botany Bay last night, making us all a little nervous and eager to get out on the high seas, heading for Port Jackson. Unfortunately, as the day dawned, we were met with the calmest of seas and the bleakest of skies and the outlook seemed no better. We were handed the ship at 1000 hours with much rejoicing from the staff and a great deal of trepidation from the ships command crew.Our first task upon taking command was to figure out what the actual instructions for the day were, which we were only able to complete after a great deal of brain storming and problem solving, what a way to get the ball rolling! We weighed up anchor at approximately 1200 hours and went along under engines into the open ocean. The youth crew had a false sense of security as we motored along until Captain Gav cut the engines and we came to a stop. It was all balmy though until we started drifting south away from Sydney and we set as many sails as we could to little avail.At about 1500 it still felt as if we were dragging anchor but the wind started to pick up and the ship started to move in the right direction. It seemed as if the crew was stuck in an organised chaos rushing to set and furl sails until the correct mix let us ease along up the coast. Meanwhile, everyone joined in to complete some of the many tasks set to us by the staffies. We painted huge chalk murals on the deck, ate a wonderful dinner prepared for us by the chefs-in-training and all took turns at the helm.Helping the navigator became a great task as we were taking bearings off Maroubra, Coogee and Bondi Beach. The wind picked up even more as we pumped along to South Head and the sun started to set. The spewometer was medium and the hugatreeo was low but would definitely rise by tomorrow when we will anchor in Hunters Bay – hopefully all in one piece.It is amazing to think that 27 people that had no idea how to sail a ship and only just met each other 8 days ago are able to come together and take a vessel as fine as the Young Endeavour into the ocean by ourselves – a feat that is a testament to our cohesiveness as a group and our ability to take on a challenge.From your stand-in captain James (not Cook),Over, but not yet out.