Day 21 – Sunday Sea Routine

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 21 of our voyage. Today we ran a Sunday Sea Routine which gave all of us a chance to have a well deserved rest following an extremely successful Command Day. Regrettably the weather gods have not been so kind during the past 24hrs and we continue to fight against strong NNE winds and the Cape Verde Current. This has slowed our boat speed down to less than 5kts and has delayed our arrival in Mindelo by 24hrs, but thatâ€™s the challenge of sailing. The current weather conditions are due to moderate tomorrow so hopefully we will make the final 130nm required to reach Mindelo by our revised berthing time of 0900 Tuesday 10 March.Â Tonight Luke volunteered his services to write Captains Log so please enjoy his take on todays activities.Until tomorrow, take careÂ Â Yours AyeCaptain GavÂ Â CAPTAINS LOG 08 MAR 15Hello Voyage followers and welcome to yet another instalment of captains log. I Luke Corbett will be your host for this morning/evening.Our day kicked off this morning with the usual levels of fatigue, fuelled by the overnight watches and our typically unwise choices of late night games and chats. I myself am suffering from a late night â€œdnmâ€ with Ronald but always worthwhile none the less.Everyone enjoyed yet another â€œSunday Seaâ€ rewarding everyone with duties (apart from watches) the morning off. The Reddies (my watch) being one of the earlier watches (8-12am). It was a fairly slow start to the day as we just had experienced the exhilarating â€œCommand dayâ€ the previous morning. I know the hard work took its toll on me when my cereal leaped onto the floor from the bench. Luckily my reflexes kicked in before loosing the whole bowl. Roll of the ship I say, as we commonly blame.Since Command day, the swell has taken a turn for the worse, Battling refreshingly cold head winds and 12 berth awakening surges (the bow cabin). I heard the blues had a tough time handling their morning guts watch when furling the Topgallant Staysail. Ronald (a fellow reddie) had told that when he awoke from our usual toss and turning sleep he heard a shout from Vinny. Blueys stand by to furl the Topgallant staysail, off turns. 2, 6, Ahhhhhhh. The blues had been knocked of there feet by a wave and the unforgiving wraith of Neptune, no injuries and all laughed about it afterwards.After lunch, we had a Command Day debrief exercise. Where we were divided into 3 groups to evaluate the good, the not so good, and what we could take away from the event. Robert said he was truly disappointed he couldnâ€™t find the left over spaghetti in the fridge. However, on the other hand, we all were ultimately very pleased with our collaboration, as everyone was eager to lend a hand where they could. After Gav concluded the exercise with another heartfelt quote, he informed us we would arrive at Cape Verde 24 hours later than scheduled. Although this news didnâ€™t seem to bother a soul as we were all having so much fun I think some of us forgot we had a destination.Itâ€™s always so fascinating having a whole crew of brains to pick, always learning new things and listening to the most amazing stories they all have to offer. However I always look forward to meeting with my fellow reddies on watch. Itâ€™s what I have learned to call home. As many other have become attached to there watches also. They always keep it interesting to be up on the bridge. One minute a few of us will be learning Vics bizarre childhood language where every vowel must be with oi. E.g. hoi oi yoi doi todoi. Translating to â€œHow are you doing todayâ€. The next may involve learning the various hair braiding techniques and when the moments quiet down, we bring out our best British accents, always bringing out a laugh or two.Our days are definitely the most distant thing from boring. I guess thatâ€™s why we are documenting it dailyâ€¦ could you imagine if we attempted a weekly recap? There are so many stories arising that when I was interrogating people about what to put in this log another tale was unfolding before my eyes in the cafe. Aaron (the chef) had challenged Travis to finish off the choc mousse with his hands bound. I heard that we almost caught another fish this morning! Eden told me that he was ready to gaff the Wahoo that Shaun was reeling in when the line snapped only meters from the boat! Oh well, Iâ€™m sure it wont be our last opportunity.All in all thereâ€™s nothing to complain about aboard the Young Endeavour. Each moment as profound as the last. Under 24 hours to go to the Verdes. But to be honest it is the last thing on my mind. Were all looking forward to having a great time in Mindelo, but for me? Iâ€™m just happy to spend another day at sea with the fellow crew. Itâ€™s been a pleasure documenting another spectacular day on the Atlantic Ocean. Canâ€™t wait to get in touch with everyone at home as Iâ€™m sure we all are. Until next time all my love.LukeÂ Â Â Â “Â

Latitude/Longitude:

14Â° 54' North / 26Â° 13' West

Conditions:

Currently located 130nm to the SW of Mindelo and experiencing strong NNE winds with an unpleasant 2m NNE swell. Current temperature is 19 degreesÂ

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

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19 February 2024

Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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Day 21 – Sunday Sea Routine

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