Day 8 – Command Day Part 1

Ahoy shipmates…Command Day, which means the youth crew are in charge…over to Captain Georgia!
Captains Log Day 8

It’s finally command day, where us youthies get to take control of the Young Endeavour and sail it all by ourselves. Whilst daunting at first, the team has all pulled together and had a swell day (pun intended) heaving ropes, climbing aloft and various creative endeavors. We can’t believe that we didn’t even know each other a week ago and are now close friends working together like a well-oiled machine. I now handover to Dasha and Cameron from Blue watch to detail the days proceedings.
Thanks Georgia!
Command day: the day where everything goes wrong (possibly) – but not for us! At least not so far…
We rose this morning bright and early to BBQ pancakes on deck (courtesy of our amazing chef, Keely!) which had the added benefits of increased grease and size. The morning continued with the usual colours ceremony, featuring various renditions of the national anthem simultaneously and culminating in the always highly anticipated performances put on by the staffies. After scrubbing the ship from top to bottom in our happiest hour of the day, command of the ship was handed over to the youthies while the staffies celebrated their newfound holiday freedom (or pondered what to do with it). With the commencement of command day came not only the responsibility to run the ship, but also a series of additional challenges to keep everyone occupied.
So far, we have had a photo taken with everyone elevated from the foremast; we hung across the whole mast from lower top to topgallant and it offered a cracking opportunity to soak in the beauty of the Australian coastline. We created a rope hammock to suspend all the youthies, and enhanced the aesthetic appeal of the midships area with a chalk mural of our travels. While the youthie sailors soaked up (or avoided) the sun, those with new positions have been divided between stressing and reveling in their power – Julian in particular has uncovered a hidden love for using the intercom.
In a dramatic turn from the roaring wind and cold of the bass strait, the mercury rose to over 28,’ ushering in quite Adelaideian weather and forcing the crew to slather themselves in sunscreen. With the ocean off limits due to the nature of the marine life in these parts (big bitey things), the Endeavour’s ‘pool’ was brought into action. Results were mixed when the youthies discovered the ‘pool’ was in fact two firehoses spraying seawater midships. Despite this, some were overjoyed at the prospect of cooling off and fully indulged in the makeshift shower.
We leave you now as we about to start trivia night! There’s more fun to come with challenges in poetry, musical composition, and knotting. Dasha and Cameron would like to give a shout out to their family and friends in Melbourne and Sydney respectively though both wonder if any are reading as they neglected to mention there would be a captains log.