Half Day sail, Sydney Harbour

Captains Log Wednesday 18 October 2006After a very full on day yesterday and the completion of Command Day, Young Endeavour berthed overnight at Fleet Base East – the home of the Royal Australian Navy. After a refreshing sleep all hands were woken at 0615 to be on deck shortly there after. Time to clean up the ship in preparation for the half day sail guests. It was a very enthusiastic morning of cleaning both external and internal. By 0940 after the arrival of the half day sail food (chocolate donuts, cream buns, chocolate milk and the odd sandwich) it was time to embark our guests. By 1005 we were underway for a delightful (if not windy, no surprises there!) morning on Sydney Harbour. Sights included Manly, North, South and Middle Heads, Opera House, Harbour Bridge and of course the Prime Ministers House! By 1300 we were again berthed at Fleet Base East and it was time to say good bye to our guests.Below are comments from some of the Youth Crew:Alex Since stepping onto the ship in Hobart 9 days ago, sailing up the east of sunny Tasmainia 850 nortical miles (into a head wind!) to the magnificent Sydney harbour. This has been one of the most amazing and rewarding things I’ve every done. Getting the opportunity to be part of this awesome youth crew of 24, from a range of diverse background (including islanders from Tassie). We have grown to form great friendships and on the whole a great team with everyone looking out for each other from start to finish. The Young Endeavour crew aboard the ship are fantastic group of people, as the showed us the ropes! Encouraging and supporting the youth crew all the way from climbing to the top of the mast to those who maybe didn’t feel so well : ) On the seventh day we were handed the ship to take command for 24hrs and given the task to sail 100 Nm from Jervis bay to Sydney harbour. This to all 7 days earlier would have been considered impossible, but our team rose to the challange. This exercise was a great occasion where everyones individual self belief lifted and the belief within our team lifted. From an experience like this my confidence as with everyone else’s has been greatly improved which I think will stay with me for life. This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity and experience, one I can’t recommend enough to anyone and everyone. It is going to be very hard to say goodbye. Tegan Nine days ago 24 youths of Australia came together for the first time, not knowing what to expect when they walked onto the Young endeavour. From the very start we were set tasks that would challenge us and help us to evolve into a strong team. On the first night we found ourselves climbing the masts, one of the most difficult tasks for some, but everyone rose to the challenge. With a warm welcome from the staff on board, we were soon on our journey. Straight away we were shown how to do things that would lead us up to actually sailing the ship. It was from here that our team began to pull together and people started to get to know one another. From here on everyone started accomplishing things they thought would take a very long time to do.People’s confidence was growing every day with all the different tasks that were being conducted. This included things which may seem simple but at the time can be very challenging such as setting sails. Looking back now, one of the most impressive things that has happened is, the way that all the teams backed each other up and everyone began to work as one. It was not long until we found ourselves being in total control of the ship for 24 hours, with no help from the staff on board. The feelings that everyone got from this have been great learning experiencews and everyone feels that they have gained a lot from this exercise. Along with all these fantastic experiences many great friendships have been formed for life. To think back to when we all first met each other it seems unbelievable that we could all be so close after only 9 days. The whole voyage has been an amazing adventure full of challenges that can be achieved and has set everyone for the rest of their lives with knowledgde and growth in many areas. No one can expect what the adventure will be like, the only way to actually discover it, is by being a part of it and stepping on board.LiamSailing on the Young Endeavour has been great fun, the crew and other trainess have been great. We all manage to work well to gether as a team which is essential for the smooth running of the ship. the weather on the trip was not to bad as it didn’t rain the whole trip, even though it was a hard slog from hobart to sydney, but it was still a most enjoyable experience. Climbing the masts was one of my highlights from the trip. Gasketing the main in rough weather was esspecially fun. the food on the trip was excellent with Chad providing a great selection of meals each day. i am thankfull to have had this great experience on bourd Young Endevour, it has been alot of fun sailing with a great group of people.Until tomorrow…Ian HibbardLEUT, RANVoyage Captain