Scawfell, St Bees, and Keswick Islands

Ahoy shipmates,Well we have had quite the busy day. After a restful night at anchor we have certainly kept the Youth Crew hopping. The day’s activities involved morning brief, first climbs to the top of the foremast (challenging in 20-25 knots of wind), happy hour (cleaning stations), Captain Safety, and setting and furling drills, culminating with our first set of tacking stations for the voyage. I may have worn them out but they are happily tired. All these activities took place in the vicinity of the islands of Scawfell, St Bees and Keswick…a most picturesque setting! And to top off their day, we have just completed another tack to have us heading north towards Brampton Island…tomorrow’s destination. Are ya jealous yet? Unfortunately our run of sunny days has come to an end…but at least it is dry, and we are hopeful of a return to typical North Queensland winter weather (warm) tomorrow. I’ll let Zara and Ben tell you more.CiaoCaptain KennyP.S. Hi to Peter and Margaret! Hello family and friends, along with anyone interested in our V13/18 voyage. Today we have completed our first full day onboard the STS Young Endeavour. Early this morning we begun with a set of exercise drills to get the blood pumping, and keep us fresh for the rest of the day. Following this we had HOT showers and a delicious breakfast, cooked up by our chef Zac. We then got harnessed up and began our first climbs to the top of the mast, the ‘top gallant yard’. The climb was challenging but the view was amazing, we even got to see two whales, a mother and calf making their way up the coastline. After each group had completed their first climb, we continued to learn more about what our role on the ship would entail over the following 10 days. We received a talk from Karly also known in this case as ‘Captain Safety’, who talked us through the various safety measures and procedures which would be used in the unlikely case of emergency (fingers crossed).  Following this, we had the best lunch, prawns and smoke salmon were a favourite. After a quick break, we were introduced to the Endeavours ‘Happy hour’, which did not include two for one cocktails or jugs, but a cleaning of the café areas, as well as sleeping and the amenities. Following this we weighed anchor and were divided back into our watches, and worked through various tacking drills which we soon found out were Captain Kenny’s favourite activity. We tacked back and forth, working our way further offshore, and increasing sail as we did so. Everyone smashed it! We worked together so well as a team that Captain Kenny wanted us to do more, but this plan was interrupted by an announcement that dinner was ready. After dinner, here we are now, on watch, its currently 7:03pm, and we have to up at 4am as Red Watch, to keep the ship travelling while everyone else sleeps. So far, we and everyone else are enjoying the adventure, keen to see what tomorrow brings.Zara & Ben“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails…Explore, Dream, Discover”Mart Twain