Cairns Naval Base

We cruised around Cairns harbour with all youth crew aloft. I took a few fast forward movies. We had our final farewells and presentations. Just for the record Blue Watch being 2 members down were the rope race champions, special mention must go to Heather for carrying the team in the ice-cream eating contest and not hesitating when she chomped down an entire chilli for dessert.

After disembarking we made our way back into civilization to begin making up for 10 days without drinking.

No corroborating captains log you will have to take my word on it.

Cairns Harbour off Trinity Wharf

Had a half day sail with some physically handicapped people and their carers. It was awesome fun being able to show people what we have learned I think we were really professional and confident after the experience of Command Day.

Gasketted up main mast with Kurt(see photo above).

We harbour furled the square sails, we were heaps better than last year.

That night we had SODS opera each watch presenting a play. There was far too much cross dressing but we all had a laugh (may or may not post the photos when I get them). The plays were:
Miss Young Endeavour Pageant,
Rach and Sammi excellent adventure and
Advance Australia Fair.


No corroborating Captain log entry for today you'll just have to take my word for it.

Command Day ~ Cairns

In the morning the Youth crew elected cookies made a McDonalds themed breakfast and modified their Young Endeavour name badges to be more McDonalds-like. The menu was very authentic even down to limiting our usual selection of cereal to only those available at McDonalds.

Had an 8AM watch again with Jesse as watch leader.

We had to run our own morning brief with all the usual segments:
What’s the Plan for today Juzzy?
Where have we been with Navigator Jess and Ana (including illustrations by the OOW).
Phil’s Nautical Almanac was changed to T’gallant Tom’s tall tales with Jesse’s Jib’s and Jives:
What are “Nelsons’ Balls”? and
what is meant by the term “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”?
And of course Happy Hour.

Unfortunately due to lack of wind and hence progress we surpassed the cut off speed required to get to Cairns in time and were given the use of engines. However, near the end of our command the wind picked up. Sails were set and engines cut and spirits were high. Narrowly avoiding Fitzroy Island we cross between the 2 Cairns Harbour markers 2 minutes before deadline. Big congratulations must go out to all the Youth crew for such a successful command day.

One of the final tasks was to get 20 of the youth crew aloft while underway for a photo (hopefully someone will email me a copy as I took my camera with me onto the yards). Riding into Cairns 30 metres up with the wind cranking and a successful Commands Day behind you could not be any sweeter.

We retuned the keys back to Captain Hibbo handing back the ship without a scratch.



Captain Mick's corroborating log entry

Command Day ~ Dunk Island on way to Cairns

(Too busy to take photos today).

Had a 3AM Anchor Watch but the anticipation of the challenge ahead meant a light sleep anyway.

That morning there was a BBQ breakfast on the deck which would later be followed by a BBQ lunch. Four Barbies in a row is possibly a bit much.

Command Day is when the metaphorical keys to the ship are handed over to the Youth Crew and as per the driving analogy we “take dads car out for a spin”. We are presented with a list of assigned tasks first and foremost to make it in one piece to Cairns within the next 24 hours. Bonus points are awarded for getting there through as many predefined waypoints as we can. In addition to this there are plenty of strange and fun tasks to keep us challenged over the next day. We had to plan our time wisely as some tasks were land based activities.

The first thing we did was send a BAT (Beach Assault Team) to the nearest island. The BATties paddled across the strong current bravely. Upon arrival they flew the flag and sang the anthem (which was radioed to those remaining on board) and claimed the island for the youth of Australia. Then disaster happened. It was an ambush! A gang of Staffies were waiting in the bushes armed to the teeth with eggs and flour. Many were hit and a quick retreat made to BAT boat. However the fight or flight instinct of Kurt was contrary to the rest of the group, deflecting eggs with his oar like a top class cricketer and then taking down a few of the staff before making his way back to the boat in his own time, pride intact.
Those back on board were not exactly sunbaking; we had to create a hammock which could support the weight of all 30 people on board at once. Adam with his mastery of knots and Schwarzenegger-like grip led the team to create more of a work of art than a human holding machine.

With these tasks completed to a resounding success we raised anchor to make our way north. Problem was we were anchored facing the wrong direction and in-between 2 islands with not much space on either side. We set sails in an order designed to assist us with rotating in a safe direction but with a youth crew all adjusting to new roles meant confusion was rife the ship ended up rotating in the opposite direction. At one point it looked like we were going to run aground luckily we caught the wind in the direction we needed and made a great sigh of relief as we headed out to sea.

I took the bridge at 20:00 that night with Mick and Watch Leader Jesse. The doldrum-like wind was heartbreaking after 12 hours we could still see the lights of our starting point. What was worse was that we were now heading off course. With no wind and hence speed the rudder was really a useless appendage. It took the next hour to get us back on course, full credit to the watch on duty thoroughly exhausted by the end. I conveniently hid in the chart room to mark our positions instead of heaving on the lines with the others.

We handed over to the next watch with unfortunately less progress then we hoped. The lights of Dunk Island mocking us as we may our way down to our cabins.


Captain Hibbard and Captain Mick's corroborating log entry

Dunk Island

Morning watch again.

Had to gasket up the topgallant and course. If your on the corner ensure the course is fully clewed up otherwise you have to haul the sail by hand whilst balancing feet on the on the Flemish horse. Very tiring.

We sailed past Hinchenbrook Island which had awesome rolling clouds coming off (the photos don’t do it justice).

We pull into the Dunk Island resort which unfortunately had been pretty badly damaged after a recent cyclone. That night we had a barbie on our own private island, after which we held command day elections. Being on a tropical island gave this an uncanny survivor-like feel. Alliances were formed and votes made, however instead of torches being extinguished we just wrote names on a whiteboard. Below are the command day election results:

Captain ~ Mick

X.O ~ Juzzy

Watch Officer ~ Tommy Top Guns

Navs ~ Dr Jess and Anna

Watch Leaders ~ Nick, Tam and Jesse

Cookies ~ Vanessa, Ryan and Alex



Here is the corroborating Captains log entry

On way to Dunk Island

We had a 4AM tack. We seem to be getting quicker.

We took the forenoon watch that day.

For some reason we were a bit more apprehensive this year when the ship dropped anchor in the ocean and the call made to “jump overboard the pool is open”. Last time our faith in the styer shark deterrent was absolute this time there was some talk that the local sharks have a preference for attacking from below rendering a rifle from the deck useless even harmful. Our fears were exacerbated when a sea snake attacked the RIB our lifeguard was in. The call was given to shift the pool 400m forward and stop your whinging. Needless to say the jumping off the bow sprit photo ops were quickly followed by a hasty scramble back on deck. Our styer shark deterrent fears were confirmed after pool closure when the staff had a shooting practice session at plates and apples. Let’s just say their accuracy was not exactly reassuring.


Here is the corroborating Captains Log entry.

Aerlie Beach

Had the 1:15 ~ 2:30 anchor watch with Nick and Juzzy (an old red watch reunion of sorts). During rounds I measured the air temperature at 18°, the water at 20° and the freezer at -22°. At 2AM we received a distress signal, an EPIRB was activated. Our Navigator Suz was a good sport when we woke her up only to later realize the distress signal was from NZ and therefore completely out of our reach.

That morning Voisey and I win Knights Cavaliers and mounts. This was followed by our third sail theory lecture which was about sailing from anchor. Little did we know this would be vitally important come command day. We sadly bid Voisey and Chantelle good bye who were both too sick to continue and unfortunately both from our watch making more of a work load for those remaining.

For the first time the broad reaching wind allows us to set the 3 square sails in all their glory, a really impressive sight. I was given the opportunity to call all youth crew to square the yards, I would become better at calling as the voyage progressed. That afternoon we had all 11 sails up including the annoying and tricky Fisherman’s staysail.

Cruising along we had our first humpback whale and sea snake sighting.

Here is the corroborating Captains log entry

on way to Aerlie Beach

We had the guts watch today. The wind was really cranking at around 25 knots. During my time at the helm I topped out at around 7.5 knots. Again with a team more sea-sickness-stricken than before Jess and I volunteer to climb the foremast to untie the gaskets on the topsail yard with our watch leader Speedy. The sideways swing of the boat is amplified being 3/4 of the way up a 30 metre mast, add to that the cranking winds I mentioned before and your almost grateful its too dark too see the water. On returning to the deck I am proud to say I was the only one to hold onto their food especially being in the company of an experienced seaman.

That morning with broad reaching wind we managed to break the 10 knot barrier. The boat really leans at this speed so sitting on the deck feels like you’re in a stadium.

We had a “rules of the road” lecture before pulling into the awesome backpacker town of Aerlie beach gateway to the Whitsunday’s. Had ice-cream, couple of cups of real strong coffee, checked out the lagoon, played volleyball and a few of the more energetic of us hired jet skis (personally I was rooted). This place left such an impression on us that we are planning a reunion there next year.

That night had 3 way chats with Rinny and Anna. They both have plenty of pets, play loads of sport and have ambitions of working in america in the near futue.

Here is the corroborating captains log

Whitehaven beach~On way to Airlie Beach

We had the morning watch today. Our group decimated by seasickness running at well below 50%. So when the call came out to climb the mainsail to un-gasket the mainmast, volunteers were hard to come by. However, Jess and I were all too happy to oblige. We were a bit rusty and tired, we accidentally clipped into the wrong ascender lines making the job a bit harder and longer than it otherwise should have been. Afterwards, I took the helm for the Whitsunday island approach. There were a few sections where threading between islands got a bit tight.

Before too long it was sighted, the world famous Whitehaven beach. We set anchor well offshore and climbed into the RIB(Rigid Inflatable Boats) the high powered Navy version Rubber duckies. The relief of solid ground could not come quick enough. We had an awesome barbie on the beach, played some cricket, frisbee and an entertaining game of elves, wizards and giants. I helped build a wall around Nick and Jesse’s sandcastle. This was sand that sandcastle craftsmen only dream about. Rumour has it that the sand from Whitehaven is shipped to Hawaii’s beaches which do not have sand of their own as they are volcanic islands.

We return to the ship for the next lecture of sail theory before heading off towards our next port Airlie beach.

Here is the corroborating Captains log for today

North of Keswick Island ~ on way to Whitehaven beach

It was a welcome sound indeed when we heard the anchors roll out at 1am today. Many youth crew, myself included could not get to sleep given the size of the swell which was exacerbated being at the bow of the ship.

In the morning we were retaught basic tall ship sailing skills. When it was time to head off again Jess and I got the honour of making our acquaintance with the Bilge Iguana. This basically involves jumping into a hatch in the 12 berth floor to spool the anchor chain (which is covered in grease and mud). An oxygen meter is set up to ensure safe working environment due to gasses that can be generated from the rusty chain in an enclosed space.

The scenery was magnificent sailing past unspoilt, uninhabited islands some with cliffs and pine trees reminiscent of the game myst (I couldn't tell you where they were though). We had our first attempt at tacking. This year I got a much more physically demanding tacking station than the previous voyage. Alex, Ryan and I had to brace the course yard on the leeward side.

We took the last dog watch and hit the hay in high swells. For some people the seasickness was so bad their only relief was sleep.

Corroborating Captains Log

Mackay ~ on way to Keswick Island

The anticipation is over as we set sail from Mackay harbour. The feeling of familiarity is broken by the all the newbies, almost a completely new staff and the boys having the 12 berth for this voyage. I have constantly been hitting my head on the anchor motor and bunk above.
Didn't get a photo of this but if you follow these simple instructions you can see what I mean:

Go to virtual fleet on the navy website.
A flash animation will pop up.

Click the buoy that says "start tour".

Hover over the red tap until young endeavour becomes visible (its the bottom one).

Click the "take the tour" post-it note.

Flick the youth accommodation switch.
(The 12 berth is at the bow of the ship which rocks the most in high swells).

Press the flashing view tour button.
Now you can pan around the 12 berth by holding down the left mouse button over the image.
My bunk is below the seated fellow who greets you.
The only way in or out was in between the 2 poles he is sitting behind.
If you pan to the right in between the two front poles is where the 2 anchor motors have since been mounted (you need to use you imagination for this)

Saw some amazing stars that haven't seen since living in the CBD. Definitely rougher swells than last time with nearly everyone having a spew (your narrator included).

Here is the corroborating Captains log entry