Young Endeavour

In 1995 I received a letter confirming my place on the Young Endeavour for Voyage 1/96, sailing from Hobart to Burnie. Unbeknownst to me I had been nominated by mum and selected from a ballot. Then just before Christmas 1995 I received a kit bag, T-shirt, some forms to fill out, and the itinerary.

On the 3rd of January 1996 I was driven down to the Hobart waterfront where I boarded the Young Endeavour. Once introductions and initial briefs were conducted we set sail for Barnes Bay at Bruny Island. When we arrived we anchored and conducted some familiarisation activities that included climbing aloft to the first landing, then back down the other side. It was the first test to ensure we weren’t afraid of heights.

Waiting for all the youth crew to arrive.

The first night consisted of more familiarisation of the ship, the crew and the youth crew. We were split up into three watches, I was in blue.

The next morning at 0400, was to be my first taste of operating in a shift/ watch system, I had no idea it would end up becoming a big part of my daily life in the future. Our first task was to climb up the mast to the Top Gallant. It was a fantastic experience being up there on a cool crisp morning looking out over the calm water of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

Later in the morning we weighed anchor, sailed south around Bruny Island and headed for the east coast. The next day we sailed through the passage between mainland Tasmanian and Tasman Island. By this stage the majority of us were sick, it wasn’t too bad, we managed to push through it. After a couple of days at sea, getting my sea legs, I felt heaps better.

After several days of sailing we arrived in Wineglass Bay on the 6th of January. Just after lunch we anchored in the bay and shortly after we all went ashore to stretch our legs. We walked along the beach, then up the hill to the saddle where the lookout is. We found it quite amusing as we passed tourists along the track giving us odd looks, and there we were bush walking with life jackets.

After several days sailing up the coast, learning how to use all the ropes and sails it was fantastic being at anchor, just relaxing and enjoying the quietness of the bay. One of the other youth crew members and I climbed the mast, went out on the yard and chatted as we watched the sun go down.

The next morning after breakfast and cleaning we set sail, this time our destination was Ringarooma Bay on the northeast coast. We were all well and truly getting used to the different ropes, climbing the mast, hanging on the yards, furling and unfurling the sails. It was an exhilarating experience holding onto the yard while the ship was rocking from side to side.

When we arrived in Ringarooma Bay on the 8th of January we went to anchor. It was a beautiful calm day, hardly a cloud in the sky and the water was flat calm. We were allowed to go for a swim, and the majority of the youth crew took part but I have always had a healthy respect for sharks, so I went aloft with one of the crew members and a rifle. We were an over-watch in case any sharks came near the swimmers. The others in the water were having a great time swimming around, and I was quite comfortable sitting aloft. When they had enough they climbed up the scrambling net back on deck; just as the last person was climbing out, a shark swam along the side of the ship, only a little one though.

The following day we sailed for the southern end of Flinders Island, the crew then shut down all the machinery and generator so there was only the noise of the wind in the sails and the water lapping the sides of the ship, it was a very peaceful experience. We then formed small groups and sat around having discussions about the trip, and what we had learned from it so far.

We sailed overnight and went to anchor in Anderson Bay the next day (the bay over from Ringarooma Bay). While at anchor we went ashore for a sports day, navy crew against youth crew, we lost against the navy. That night we elected our crew to take command the following day. Apparently we had now sufficiently learnt enough to run the ship ourselves while under the watchful of the navy crew of course. We elected a Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Navigator, Officer Of the Watch and three cooks.

At 0800 the next morning the youth crew took command of Young Endeavour. We had our normal morning brief, then cleaned and prepared to weigh anchor. When the departure time arrived there was no wind at all, so we had to wait. After several hours went by and still no wind they allowed us to use engines, but only up to 5 knots. We set every sail and managed to get about 2 knots of speed for a little while, eventually we got enough speed and the engines were shut down again. To make our situation even more interesting the navy crew shut off the radar and GPS every so often. The youth crew command team were occasionally running around while the rest of us took it easy furling and unfurling the sails as needed. After 12 hours of commanding Young Endeavour we were allowed to have radar and GPS back permanently.

On the morning of the 12th of January, while still under command of the youth crew, I got up and we were just off Burnie making our way to an anchorage. Once we handed command back over to the navy crew they took us alongside the wharf in Burnie to pick up a group of disabled, underprivileged, blind and homeless people for a half day cruise. It was a great experience helping them around the ship, showing them and relating to them all that we had learned over the past ten days. We came back alongside and dropped them off, then headed back out to anchor.

While at anchor we cleaned the ship and prepared for a concert that night. It was a fun way to end our ten day voyage prior to disembarking the next day. We were no longer required to keep watches so I decided to get my head down for some much needed rest. Sometime during the night someone came and woke me and a couple of the other youngest members of our crew, and we were told it was our turn to go on watch. Because we were so tired we weren’t thinking straight, we got up and headed for the bridge. When we got there several of the crew were laughing at us because we hadn’t realised we had just been pranked. I was so tired I grabbed a jacket and lay on the deck of the bridge to sleep for a while.

The morning of the 13th of January we all got up, cleaned the ship and prepared to come alongside the wharf. Just as we approached the wharf we all climbed the mast and lined out on the yards. It was pretty cool cruising in while holding onto the yards. Once alongside we greeted our family and friends , they came on board for presentations and photos. We said our goodbyes to everyone and headed off.

My Young Endeavour Youth Voyage was my first longest sea experience, and it was definitely an eye opening experience for me, one I will never forget.