CLIENT: Gold Youth Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20230103
FROM: Sydney to Manly
DATE: 10 January 2023
POSITION: Big Sandhills, Moreton Is
REPORT BY: White Watch
Our voyage continues. After thoroughly appreciating the dark, vast night and bright stars of Horseshoe Bay, we raised our sails at Moreton Bay. We continued north, and soon the Brisbane skyline, as well as their industrial cranes, peaked up above the horizon. The buildings twinkled at us while the dock cranes hauled the cargo effortlessly.
The whole of the bay was for us to roam. As we tacked and gybed around in the smooth waters and light breeze, the Watchleaders took a step back, for us to step up. This, naturally, lead to no small amount of chaos as we stumbled and shuffled through the steps of ship manoeuvres. Personally, we thought White Watch absolutely nailed it, but we might be biased. We all learned fast. By the end of the day, all of us knew what goes on to sail a ship, which is helpful, as we nervously looked forward to taking over the ship completely for Command Day tomorrow.
In the afternoon, we anchored outside the Big Sand Hills (really, it’s just a big pile of sand, with vegetation all over it). Alas, due to a miscalculation in of the tides, we couldn’t land on shore. But we’ve had enough beach afternoons already. Instead, we dived off the side of the ship into the emerald water. Andrew impressed us with his impeccable diving skills, as the water blossomed white at his bellyflop. The boys, and Olivia, followed like lemmings off the side of the ship.
We tied some ropes to some railing very fast. The competition was heated, as Red and Blue watches went head-to-head and recorded the same time down to the second decimal place. They reluctantly agreed to a tied first.
Afterwards, we carefully chose who would take us through Command Day. How tomorrow will go, and how we’ll get home, all hangs in the balance. Gareth, RJ and Alyse were elected as Skipper, Sailing Master and Navigator respectively, while Adam, Cindy and Tia became watch leaders. As we write, they are taking over half the table, labouring over charts and notes. Best of luck for tomorrow.