CLIENT: Silver Youth Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20210926
FROM: Hervey Bay to Manly
DATE: 26 September 2021
POSITION: Coongul Point, Fraser Is
REPORT BY: Blue Watch
- First impressions
- Animals
- What we learnt
The crew boarded South Passage at 8am on Sunday the 26th September. After a rundown of safety precautions and a few housekeeping points, we set off, venturing out of the harbour. Our watch leaders taught us the ropes of sailing, showing us how to belay, sweat and tie a few knots such as a round-turn and two-half-hitches, a figure of 8 knot and a reef knot. Before hauling up the staysail and jib, a few members of the Blue team were harnessed to the bowsprit and went and chilled on the net.
Then it was time to haul up the sails. This involved pulling the halyards and sorting out the sheets. At 1400, the blue team began their first watch. We each tried a few different positions, rotating every 15-20 minutes. A favourite job was steering the ship where we had to follow a compass and its coordinates. The blue team undertook a few tacks while on watch, which involved turning the ship into the wind and hauling the sails to the other side.
Our new skills in belaying came in handy here. We saw a school of fish jumping out the water, a turtle, a few pods of dolphins and a whale! After a day of sailing, we came to anchor in Platypus Bay, off the shores of K’gari (Fraser) Island. That afternoon, the three watch groups competed in a knot tying competition. Each member of the group had to tie a round-turn and two-half-hitches while being timed. The red team emerged victorious but they better watch out for tomorrow morning because the blue team is ready to take the win!
We then enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by the ships cook Cath. Chicken drumsticks, rice, gravy and veggies were appreciated by everyone. We are all ready for a good night’s sleep and the people who snore too loudly will be walking the plank in the morning, we don’t care how cold it is.