CLIENT: Gold Youth Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20240629
FROM: Cairns To: Townsville
DATE: 29 June 2024
POSITION: Fitzroy Is
REPORT: White Watch
Figuratively and literally, we were thrown into the deep end: sailing into the deep depths of the ocean and embarking on a voyage from a city most of us have never visited, with people we had never met, doing an activity most of us had never experienced. We boarded with a mixture of high hopes and waves of anxiety about not knowing what would transpire over the next eight days. The worries didn’t last long though, upon realising that we’re all in the same boat.
Despite coming from all corners of Australia (and the little known state of Switzerland) this mutual mission meant that we bonded quickly and were able to learn the sails, gradually. The ultimate highlight for the majority of us was sitting on the bowsprit. Once we’d learnt tacking and backstays, we quickly got into the swing of things albeit needing reminders periodically. Then, after all the day had already thrown at us, some of our crew members decided to throw it all up, overboard.
With empty stomachs, we dropped anchor at Fitzroy Island, and then began exploring. Turtles, rouge coconuts, fishy-fish, an alleged baby shark, two temporarily lost crewmates and beautiful marine-scape warmly welcomed us and definitely, for lack of a better word, ‘hyped’ us for the rest of the voyage. There is so much more that has happened today, and if we could talk for hours as indeed the rest of the crew are doing in the background as we write this, we would, but every adventurer needs their sleep. With all that said, we’re logging off for today!