CLIENT: Youth Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20260103
FROM: Sydney To: Brisbane
POSITION: Maitland Bay
DATE: 3 January 2026
REPORT: White Watch
Day 1 came with a bugle at 6:30am and we all woke up early and had cold breakfast. The day began with a basic sail training techniques: belay, ease, handover hand, coil a rope, and flaking to start us off. Furthermore, chef Hugh cooked up a up a brilliant feast of scrambled eggs, baked beans and toast with a garnish of parsley.
Following after our scrumptious food, we raised the main sail, whilst the other watches raised the foresail and headsails preparing for tacking practice. Next, we did the man overboard drill where we threw a buoy overboard and retrieved it – it took a lot longer than expected making us aware of the dangers of sitting on the rail!
Once we got out of the harbour, we reached seas with much larger and more aggressive swell that resulted in lots of spray going over everyone and the ship reaching steep angles such as over 20 degrees. We continued to sail in the large swell for a few hours, continuing to get soaked as the watch on duty tacked across the ocean.
Eventually we moored in Maitland Bay where many of us jumped off the boat for a quick swim. We then had a delicious feast of chicken drumsticks and vegetables before a knotting competition, in which White watch won by over 30 seconds!! Hugh comes in clutch again with apple pie and custard for dessert.