March 26, 2009
Do you dream to follow in the wake of Captain Cook, sailing the Endeavour along Australia’s coast? Well, now you can! Your ocean adventure begins when you board the world-recognised Endeavour replica and set sail for Cooktown. On your voyage leg, you will learn to sail, live and sleep like an 18th-century seafarer.
Find out more.
October 13, 2008
Interested visitors visit the replica HMB Endeavour in Newcastle.
October 8, 2008
Friday, 3 October 2008
Noon position Lat 34°06′S Long 152°10′E
Day’s run 99.4nm
After the rolly morning there are a few new under-the-weather crew members, including a couple of professional crew. Attendance to lunch is variable, and the diners are very selective, taking care of delicate stomachs. In the lull after lunch, the mizzen and mainmast topman, Tegan and Tom, sit on the skylight above the gentlemen’s mess, leisurely throwing torn bits of cardboard at Matt the boatswain’s mate (under the guise of throwing it overboard) – who is hard at work sanding the quarterdeck railing.
The afternoon is harsh and clear, with big rollers still coming in; the glare is intense, with a large section of the sky a blinding white, brilliantly reflected in the ocean. Ross, the captain, gives a talk about 18th-century sailing, describing the workings of Bark Endeavour’s sails. There is an albatross sighting, then another, and suddenly the captain hails yours truly, the steward, up to the quarterdeck with the ship’s camera, a flock of six albatrosses altogether – usually seen alone if at all. They sit on the surface of the water, bobbing up on top of large rollers then disappearing down the other side. “It is spring,” remarks Ant, the sail master and boatswain; Ben, the second mate laughs, “it’s probably one female and five males, that’s why one keeps taking off!”
At 1435 all hands are called for sail handling, to wear ship. Everyone gets into position, and just as we commence, Josh, the foremast upperyardie, catches a fish: a skipjack tuna! Naughtily, it’s reeled in by Amanda, the mainmast yardie. Once the wear ship is successful the chief officer, Toby, musters the crew for an explanation of the manoeuvre, and then everyone gets in position to do it again – to practice and perfect the crews’ technique. They do so marvellously and are congratulated for their efforts, with Bonito sashimi served for afternoon smoko.
At the onset of evening, the chief officer is on the bridge and asks the voyage crew helmsman: “happy with full and by?” – to ensure the voyage crew member understands the direction. “As longs as it’s like a dinghy!” says the voyage crew member, “ahh, she’s a little slower to respond than a dinghy” chuckles the chief officer, but the principle is the same. The mainmast yardie is down below and goes through the knots required for hammocks again – to ensure there are no more falls, and the topman, yardies and idlers are called upon to double check the knot work. For dinner Abi and Darbey serve delicious, hearty lasagne, enormously satisfying, wonderful for those whose appetites have returned since the morning rolling.
At 1600 hours Bark Endeavour is sailing under the fore and main topsails with two reefs, the fore topmast staysail, and the fore course; she’s making 5-6 knots. While the sun sets a brown bird, variously described as a wedgetail or petrel, seems to be confused by the shrouds, almost getting caught in them and finally landing on a voyage crew member’s head! Then on another! It is most disconcerting. As darkness falls a new moon appears low on the horizon, directly ahead, preceding a clear and starry night. By 2000 hours the seas are easing, and at midnight there is only the odd roll, it is smooth sailing. At 0600 hours the mizzen staysail is set, followed at 0715 by the main course. It is lovely sailing in calm seas with so much canvas set. The crew awake from their first good night’s sleep to find their vessel full and by on a slight sea.
Coming up from breakfast Dirk, the navigator and medical officer, is on the bridge with a broad smile – he’s happiest when he’s taking readings with the sextant, the same device used in Cook’s day to find position by celestial objects. The morning meeting is called, we are about level with Sydney and still bearing south, with more strong northerlies expected hopefully followed by a southerly. The crew get into happy hour, the chief officer calling upon his topman and yardies to ensure a thorough cleaning job is done – as the last couple of days were a bit rushed. Most have fully recovered from their seasickness now, and there are many cheerful faces.
Once happy hour is completed, all hands are called for sail handling. At 1015 the topsails are lowered and a reef taken out to bring them back to single reefs in each, at 1045 the main topmast staysail is set, 1100 hours sees all watches working hard at it. At 1115 both topsails are re-set.
The winds are increasing slightly, Bark Endeavour is sailing easy on a starboard tack, the best sailing she’s had in a while.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
October 8, 2008
Wednesday, 1st October 2008
Noon position: Lat 31°30.2′S Long 153°0.4′E
Day’s run: 7 nm
It’s time for the best part of crew induction, mizzenmast watch are in their safety harnesses ready for “up and overs” – their first climb aloft. Up the shrouds, and down the other side. During the first sitting of lunch mainmast watch completes their up and over, and are rewarded with two birthday cakes for afternoon “smoko”, two voyage crew members are celebrating today. As the day progresses many Port Macquarie townsfolk linger on the wharf, taking photos and watching the training activities on board.
At 1640 all hands work to haul the “fizz boat” (the ship’s rescue boat) up onto the main hatch – its position while Endeavour sails. Ben, the second mate is very impressed with the new voyage crew’s first team effort, “…thanks guys, wonderful. Love your work!” Soon after, foremast watch is doing their up and overs, all lined up for the experience, with Dirk the navigator and medical officer keeping an eye on them at the base of the foremast shrouds, and Ally, their topman, up by the fighting top to offer moral support. While foremast watch is aloft, mizzenmast and mainmast watch run through bracing station drills, with Toby – the chief officer – calling the ropes.
At 1800 hours mainmast watch put a reef in the main topsail, and furl it in the fading light. They do an impressive job – none would suspect it was their first furl. Abi and Darbey cook a delicious feast to end the day, filling the voyage crew’s hungry stomachs after the first day’s hard labour.
The crew of Bark Endeavour awake to a beautiful, cool, clear morning, ready for departure. The activity starts immediately, at 0830 foremast watch is flaking anchor cable on deck, and 10 minutes later the gangway is removed, with Craig and Paula, the ship keeper and shore manager, working hard at the task. The boats of the Port Macquarie Sea Rescue are out in force to assist, and throngs of people are on the wharf and lining the breakwater, there’s a big turnout of Port Macquarie locals to see the ship off. There are two historic launches among the vessels on the water, there to give HMB Endeavour a send off, sounding their horns in salute.
At 0912 the last lines are let go to the sound of applause from the audience ashore, and Ant, the sail master and boatswain, leads the crew in three cheers for Port Macquarie, given with a thunderous boom that only sailors can muster. As she heads past the breakwater surfers can be seen riding waves into town beach, and at 0940 she clears the bar – safely underway. The mizzen staysail and fore topmast staysail go up, followed by the main topmast staysail, and at 1100 hours foremast watch are up on the foremast course yard and mainmast watch on the mainmast course, letting the sails out.
At 1115 two whales are spotted off the port quarter, and a pod of dolphins appears off the port bow, playing, splashing and showing off in the waves approaching the bow. At 1150 mizzenmast watch races to finish setting sail before heading down to lunch. Captain Ross comes over the PA: “We have set sails, and the main engines are off. We are sailing!”
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
October 8, 2008
Friday, 30th September 2008
Port Macquarie, alongside Lady Nelson Wharf, Town Green
It’s a bright, sunny morning in Port Macquarie, Bark Endeavour stands tall and elegant in the morning light, ready to welcome her new voyage crew aboard. Early arrivals start appearing alongside at 0800, slowly others join them until there is a crowd waiting on the wharf with their luggage, all eyes on the ship.
The topman and upper yardies of each watch – the foremast, mainmast, and mizzenmast – circulate through the crowd seeking their watch members, whom they will look over, teach, and guide, while sailing Endeavour. Watch by watch they board the ship, after ticking their name off and getting a voyage crew uniform shirt from Paula, the shore manager. Once aboard they head below and stow their luggage, have a quick glance at the locker room and galley area, then rejoin their topman and are issued their watch number. Their watch number is used regularly to confirm all are present and accounted for – a crucial safety protocol, as well as other logistics like who is on galley duty – crucial for every crew stomach.
The watch members introduce themselves within each watch, talk a little about their backgrounds and lives on land, then commence a tour of the ship and safety inductions. All hands are called to the quarter deck for the first morning briefing with the captain, Ross, and chief officer, Toby, a daily ritual. Toby is looking smart with his flash new walking stick, keeping him afoot after rolling his ankle during the arrival at Port Mac. Ross welcomes the voyage crew aboard and introduces all of the professional crew with only one minor slip-up, his best first day introductions on record! Toby takes over and begins going through the enormous amount of information the voyage crew will receive by the end of the day, regarding safety and general ship operations. There’s loads to go through, but it will all be reiterated with hands on demonstrations within each watch.
While Toby gives his briefing the other crew return to their duties preparing the ship for departure. The yardies are on maintenance with Ant, the sail master and boatswain, oiling cleats and bunts; the captain and Wally, the engineer, start up the motors and run a test; and Dirk, the navigator and medical officer, checks the navigation and communication equipment. A few dolphins splash lazily past the yardies and boatswain’s mate, the ship is of little interest to the dolphins while she’s stationary.
Toby finishes his briefing and the watches return to their topman and yardie, and continue their tour and safety induction. Ally, the foremast topman, explains the requirements of the bow watch, and the use of life rings; Tom, the mainmast topman, goes through some rope handling, finishing with “Clear as mud? Beautiful.” It’s a lot to take in, on the first day everything is run through at least once and some practicing is done, but integrating the knowledge properly is accomplished at sea.
Endeavour is due to depart tomorrow morning on the high tide, weather permitting, at about 0930 hours.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
September 24, 2008
Tuesday, 23rd September 2008
Noon position: Lat 31°36.6´S Long 153°04.8´E
Day’s run: 65 nm
A quick rearranged lunch and the crew is ready to attempt the bar crossing into Port Macquarie. There’s a 1.5 metre swell and winds around 20 knots, several yachts form a welcoming party to greet Bark Endeavour. The ship bounds in the swell, from bow to stern, some exhilarating bow waves showering those lucky enough to be working on the foredeck – preparing lines or laying out anchor cable. The winds strengthen and the ship goes a little south of the channel, kissing the sandbar softly. At 1320 life jackets are brought up, one for every crew member – 56 bright orange vests – required for the bar crossing.
The winds are up, between 25 and 30 knots, and Endeavour is bouncing near the mouth of the river with trepidation. A few moments pass, the last preparations are made with the berthing lines at the ready, and everyone waits on deck with baited breath. At 1335 the mates collect the life jackets, Ross, the captain, has decided to call off the entry. We are not going in today. He calls an immediate meeting with the voyage crew to explain the decision. The swell is ok for crossing the bar, but the winds are too strong for berthing the ship. Our entry is very much dependent on the tide, and today the tidal window has been blocked by high winds.
1400 hours and numerous people can be seen on the 18th-century mess deck with mobile phones out. Ally, the foremast topman and an experienced tallship sailor, says he’s “never seen so many phones on an 18th-century tallship!” But with the attempted bar crossing averted, and the possibility of a few more days at sea, there are travel plans to be renegotiated. At 1415 Ross calls the voyage crew down to the galley for a talk about weather forecasting and synoptic patterns, something he has been promising to do for a few days. Afterwards the voyage crew have a thorough understanding of the weather front behind us and why there are gale force winds on shore.
To end the weather briefing there is a call over the PA: “Whales breaching of the port bow!” Within moments Ross has lost his audience: “that’s one way to end a meeting !” After a moment of whale watching, Ben, the second mate comes over the PA: “Ah, now that you’re all on deck…” the voyage crew know what’s coming, “let’s have watches aloft to reef sails!” And everyone is hard at work again, Bark Endeavour needs to get out to sea before the weather front stirs up the coast. At 1515 whales are spotted again, crew aloft have a spectacular view. The sail handling continues for the next two hours, it’s a bit of a shock for the voyage crew after being within sight of land and in reach of relaxation.
For dinner there is sumptuous fish cooked with love by Abi and Darbey, it’s delicious, and an enormous comfort to the worn out crew. Everyone is a little giddy and hyperactive, people are joking and being silly with each other, as we head back out to sea together for who knows how long. Following dinner it is an absolutely stunning night on deck, pitch black interrupted by bolts of lightning, travelling every which way through the clouds on the horizon. Occasional dull thunder rumbles and rolls overhead, but the worst of the storm seems to be clinging to the coastline behind us and there is little rain to speak of.
At 1900 the wind is boxing the compass (going round and round without settling or maintaining turn to it’s direction). At 2000 we wear ship and set a new course north-west. By midnight the lightning squall has diminished and the wind is almost non-existent. At 0200 hours the winds increase to force 3 and are blowing northerly, at 0415 we wear ship again. The really troublesome thunderstorm activity expected to develop hasn’t arrived yet. At 0800 we wear ship. At the morning meeting Ross announces that we will be trying to cross the bar into Port Macquarie again. Will it be a groundhog day? It’s uncertain, conditions appear to be favourable, but no one can be sure whether the expected storm activity will blow in proper.
At 0945 all hands are called on deck, watches head aloft with surprising vigour to furl, their topman and yardies have kept them in good working order despite the to-ing and fro-ing of the ship’s schedule. The motors go on and we power back towards Port Macquarie with our “fingers and toes crossed”, as the captain puts it. At 1100 hours dolphins come alongside and say hello to the ship which doesn’t know if it’s coming or going. A good omen for the voyage crew perhaps? Happy hour says otherwise, cleaning stations! Suddenly the crew are not so vigourous.
After a fairly lazy but nonetheless thorough happy hour it’s lunchtime, then preparations are made for going to shore. After midday we come up to the bar, the swell is light, and the winds die down as if preparing for us. The skipper jumps aboard a local rescue boat and does a quick reccie of the entrance. All appears well, Ross announces that we will be going in!
Everyone reports to their muster stations and don life jackets efficiently after their practice the day before. The Port Macquarie breakwater is lined with a massive crowd of locals come to greet Endeavour and her crew. There is much waving and cheering, and invitations to the local tavern thrown across the water. Bark Endeavour is a 400 tonne ship, and she is in a narrow channel, the final manoeuvre to berth her is done slowly and carefully with the assistance of Port Macquarie Volunteer Sea Rescue. Once berthed securely the crew go about the final ceremonies of disembarkation. The captain dishes out the wages (a drop of rum for each crew member), and hands out track charts and certificates. Afterwards everyone packs their luggage, then are called up on deck – where the rains have finally arrived – for a last bit of heavy work. The rescue boat is heaved ashore and the gangway and shore staging are constructed.
Farewells are made, there are many handshakes and pats on the back, and a voyage crew member speaks of his envy of the professional crew who are to keep sailing Bark Endeavour – “enjoy it” he says, “before you have a spouse and six kids.”
Thank you, I wish you fair winds and farewell.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
September 24, 2008
Monday, 22nd September 2008
Noon position: Lat 31°28′S Long 153°00.1′E
Day’s run: 77 nm
Chicken soup and salads for lunch, easy enough for the last voyage crew recovering from seasickness to have a spoonful. Mainmast watch finishes their spud peeling competition, with a clear winner of the longest peel trophy as adjudicated by the Ben the second mate. After the peeling is done and the competition complete they finish off with “the spud cannons!” All lined up in the waist of the ship by Bark Endeavour’s cannons they launch a handful of peel over the side and shout BANG!!! It’s fun, but it’s just not the same. On deck it’s still bright and beautiful, calm as a pond, and people are swanning about in the sun. Perfect conditions for an emergency drill. Ben calls it over the PA: “Man overboard drill! Man overboard drill!” And the sound of the general alarm knocks the crew out of their slumber.
The professional crew all rush to their designated man overboard positions, and the voyage crew to their muster stations. Those already on deck are standing and pointing directly at our man overboard dummy: “Oscar”, a green ball (Oscar is the name of the code flag flown by a ship in a man overboard situation); the lookouts do not take their eyes off him, and keep their arms rigid pointing at him – a clear indicator for the rest of the rescue effort. Dirk the navigator starts his timer the moment the first call is made over the PA. Darbey, the cook’s mate, and Ally, the foremast topman, suit up, while the mates, Toby and Ben, command the voyage crew hoisting the rescue boat. The boat is launched with Ally at the tiller and Darbey in the bow, they look back to the lookouts to get their bearing and race to save Oscar.
Darbey is heard on the radio: “Man overboard recovered!” Ross, the captain, looks at Dirk and asks for the time, “ten minutes precisely.” It is calm conditions, with nil ship speed, and in 10 minutes the man overboard drifted 0.2 nautical miles (about 370 metres). It is a clear demonstration of the necessity for a speedy rescue should a real emergency arise, which would be more likely to occur under strenuous sea conditions. Oscar is appropriately chastised on his return and told not to do it again. After the drill, with the rescue boat in the water and Bark Endeavour heaved to, the crew are rewarded for their efforts with a unique experience: a swim in the open ocean with 4000 metres of water below them, and 65 nautical miles from land – well beyond the edge of the continental shelf. It is a welcome reprieve from the heat and humidity aboard ship the last two days, the water is blue and pristine clear: absolutely refreshing.
A little work is done immediately after the swim, with some crew pulling lines while still in their bathers – the rescue boat has to be hauled back onboard and the lines cleaned up, and all sails out are set on a starboard tack. Once completed, and everyone is out of their swimmers, the day returns to a peaceful tone. There is talk of the sod’s opera night coming up, reading in the sun, and on the foredeck there is a guitarist practicing. At 1600 hours one of the topman is hunting down a line under the direction of Ant the sailing master/boatswain, they look and look, getting closer, only to be trumped by their own upperyardie, who finds it first. Ant thinks it’s very amusing and makes sure to rub it in, “I was close!” huffs the topman.
At 1640 the top gallants are clewed, followed by furling. There are many cameras watching from the deck below; sail handling – up so high in perfect weather – is a pretty sight. Except one voyage crew member up on the yard calls: “No more butt shots!” Pictures taken from below and behind a yard while a crew member is hanging over it can be less than flattering (or more flattering – as the case may be!).
It’s movie night, after a scrumptious Sunday roast courtesy of Abi and Darbey in the galley, it’s time for Sunday night moonlight cinema courtesy of Ross. Onto the main course sail is projected images of Endeavour under full sail and hurtling along, followed by incredible footage of a massive tallship sailing the wrong way around the horn. Popcorn and chocolate travel up from the galley, bringing more enthusiastic patrons.
The night passes smoothly with a little lightning teasing from the horizon but not drawing closer, at 2200 hours the wind is backing rapidly, blowing north-west and north, freshening force 4. During the 0400-0800 watch with mizzenmast watch on duty there is a splendid shooting star: space debris burning large and blue, similar to a comet. A pod of dolphins also welcomes the ship into the day. It is another beautiful morning, with french toast on the breakfast menu (known as Matt’s french toast, the boatswain’s mate, for it’s his favourite brekkie). And on either side of breakfast all the sails are clewed, followed by a whole lot of furling.
At 1000 hours the captain calls the voyage crew for a morning meeting, the news: we are heading in. The iron staysails (the engines) are up, there might be a chance to enter the Port Macquarie river mouth before gale force winds close the door – and Captain Ross has decided to take it. The entry is highly dependent on both the wind and the sea state – if the conditions aren’t suitable then Endeavour will be headed back out to sea ’til the time is right.
After the briefing it’s time for “happy hour”, cleaning stations on board, everything is to be ship shape for arrival. Afterwards everyone is on deck in uniform ready to attempt the bar crossing into Port Macquarie.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
September 24, 2008
Sunday, 21st September 2008
Noon position: Lat 31°19.9′S Long 154°03.5′E
Day’s run: 82.8nm
After lunch and it is a glary day on deck, the clouds have been scorched away and we are sailing into an infinite grey haze. The sky is a strange purple and cobalt, with the grey reaching up from the horizon in a long gradient. There’s a moderate north-easterly swell and Endeavour is sailing easy, west-south-west back towards land. At 1400 hours the captain, Ross, continues his talk about sailing, people clamber up from different parts of the ship – having been there for the first instalment they don’t want to miss the conclusion.
Afternoon smoko sees a birthday celebration for one of the voyage crew, Abi and Darbey in the galley have baked him a cake! Everyone on board gets a slice. The seasickness is beginning to abate, with some who have rested for most of the day coming up to the deck for fresh air – lifting their confidence; however a handful are still afflicted. At 1630 hours Ally and foremast watch head up the mainmast to put a second reef in the main topsail.
1900 hours and the lookouts see occasional lightning to the south, at 2000 it is closer, coming up to midnight and the sea and sky are alight. Mizzenmast watch under Tegan and Amy are on duty and are joined by the idlers (the professional crew who are not part of the regular watch rotation), we clew the courses in smart fashion to keep Endeavour under control in the storm. Tegan remarks about a bolt of lightning and a roar of thunder unlike any she’s ever seen or heard – earth shattering in magnitude. The bow and aft lookouts both have a similar experience of some voltage: the bow lookout feels a shock in his elbow a moment before a lightning strike directly ahead about 2 miles off, and the aft lookout describes a sensation similar to touching an electric fence – a mild shock giving a thud to the heart. As well as the lightning there is beautiful phosphorescence moving in the wash of the ship.
Between midnight and 0100 hours, the storm spins the ship in a pirouette and knocks her around a little, and she is braced for a port tack. At 0300 hours the main topmast staysail is set. At 0500 hours, wearing ship is finished in very light conditions. It is a beautiful, clear, calm morning, with the ship all but becalmed. At 0700 hours the sextants are on deck, both the captain and chief officer, Toby, taking readings to get our position 18th-century style. And the recovery from seasickness is evident by a large turnout to brekkie.
At 0800 hours, whales are spotted to starboard, at first the crew suspect a ruse by the chief officer to get everyone on deck quickly, but then the whales are seen: five are counted all up, swimming and surfacing together. At 0830 an albatross joins the ship, circling from afar but keeping her company. As the morning carries on, the stories of the night’s storm are getting bigger and bigger: “It was a force 5 hurricane!” “We had to nail the captain’s feet to the deck!”
It’s a glorious day for sail handling, working aloft, and on deck. At 0930 the fore and main topsails are set with single reefs, then the main topgallant, the spritsail, followed at 1000 by the mizzen topsail and fore topgallant. Wally, our engineer, is “hunky dory” doing some painting.
1130 hours sees all of mainmast watch on deck peeling potatoes, the task doesn’t usually inspire the enthusiasm of such numbers, but they have turned it into a competition between themselves (with the greater purpose of increasing their competitive nature with the other watches). There are two competitions running, the first is who can peel the most spuds, and the more conclusive and glamorous is the competition for the longest intact piece of peel.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
September 24, 2008
Saturday, 20th September 2008
Noon position: Lat 31°10.8′S Long 154°47.1́E
Day’s run: 125.4nm
The winds are up so there is sail handling to do. After lunch mainmast watch is aloft putting a double reef in the fore topsail; reefs reduce the size of a sail, preventing stress on te rigging in strengthening winds. Reefs reduce the effective capacity of a sail, ensuring the sail is filled and kept tight in lighter winds and achieves the best rate of knots. By 1400 hours Matt the boatswain’s mate is excited because we’ve lost sight of land, “we’re gunning it!” And he can’t do his maintenance work painting the port side anchor; it’s wet from bow waves splashing the deck.
Up go the fore and main mast topsails, with the courses already set there are now 4 majestic square sails up, pulling hard in the wind. The voyage crew stand around looking up from below, admiring their work. One after the other the staysails are handed in, and Bark Endeavour continues out to sea with only square sails set.
At 1500 hours all hands are called on deck to wear ship, the first sailing manoeuvre for the voyage crew. No sooner are they done, with the ship on a heading west back towards land, and all hands are called to wear ship again at 1700! They man their bracing stations and work hard at the task, it’s a huge group effort, with some of the tougher lines attended by 2 watches worth of crew (24 people), all mixed together. Watch rivalry goes out the window when there’s a big task on, and the crew appreciate they are one big team.
Out in the swell properly now and many of the crew are affected with seasickness, they take in fresh air on deck and their shipmates attend them with “happy buckets”. Those feeling green try different methods of reducing their symptoms like looking at the horizon line. It has been a busy first day at sea, Ally the foremast topman says he’s no time to eat, “there’s plenty of food, but too much work to do!”
During the night the safety lines go up on deck so that people feeling sick can negotiate their way around more easily, and stay on their feet in the wind and swell. Tegan and Amy, the mizzenmast topman and yardie, have to make do with only a handful of their number attending the watch, and find themselves at the helm by the end of it.
The morning sees the wind still blowing strong with a moderate swell. The day is thinly overcast with a few holes for the sun to shine through, the light glares and the breeze is brisk. The crew awake from a variable nights sleep, a frequent ocean goer in the voyage crew is seasick for the first time, but is comforted by a sense of joining an exclusive club or secret society – they can now empathise with anyone who has held a bucket at sea.
The skipper, Ross, is keen to get everyone active on deck, being up and about ensures a speedier recovery from seasickness. The winds are expected to pick up in the afternoon with forecasts of up to 30 knots, and they are bound to turn from a north westerly to a south westerly and back again. So the “seas will be a little bit confused.” First everyone is called to “happy hour”, cleaning stations aboard ship; due to the busy departure of the previous morning a few areas of the ship were unattended, so there’s plenty of scrubbing to be done.
Once the cleaning stations are finished there is a smoko (morning tea) reward, with chocolate cake and fruit slice. At 1100 hours all hands are called to bracing stations to wear ship. Crew scuttle for a last bit of cake and have it in their hand before looking up to see the captain in front of them, they hastily scoff it into their mouth before racing up to deck – quick enough to escape a word from their skipper.
After wearing ship successfully, Ross gathers all the voyage crew to talk about sail handling, and describes the manoeuvres just completed.
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
September 24, 2008
Friday, 19th September 2008
Noon position: Lat 30°21.6′S Long 153°15.2′E
Day’s run: 6.6 nm
After lunch the watches continue their induction aboard Bark Endeavour. Mizzenmast watch under their topman Tegan and upperyardie Amy, are on the foredeck learning the ropes, closely followed by mainmast lead by Tom and Amanda, their topman and yardie.
Matt the boatswain’s mate complains about cleaning up his office: the boatswain’s store. The mates, Toby and Ben, and Matt’s mentor Ant, the sailing master/boatswain, have no sympathy for him. “It’s everyone else chucking stuff in there … they mess it up!” Matt decrees that there’ll be no more of it, and looks forward to having something to say in the professional crew meeting. Toby, an efficient task master as chief officer replies simply: “The quicker you work the quicker it will get done.” Can’t argue with that.
Early in the afternoon and Ben and Abi, the second mate and catering officer, have cause for celebration, the survey report for their new boat has come through, and Ben makes the call to put the cheque in the post! It’s exciting news for everyone with a love of boats. Huzzah!
Soon after, looking for any excuse to include yours truly in the log, Mischa, the steward, bites into some chocolate and then crunches on something strange, a large cap from a front tooth has come off; finally, I have the jagged grin of a real pirate. It’s not to last for long though as Dirk the ship’s navigator and medical officer,and Ant, whisk me to shore where it is promptly glued back on. “Could have done that in the chippy’s store” the boys comment upon collecting me.
At 1700 hours the voyage crew have been through the bulk of their induction, and are ready for the best part, the “up and overs”: heading aloft up the shrouds to the fighting top of a mast, and climbing down the other side. After a day of safety familiarisation and touring the ship they are raring to go.
For the first night’s dinner Abi and her cook’s mate, Darbey, set a high standard for themselves, serving an exquisite meal of lamb tenderloin and roast vegetables with a sprinkling of sea salt, followed by chocolate pudding. All are encouraged to eat up the delicious fare, especially if they are prone to seasickness – in case it’s the last they eat for a couple of days. The first night’s sleep at anchor is, for some voyage crew, better than they usually get on land – the gentle rocking of the ship just right.
At 0700 hours Toby gets the voyage crew up, inviting them to “another exciting day.” They will not be disappointed, only 20 minutes later and Tom has his mainmast watch learning how to man the helm. At 0840 there is the first morning briefing of the voyage crew by Captain Ross and immediately after all crew are preparing for sail handling and for heading out to sea. Ben and Ally, the foremast topman, go through bracing stations with the voyage crew, showing them where they need to be when bracing the sails for a wear or tack ship. Then it’s time to haul anchor.
Bark Endeavour makes her way out of Coffs’ outer harbour under motor and staysails, past the breakwater, waving farewells to the locals who had welcomed her so warmly. Getting out into the swell and mainmast watch take a surprise sea shower, as a wave washes the waist (the middle section) of the ship. Coffs Harbour and the surrounding mountains make a beautiful sight behind her as Endeavour pulls away from land with fore and main courses set. Then the iron staysails are shut down … 56 souls travel under wind power alone …
All is well.
Contributed by ship’s steward Mischa Chaleyer-Kynaston
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