Written by Zoe F., Social media coordinator/mate
Good morning Nanny Cay! On the morning of July 11th, we woke up and began breakfast, which included a spread of cereal, oranges, and bagels. Since we were on the docks, some chose to grab a smoothie or breakfast sandwich from Islands Roots Cafe. A group of divers left on the dive boat with packed lunches and snacks. Students working on getting their ASA 101 certifications took a truck ride over to Hodges Creek Marina, where they got into two Colgate 26s alongside staff. They learned more about small-boat sailing, using the tiller to steer and tack, and each having a turn easing and taking in the main line.
Natalie, the marine biology coordinator, led Foxtrot and Sierra students to the other side of the marina to take a look at the green sea turtle in the recovery tank. The sea turtle had lost a flipper due to an infection, and Nat explained how the nonprofit Ark, Association of Reef Keepers, took samples to see what bacteria caused the loss of the flipper and coordinate a plan for how they can rehabilitate it to be released back into the ocean.
Meanwhile, Dream Yatchs’ maintenance crew fixed up a couple of boat issues. We then were ready to all de-dock and head towards Little Harbor. Underway, students were given crew, mate, and boson review sheets. Over the next couple of days, students can demonstrate the sailing skills they have learned and get different-level certifications. We made sandwiches for lunch and had leftover fried rice from the night before. Once we arrived at Little Harbor around 1 pm, students were given a briefing on how to med-anchor. This is when you drop anchor off one end of your boat and tie a line from the other end facing shore to a boulder or rock to keep the boat from swinging around the anchor, a technique commonly used in the Mediterranean as well as in more confined bays. FUN divers were then picked up by the dive boat, and divers from the morning were dropped off. Watersports commenced, and kids rode around the glassy bay on our “Jumbo Dog” tube as well as wakeboarded. Others chose to snorkel as the visibility in this harbor is one of the best! Campers reported spotting squid, flounder, puffer fish (Sarah H., student on Sonsbeek) as well as a manta ray and lots of sea turtles (Jordan H., student on Blue Buddha). Boat showers began, and Gus, the provisions manager, and I went around dropping off boxes of an assortment of food to each of the boats.
Dinner prep then began, and it was a special night, Chili Cook-Off, a Sail Caribbean fan favorite! Each boat prepared its own special chili and decided on a theme. The judges, which included the staff living on the staff boat, myself included, came around in our coordinated floral outfits to try each boat’s chili and do our unique assessment, including the vertical acceleration test as pictured below.
All the campers’ creativity really shined through! Students used what they had on the boat to coordinate a theme for their boat, embellishing the salon with decorations and dressing in funny costumes. We saw many great themes, such as a murder mystery, a skit where the students acted out different staff members, a couple of dance parties, and a wedding! Lots of laughs were had throughout the evening, and soon enough, it was time to power down for a night of sleep.
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