Early Alpha Day 10: Race Day and Chili Cookoff
Brought to you by the crew of Montlouis
June 19, 2016
Montlouis had a sleepy morning today; we all stayed in bed until 8:00am! Energy levels sparked after breakfast because today was race day! Our boat raced Meursault through a course that we set up in the North Sound. Grace was our skipper for the day, so she started on the helm as we tacked around the starting mark. We perfected our rapid tacks and smooth jibes, and every single student got a chance to be on the helm during the race. We beat Meursault by a long haul, and cruised out of the North Sound with “We are the Champions” blasting from our speakers.
Ben held the helm as we sailed to our destination for the night, Mountain Point on Virgin Gorda, a stunning remote anchorage. We set our anchor in a nice sandy patch, with Lizzie on the windlass, Maggie spotting, and Ben on the helm. For lunch, we all filled up on chicken Caesar wraps. Then, open water divers, DSDs, and fun divers got ready to go for a dive! Grant and Daniel saw two moray eels, and Nathan and Maddie both saw a school of squid. Nondivers spent the afternoon chilling on Meursault together; we baked some delicious Oreo brownies and snorkeled around the reef that borders the anchorage.
On top of the excitement of race day, tonight was chili cook-off! Montlouis decided on a theme that combined something the whole crew loves: music festivals! We hosted a chili music fest for the Chileans. Lizzie spearheaded the cooking operation and concocted some absolutely delicious chili. Maggie and Maddie, aided by the team, wrote an adorable ukulele song to perform for the Chileans. Everyone donned their festival gear and Alex, Carson and Georgia used sunscreen to give everybody some festival face paint. The bow of the boat became our stage for the evening, and we hung spare sheets and lights up all over the boat. We danced and sung and served up some delectable chili.
There was an optional night snorkel on the coral reef on the northern side of the anchorage. Although most of us were wiped out from our chili music fest, Lizzie and Grace rallied to go snorkel with the students on Meursault. They had a fun time playing in the biolume and seeing the nighttime creatures. Once they got back, we had a quick boat meeting and powered down for the night. Another excellent day! We can’t believe how fast they’re flying by.
