Written by Provisions Manager Meghan & Mate Nina On Far Away
This morning the Mega and Lima fleets woke up in Great Harbour to a brief squall before the sun came back out. The smell of the rain was accompanied by French toast brewing on each boat’s stove to fuel the campers before a morning filled with activities. Advanced Open Water and Fun Divers headed out around 8:30am while a raving dance party complete with face paint and bass pumping music broke out on Unsinkable II. Meanwhile, other campers received a wild ride from Capt. Kaitie D on the tube, and those looking for a more relaxing start to the day were led through a yoga session with Daisy on, (yes you guessed it), Jus Chillin.
Lima campers continued Colgate practice during this time, perfecting their man-overboard (MOB) skills and preparing for their ASA practical testing. During these procedures a fender is thrown overboard so that the campers can sufficiently learn how to safely maneuver the boat and utilize sail trim when retrieving a person in the water.
The Lima sail crew got their MOB reps in on the Colgate and even ran into a bit of rain along the way, though it did nothing to dampen spirits (fittingly, since “I SEE BOB” has become the unofficial call sign for the MOB life jacket itself). Between drills the group also worked through their 103 content, and Sam stepped up to teach the whole crew a lesson on points of sail. With the mega fleet’s ASA testing on the horizon, Judd, Parker, and Sam spent the rest of the session prepping lessons of their own — they’ll be teaching knots and MOB recovery to the Mega campers tomorrow. On the dive side, Lima worked through emergency assistance skills before moving into search and recovery, which got a lot funnier when Max realized the dive watch everyone was searching for had been sitting in his fin on the boat the whole time.
Meanwhile Nate and Mateo caught the early dive boat to help the Open Water students with their first dive, where the group spotted a grouper, a reef shark, and an eagle ray. With sailors and divers both busy, everyone came together to motor sail to Diamond Reef, where campers snorkeled the reef while the divers ran their skills underwater below them.
Back on Mega fleet, the staff boat de-moored first and motor jibbed over to Scrub Island to prepare for the docking of all our Mega fleet boats. Docking days are both exciting and involve a lot of coordination. It is really incredible to see all the campers get involved, whether it be spotting potential obstacles, tossing lines, or roaming around with a fender in case the sides of the hull gets too close to the docks edges. Our Fleet Captain Katie Vick communicates with the Scrub docking staff to ensure that every camper boat has sufficient help to dock safely.
After successfully docking, myself and the captains rhibbed out to Trellis bay to meet the delivery truck for our big provisions order. As the Provisions Manager my job is to plan the meals, create recipes, order food and get it delivered to the boats so the kids can cook all their own meals! Today was a big day for me because we had to pick up all the provisions from Trellis Bay, rhib them back across to Scrub, and then begin sorting them onto each boat. It was genuinely an all hands on deck situation and Lima came over to help out as well.
Most of the time provisioning is handled by staff, but Lima campers Judd, Sam, and Parker were right in the thick of it. They helped our Mega fleet mates find random ingredients and lift boxes, as well as took out the trash so that the Scrub marina docks were left clean and tidy for other guests. Everyone was immensely helpful, and it is always so much fun to see the campers’ reactions as they walk past the provisions and can see some of the requests they have made come to fruition.
All the campers then helped put the food away on boats while Ollie, your trusty Social Media Mate kept them updated on a scintillating third place world cup match. “Ollie France just scored again!!”- Court & Bear.
After dinner everyone enjoyed a filling pasta meal before embarking on a night adaptation lesson led by one of our marine science staff, Mikayla, from Unsinkable II.
This is such a cool opportunity for all students to experience the wonders of Caribbean marine life. Campers walk along the docks with flashlights trying to spot nocturnal creatures hiding in between the docks. Tarpin, which are long silver fish who are attracted to light, are a common occurrence. I could hear many “oohs” and “wow look at thats” as I walked past the touring group of campers. Then everyone returned to nestle in their beds while visions of tarpins danced in their heads. Here’s to another jam-packed day at Sail Caribbean!
