Alpha 1 2015 – Day 2

written by mate, Alex Armson

Today was a big day. We departed from Hodges Creek Marina, our home port, around 11:30a.m. As we departed for the first time, Julian, our skipper of the day, did an amazing job of maneuvering out of the marina. During our sail, we learned about raising the main sail, which Mike, Jenna and Ellie were great at. We also learned about lacing docks, and picking up a mooring ball, and squeezed in some time placing hot seat, where everyone answers questions about themselves.

Our student mate and navigator of the day was Jack, who navigated us to our destination for the day, Cooper Island. We arrived around 1:00 and then proceeded to have students show off their swimming. Mike laughed a lot at everyone else doing the swim test around the boat, which he had already done earlier in the day.

Jack, Jenna, Sarah and Julian then sailed on Opal Bella, a 26′ keel boat. Jack said he learned a lot about sailing whilst on Opal Bella. The rest of the crew (Ellie, Daniel, Mike and Sean) participated in their first dive class!

One of the miracle moments of the day was learning how to take a boat shower. Alex almost knocked out Renée with a raw egg whilst demonstrating how boat showers worked.

The day ended with Julian and Jack cooking up a delicious taco dinner. During dinner, we officially named our crew the “Squid Squad”! Although we might need a little more practice picking up a mooring ball, today our crew did an excellent job of communication and team work!