Alpha 1 Day 6: Cotton Candy Sky Cloaked Us At Nanny Cay Marina

written by Alpha mate, Zosha Wiktor
June 29, 2017

Today, the Alpha team woke up to a lovely breeze at Norman island. The previous evening’s sunset hike made for a long and restful sleep. GP3 (Grand Plaisance III) and Montlouis had a tasty breakfast buffet and tried to eat as many bagels and remaining breakfast items as possible in anticipation for the reprovisioning happening later that day.

After breakfast, we began to deep clean our boats to impress the staff who would be evaluating for our cleaning inspection happening at Nanny Cay later in the day. This boat clean had our hearts and souls tuned in as well as once the inspection was passed, students were allowed their cellphones back to call and check in with loved ones. Decks were scrubbed, dinghies were rinsed, linens changed, and laundry organized. The boats were looking sharp.

After the clean, the fleet was eager to drop the mooring ball and start sailing to Nanny Cay! Underway, the entire fleet got hit by a small squall and we dropped our sails. Even though we were getting pelted by relentless sideways rain, and the wind was howling, spirits were high on our boats because our newfound knowledge and teamwork had our crews feeling competent and prepared. Skippers of the day handled the storm like champions and remained tranquil even though conditions were less than ideal.

The next part of our day’s journey was docking our boats at Nanny Cay. Docking may be one of the more stressful maneuvers on a 50′ yacht however you would never be able to tell with today’s skippers. Both GP3 and Montlouis successfully docked their boats at Nanny Cay just in time for the rain to cease and prepare for the cleaning inspection. After last minute sweeps, staff came through and checked the boats for cleanliness and all passed with flying colors. The crews rejoiced and headed out to explore Nanny Cay.

At Nanny, students explored the shops, hung out on the beach, swam in the pool and even graciously picked up some ice cream for their crew and staff members. After free time, students had the chance to call home and update their families on all the adventures and eventful sails they have been having so far. Once phone calls were over, the crew settled back into routine and prepared dinner underneath a beautiful cotton candy sky. Dinner was a Sail Caribbean twist on Caribbean Jerk chicken which was devoured almost immediately.

After dinner, the fleet headed to a restaurant named Mulligans for a social onshore where students could buy sodas and play mini golf. We also projected the movie ‘Get Smart’ on a big screen for everyone in all of Tortola (it felt) to enjoy.

Today, was a full day of challenges and the entire fleet handled them amazingly well and impressed the mates and captains of each boat. Well done team!