Alpha 3 Day 2: Goodbye Hodges, Hello Cooper Island!

written by Rotating Captain, Courtney Sarik
July 25, 2017

All the students woke up at 7:00am to the warming rays of the sun on their faces and the songs of the local roosters.  They began their busy day with a delicious spread of cream cheese and bagels, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, and granola. After breakfast, they took their boat photos, prepped sandwiches for the sail ahead, and went to the Sail Caribbean Divers’ dive shop to check in for diving or buy hammocks and accessories to enjoy.

After gathering back at their boats, they learned about all the parts and systems of the boat both above and below decks in their prior-to-first sail lesson. Eager to set sail with all that they have learned already, they then had a de-docking lesson and worked as a team to come up with how they were going to de-dock their boats. Once out of the marina after successful de-dockings, they learned how to raise their sails and set their eyes and adjusted their sails on our destination for the day: Cooper Island.

After lowering sails and picking up a mooring ball, they then jumped in the sea for a swim test, saw their first sea turtle swim by, and learned how to tie a secondary. The scuba divers were then brought to shore for diving while the non-divers went to shore for beach time, kayaks, standup paddleboards, shop time, and ice cream. At 4:30p.m., everyone went back to boats for an exciting boat shower demo and delicious burrito dinner. The exciting second day concluded with the students learning how to complete their daily cleaning duty’s and then powered down the evening with some yummy cookies and a boat meeting under the starry sky and cooler breezes.