Bravo 2, Charlie 2, Foxtrot 2 & Sierra 2, Day 8: Sail, Snorkel and Spaghetti at Marina Cay

Written by Henry Joslin-Davis

Edited by Meredith Evridge

This morning, we took full advantage of our lie-in and slept cozily until eight o’clock! Breakfast was a grand spread of bagels with a thick layer of cream cheese, along with yogurts, cereals and fruit! It was a speedy transition from sitting around the breakfast table to being up and at ’em with predeparture checks. We had a sail to look forward to, from Cane Garden Bay, on Tortola, to Marina Cay. It was a lovely and lively three hour sail in the deep blue, filled with learning, socializing and fresh sea breezes. The campers continued to build upon and solidify the sailing concepts they’d learned so far by practice, practice, practice. In between the necessary sailing maneuvers, the crew hung out at the helm listening to rad tunes, playing cards in the salon, or taking a cockpit snooze as the boat gently rocked.

The sun sparkled off of the glistening water and the clouds were puffy and humongous as we navigated our way through the spectacular, green hills of the passing islands. At one point during the sail, we had to drop all sails and motor through a narrow cut between two islands. At this point, all hands were on deck, being aware of reefs or shallow water. A team of relays sent information up to the skipper of the day so that they knew exactly where the boat was situated. Once through, the sails were raised again. Thanks, team!

Arriving at Marina Cay, we picked up a mooring ball and made Greek pitas for lunch. Afterwards, the Sierra program gathered to put some time into their community service project while others snorkeled to collect and bag any trash they could find. The campers received a coral reef watch lesson, and also observed the state of the nearby reef so that they could document their findings. After this afternoon snorkel adventure, all parties returned to home boats and began the usual evening routine. Boat showers with friends and tunes were in order, followed by dinner prep! Tonight’s menu was a truly tasty batch of spaghetti with onions, broccoli, sausage and garlic bread. Yum!

After everyone was properly nourished, the boat was cleaned because they had a cleaning inspection that evening. Since everyone passed, there was cake to enjoy during boat meeting. Once the pan was scraped clean and there was really no more room in anyone’s tummies, all powered down for the night.