Day 8 of the Delta Program was a phenomenally important milestone that comes along in every Sail Caribbean program: Challenge Day! On this day, the students take over the running of the boat and the staff on board are just along for the ride as the crew works together to manage everything from navigation to maneuvering the boat, to keeping up with the schedule of the day.

Chloe woke everyone up bright and early so that divers, Emily, Pablo, Elvira, Steph and Sam,  could hop on the dive boat in the morning and head to The Dogs to explore some world-class dive sites: “The Chimney” and “Bronco Billy”.  Madison, Chloe, Emma, Hawkey, Dylan, Cassidy, and Kricket went out on Opal Bella, a 26 foot Colgate, to work on their ASA certifications.

Everyone met up at Trellis Bay for lunch and smoothies and checked out Aragorn’s art studio to peruse some art and jewelry made by local artists.  From there, the crew got back on board Grande Plaisance III and got prepared for the passage ahead of them.  Dylan, Pablo, and Hawkey jumped on plotting a course for their journey while Chloe rallied the troops and assigned positions to drop the mooring ball at Trellis Bay.

Though the crew encountered challenges throughout the passage, they persisted through them and always found a way to problem-solve together.  After a long sail, everyone was ready for a shower, dinner, and a good night’s sleep.

Though the day was difficult, the crew stepped out of their comfort zone and came out of the day as a stronger unit than they were before.

Thanks to Sam Gans for some of these awesome photos!

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