Early Foxtrot & Early Sierra Day 10: Snorkeling A Wreck Full Of Marine Life
written by Early Foxtrot & Early Sierra mate, Luka Walshe
June 18, 2017
Today is Race day. Today is the day we put our skills to the test in some ‘friendly’ competition with the other boats in our fleet. In the build up to the race, there has been a rivalry kindling between the monohulls and catemarans respectively.
The race will be Hully Gully vs. Paso Doble (of Foxtrot and Sierra) and Atilla vs. Fermi (of Alpha). Race day starts with the usual morning routine of breakfast followed by a quick dip and straight into preparing the boats for departure.
We drop the mooring balls and head into the channel to await the starting line. The wind howls with a steady 20 knots, some perfect conditions for racing.
The start line is set and the race begins; sails are raised and jibs un-furled, to billow in the steady breeze. The course is a straight tack across from Anegada to Mountain Point for the catamarans, while the monohulls close hauled upwind, searching for a tactical advantage.
The race is a close finish, with each boat anchoring within minutes of each other after a long sail. The anchors drop, some at questionable depths, others in prime locations. We will wait until final deliberation to hear of the final winners at our ending ceremony.
Once the race had ended, we quickly prepped the divers and had lunch. The dive boat came and took us to dive on the Kodiak Queen, a wreck 60ft below the surface at Mountain Point. The wreck featured an art installation of a Kraken engulfing the sunken ship. Diving down and around the wreck was spectacular — the boat was full of marine life. After our dive, we went back to our boats to have dinner and boat meeting. After a long day, it was time to hit the hay.
