Follow Our Journey! Alpha & Tango – Day 12
Written by Grace G., Captain
Happy Challenge Day! Today, the kids are in charge of the boat. With Captains and Mates watching on, the crew is granted the opportunity to ask three questions as a group for the entire day. The crew aboard Malia is eager to take over and apply everything they have learned.
After an early 6:30 wake-up, six sleepy skippers, mates, and navigators head over to Charrette (the staff boat) for a Challenge Day briefing over a beautiful bagel breakfast. These boat representatives learn that they are expected to drop their mooring, raise sails, and navigate themselves to Trellis Bay on Beef Island. It’s a lot of responsibility, but they’re ready! Captains and Mates are reminded that we must keep watch throughout the day’s events.
Once the meeting concludes, we all head back to share the game plan and complete pre-departure checks. That includes untying the secondary, hoisting the dinghy, and battening down the hatches. Soon it is time to get off the ball!
Once underway, the crew aboard Malia cranks the winches and raises sails in a record four minutes! Shortly after, all quiets down as they write Letters to Self, which include details about personal achievement, advice, and funny memories from the trip. No one can believe we’re almost at the end!
After a sail of about 3 hours, we arrive safe and sound at our mooring for the night in Trellis Bay. Beth takes a group of divers to Shark Plano and Joe’s Cave, while the rest of the fleet dinghies to shore to check out Aragorn’s, sail the hobie with Topher, or go tubing.
Though the sun is still up, it’s time to start the evening boat clean and get showers done early… Because tonight we dine ashore at Marché! Everyone dons their island formal (aka our cleanest attire) and heads t0 shore to mingle with the rest of the fleet over sushi, burgers, and fish fingers. Yum!
After dinner, we all head back to the boats for a lily pad war, and Malia invites Joey over to play his guitar for a concert in the helm before we get ready for bed. We had a few matters to discuss regarding timeliness and navigation, but overall, the students did an incredible job running the boat throughout the day! They now have a deeper appreciation for the effort it takes to operate the boat on a daily basis. It was an amazing Challenge Day, and they are all enthusiastic about taking on more responsibilities for the final days of the program. Until next time!
