Foxtrot 3 & Sierra 3 2018 Adventures Day 3 – Circumnavigation Sail Of Cooper Island
written by mate, Zoe Leech
August 8, 2018
This morning, our crews woke up to the smells of two of their shipmates preparing breakfast, continuing to familiarize themselves with moving about the galley and putting their boat cuisine skills to the test. Once we were satiated by a buffet to fuel us through the day, our Open Water, Advanced Open Water and recreational divers were shuttled to shore at Cooper Island Beach Club to continue their confined skills learning or go on a dive at Thumb Rock and Vanishing Rock. Our Emergency First Responder divers also took a channel crossing ride back to Hodges Creek Marina to take part in their EFR course before starting their Rescue Diver curriculum tomorrow.
The rest of the crews completed their pre-departure checks before dropping their mooring balls at Manchioneel Bay to do a circumnavigation sail of Cooper Island, where they were delighted to be able to see the north side of the island, outside of the channel. They practiced raising their main and jib sails, and tacking in order to feel more comfortable at all crew positions on board.
At lunch time, we were all back to our home boats for a mac n’ cheese meal. Afterwards the students had the opportunity to spend time ashore in the small boutique and local coffee shop, sipping on smoothies and munching on gelato. Water-sporting was available to all and everyone took turns on the stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, wakeboards and Sail Caribbean’s infamous water-sporting tube, Popparazzi.
We all returned to our boats for showers, dinner and boat clean. Some divers had the opportunity to go on an incredible night dive of the Wreck of the Rhone. The rest of the students met ashore for a social among our fleet of four boats where we ordered fruity and decadent Caribbean smoothie drinks and desserts. On shore, we held our nightly boat meetings (some even included some team games!) and then returned to our vessels for power down in order to rest up for another full day under the sun tomorrow.
