Written by Kat C., Mate
Good morning from Game Day! Today we woke up at Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, and Lucas and Dylan cheffed up some amazing chocolate chip pancakes. As it was Challenge Day, the students took the initiative to get going, and the skipper and navigator were off to the staff boat for their navigation briefing. Ryder was the skipper, and Isabella was the navigator. They both took their roles very seriously and returned with a super thorough briefing, telling their crew the schedule for the day, the direction we would be sailing, and the major highlights ahead.
After the briefing, we completed our pre-departure checks and dropped the ball. Staff took a backseat while the students conferred over exactly how, when, and where to start raising the sails. They did a fantastic job putting all their knowledge together and successfully raised the sails as we headed to Anegada for the day.
Emily and Vivian made mac and cheese for lunch while we sailed, and before we knew it, we were dropping the sails and heading into the mooring field. We then got ready for shore time, which everyone was super excited about. We started with a marine biology lesson led by Jack about turtles and the impact of plastic on the ocean environment, which was the perfect segue into our beach cleanup. Every boat found heaps of trash, and it was awesome to help make a difference in the local community.
After the beach cleanup, we went to Big Bamboo at Loblolly Bay and got to hang out with friends, play on the beach, go shopping, and buy some yummy food and drinks. Later, on the way back to the boats, we stopped at a shark nursery where we waded out into the water and saw juvenile sharks.
Once we got back to the boats, we did our daily ocean shower and began dinner prep, which was Ryder and Isabella’s responsibility. They made delicious pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce. After dinner, we tidied up the boat and wound down our day with our family boat meeting. Overall, it was another awesome and fun-filled day in the British Virgin Islands!
