Written by Nora, Head of Marketing
Hello Alphango Families, Nora here! I had the pleasure of joining Alpha & Tango for their last few days of the program. It was so clear to see how close everyone had gotten and how great of a fleet they were. I joined them when they were at Scrub Island right after they did their challening docking like pros. At Scrub, they had some fun shore time at the shops there, the market with yummy pizzas and cold sodas, and the pool with one of the best views. Afterwards, they headed back to the boat to start dinner prep – they made some delicious carbonara pasta. They also got to enjoy some fresh water showers on land at the Scrub resort. That night, I led some students on a night hike to the north side of the island. I was a little worried because a squall came through briefly beforehand, and we wanted to watch the stars. However, luck was on our side because once we arrived, the stars were so bright! I got out my star app so we could look at constellations, then we sat around and told some riddles before heading back.
The next day was an early rise for the staff – Baths National Park day. Staff wake up early (5:30) to start motoring to the Baths so we can grab a mooring ball before they all fill up. The Baths is a unique national park where we have a ‘hikel’ (snorkel & hike). They are called the Baths because they are full of batholithic rocks, which are formed on very specific fault lines. After the Baths, we dropped the mooring ball and headed to one of my favorite places – Little Harbor on Peter Island. At Little Harbor, we have to do a specific maneuver called med-anchoring. It is basically where we anchor and then tie a stern line from the back of the boat to a rock on land to keep us in place. Once we were all med-anchored, Kate (fleet captain) and I took some kids wakeboarding while others went tubing or on a hike. That night, I hung out for a bit on Summer as they cooked up some Chicken Teryaki and took some great photos with the camera. It was another beautiful night under the stars.
Day 13, the last day of the program, started with a squall that came through Little Harbor. This meant that the students had a relaxing and slow morning. They worked on their crew, mate, and bosun tests as well as their ASA tests. Also, later on that night, they would all be performing skits, so they were practicing for that. Then, it was time to return to Hodges Creek Marina along with the Mega and Lima fleets – crowded docks! We had a lovely dinner of chicken, rice, potatoes, and veggies before all gathering in front of the dive shop to do skits, awards, and a slideshow. Even though I was only on the fleet for a few days, it was so amazing to meet all of the students. I got to reconnect with some returning students as well as hang out with first-year students. We all hope you have a great year and hope to see you again next summer!
