Lates Fleet! Day 6 – The Moorings
Written by Sean C., Mate On Game Day
Today was partly cloudy with a chance of rain showers scattered throughout the day. Winds were steady around 15-18 knots (about average for the area). The temperature was in the low to mid 80s all day. In the evening, we encountered light showers as we slept.
Today started with happy vibes around the boat because it was pancake day! We started prepping our pancakes with chocolate chips around 7:15, and we all dug in by 8. This morning was a chill morning with a lot of options for the kids to choose from. By 9:00, the kids began their dinghy certification exams, watersporting, colgating (small boat sailing), and turtling. Zoey said, “It was super fun! It was exhilarating because they went super fast!” about the tubing, one of our most enjoyed watersports.
By 10:30, all students were back to their original boats for pre-departure checks and lunch prep. By now, it was a part of the students’ regular schedule to be checking the engines and closing the hatches. It was a quick sail to the moorings marina, a beam reach for most of it, where we only raised our head sail. Around 12:30, we began awaiting our docking instructions and preparing for our first docking of the program. The curriculum included line throwing, general docking, and fending, as well as communication. Our boat (Game Day) docked last, with a very smooth docking (I was particularly impressed with all the line throwing, as it went very smoothly).
As soon as we had settled on the dock, we began our mid-program deep boat clean. The kids’ efficiency was rewarded with shore time! The kids were able to wander throughout the marina town into the coffee shops, boutiques, and even the restaurant and pool. After about 2 hours of shore time, all students headed back to boats to help with provisioning at 4:00 pm. Shortly after we had gotten all the new food aboard, we also began our phone time, a great way to reconnect with family and friends.
The kids all enjoyed recounting some of their adventures back to their loved ones at home. Just after they finished up, they were able to enjoy some proper land showers. In the evening, we had a special event planned… movie night! As a result of popular request, we played Surf’s Up! and all enjoyed the movie under the tent on land. We ended the movie at around 9:30, when we had a quick boat meeting and started to get ready for bed. The kids began to fall asleep to quotes from the movie, ready for another packed day tomorrow!
