Written by Reagan C., Mate on Charette
Lima has lifted off for the second year! My name is Reagan, a mate on Lima, but also a Sail Caribbean Alumnus and Lima Alumnus. All the students arrived at the docks at Hodges Creek Marina ready to take on the next 21 days. Our boat, Charette, is a Sail Caribbean classic boat, and we were so excited to get it for Lima. Our two Divemaster students and three sailing students all settled into the first boat meeting with their bellies full from our chicken, rice, and coleslaw buffet.
The next day, we woke up to a breakfast buffet at Hodges Creek Marina. Then, we went up to the dive shop to meet with the dive staff. This was especially for Mannat and Skyler as they will be getting their divemasters is Sail Caribbean Divers in the next few weeks. The next thing on the agenda was a de-docking lesson with Shila, a student on Lima (she killed it). Then, we had a nice, lazy sail over to Trellis Bay on Beef Island. Once we picked up the mooring ball with Nina and Lexi threading the bow lines, we all jumped in and did our swim tests, ocean showers, and some swimmy fun time. As the sun was setting, we talked about what to expect on the next day when we were starting our American Sailing Association (ASA) lessons and Divemaster Training.
On Day 3, we all woke up at 7 am and had a breakfast buffet. Lexi, Shila, and Nina got in the truck and brought to Hodges Creek Marina to hop in our Colgate 26’s and learned how to raise sails, trim them properly, and identify the points of sail. We then had a study session for ASA 101 and talked through the chapters of the book. The Divemasters did their swim tests and assisted with the beginning of the Mega Fleet’s Open Water Course. We were all on our boat, which had sailed from Trellis Bay to Cooper Island, and Skyler and Lexi made us all burritos. The boat meeting that night was where we introduced the students to the responsibilities of being staff and staying on schedule. After all of the lessons on sailing and diving all day, we all decided to have an early night and power down. It has been an amazing start to this program, and I cannot wait for all of the adventures!
