Written by Franny P., Social Media Mate
Hello everyone! I’m Franny, the social media mate for Mega 2s, here to keep you in the loop on everything that’s been happening at Sail Caribbean. Yesterday was an exciting day at Hodges Creek Marina!
All of staff spent the day preparing for our students’ arrival—we cleaned boats, stocked up on tons of yummy food, and kept our energy high with some loud tunes. A few students arrived early and kindly jumped in to help us organize!
At 4 PM, a big wave of students arrived! Despite their long travel days, they were in great spirits as they got assigned to their boats, captains, and mates. We helped carry their bags, and they got settled into their new floating homes for the next three weeks.
Two more groups of students trickled in at 6:00 and 7:30 PM. Once everyone was together, we served a delicious hot meal of chicken, rice, scalloped potatoes, vegetables, and coleslaw. After dinner, everyone had showers and started getting acquainted with their new friends.
Captains and mates led their first boat meetings, giving their crews a rundown of what to expect over the next three weeks and how things will flow on board. Everyone was pretty sleepy and powered down by 9 PM, winding down with some quiet chatting before falling asleep.
This morning, staff were up bright and early at 6:30 AM for a meeting and let the students sleep in until 7, though most were already awake and excited to start the day. Breakfast was buffet style, with plenty of options like cereal, bagels, yogurt, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. After breakfast and clean-up, dive shop rotations began!
During these rotations, divers from each boat headed to Sail Caribbean Divers, where they received an introduction to what to expect and the certifications they’ll be working toward. Back on the boats, students got to know their catamarans more closely. Captains gave them tours and taught them how to use materials in the kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. They also learned how to store equipment properly, the importance of life jackets, how to perform engine checks, where everything is located, and some basic boat terminology.
Then it was time for pre-departure checks! At 11:30, the boats de-docked from Hodges. I hopped on Betty’s Dream for our first sail. Etai was the skipper of the day and did a beautiful job taking us out of the marina. We raised our sails swiftly and sailed for a few hours. Ryan, Jack, and Etai practiced some tacking along the way. Eventually, we caught a mooring ball in Trellis Bay.
Now the students are doing their swim tests, showering, swimming, and getting ready for dinner prep. This start to program has been smooth sailing—everyone seems to be adjusting so well and truly having a great time!
