Alpha 2 & Tango 2, Day 12: Olympics and Long Bay Day

Written and edited by Meredith Evridge

There was a huge day ahead of us; multiple beaches, activities, and new friends waiting to be made. It was the day of Olympics and Long Bay! We needed a strong breakfast to sustain us throughout the morning so we loaded up with scrambled eggs, bagels, cereal and fruit. We were all ashore on Savannah Bay by 9 o’clock with flags proudly displaying our boat names. Making sure everyone knew that OUR boat was the best boat, we whooped and hollered until we were all told to gather in neat lines for the first event: Dizzy Fender. This involved putting on a snorkel mask and running down to where the captains held a fender for each boat. You had to run around it ten times with your head down, making you a bit dizzy, and then you had to run back to your crew, handing off the snorkel mask to the next contestant. Everyone was cheering and the speakers boomed with fun music.

The next event was a synchronized swim. Each boat had ten minutes to prepare and choose a song for their dance. Then, they dazzled us all with their creative, aquatic movements. The applause was deafening! Following that, each boat had to chase down a staff member and bury them in the sand, making sand art. Once each boat had corralled someone of their choice, they were then transformed into mermaids and other intriguing creatures!

The final event was an intense few rounds of tug of war. We pulled with all our might as our captain and mate cheered us on! There were winners, there were losers, and everyone got covered in sand. After the free exfoliation from Mother Nature, we rinsed off in the water and headed back to boats. Lunch was had underway, a lovely dish of bacon mac n’cheese and optional leftover chili. We began to sail to Long Bay, relishing the combination of focus and hard work, with a side of relaxation as well. For those that are not on the helm, it is a good chance to catch up on a good book or a catnap.

Arriving in beautiful Long Bay, we slathered ourselves with sunscreen and loaded up on some H20. It would be another fun filled beach session, this time with kayaks, stand up paddle boards, the Picos, and the Colgate 26! Our friends from YEP (Youth Empowerment Program) of the BVI would be joining us too. We dinghied to shore and got cracking, hopping from activity to activity. There were games to play, frisbees to toss, and the faint scent of dinner cooking…..a beach barbeque! We clustered around the grill, having burgers, franks and fresh fruit. It was a delicious way to watch the sun go down.

We waved goodbye to our YEP friends and headed back to boats for a boat meeting and a power down.