Alpha 1 Day 5: ASA Lessons On The Sir Francis Drake Channel
written by Alpha mate, Erica Florian
June 28, 2017
Today was a pretty packed day! We started off the day with our first sleep in to 8a.m. which was so heavenly for both the students and the staff on board. We had yummy egg sandwiches onboard and then headed to shore for some ultimate frisbee, volleyball, paddleboards, kayaks, and just general beach relaxation time.
We then headed back to boats for some delicious creative pizza quesadillas and pizza bagels. Everyone was so stoked about them — they all said it is definitely their favorite meal so far. Big hit. Our Open Water divers headed to shore for their second to last day of class, and the ASA students went in two shifts out on Sail Caribbean’s very own 26′ Colgate training keelboat, Opal Bella.
I myself joined the ASA students on Opal, as we sailed around in the Sir Francis Drake channel for close to three hours! All the students had a try at transferring the sailing skills they have been learning on our big boats to the smaller keelboat by leading maneuvers and steering at the tiller for a good while. While we were on Opal, the rest of the crew went snorkeling at the Indians. They all reported back with loads of stories about all the different types of fish and coral they observed and admired.
Once everyone was back to their home boats, we showered up and started with an early dinner of Taco salad. The kids loved it; there was absolutely no food left over and all were stuffed. After dinner, we promptly shuttled our already certified divers to shore to do a night dive, while the rest of our teens took on a beautiful sunset hike. We got to the apex, admired the sunset with eyes wide, and played a quick game of “Oh Captain, My Captain,” which is a nautical version of “Simon Says” but of course, way more fun.
After we came back down to Earth from the aftermath of the incredible view, we all headed down to the restaurant onshore for a group social between the Alpha, Tango, and Delta programs. Everyone enjoyed yummy desserts and smoothies. We ended the night outlining tomorrow’s schedule over some hot chocolate and Nilla wafers. Everyone said they had an awesome fun-filled day, and they are all really excited to change up their surroundings by heading to Nanny Cay’s docks tomorrow.
