Alpha 4 & Charlie 3 2018 Adventures Day 8 – Challenge Day Sail To Deadman's Bay On Peter Island

written by Social Media Coordinator, Ryan Smith
August 13, 2018

By 10:00a.m. sharp, students were up and at ’em, wrapping up a breakfast 0f loaded eggs and assorted fruits which was followed up by meal clean-up, and a gathering of all dirty laundry on Leverick’s docks. As we bid farewell to our salty and seasoned vetements for the day, we in turn began cooking up a de-docking plan to lead us through relinquishing ties from the marina. The most important part of the day was that it was CHALLENGE DAY! This is the day of program that students are pushed as leaders to take full control of their vessels along with the day’s schedule. It is the crews’ responsibilities to take charge of all aspects of the program day, with solely the silent and passive supervision of staff. Starting off Challenge Day with a bang, each vessel’s de-docking could not have went more flawlessly. Students were invigorated by an initial success that the day’s excitement took off like fire.

Off docks by 11:00a.m., crews enjoyed a lunch of Pita sandwiches underway as they set their course for Peter Island.  Predominately undeveloped, the island’s biggest beach is Deadman’s Bay, where we would be anchored overnight. Deadman’s is a mile-long crescent beach shaded by palm trees with a beach and restaurant but most interestingly  said to be named for pirates that were marooned on neighboring Dead Chest island who ultimately experienced an ill fated demise.

Once on anchor, students snorkeled their set anchor to make sure they were properly secured before everyone regrouped and debriefed the day’s sail, safety-keeping and schedule-managing. Although we need to work on our navigation a little more, all in all, the day showed the students what they’re capable of with the power of tight coordination and the skills they’re continuing to develop with us.

As the sun fell in the sky, crews found themselves on their home boats for showers, jammin’ and dinner preparation of spaghetti bolognese. As our meal was cleaned up, we swiftly started up our nightly boat meeting to discuss the highlights and challenges of the day. Although the crews encountered a few hiccups along the way, each student agreed they felt that they had put all that they had learned to the test today and came out on top and were feeling proud of the work they had done.