Sierra 2 & Foxtrot 2 2015 Trip Blog- Day 12
written by Provisions Manager, Kathryn Broderick, Brought to you by the crew of Miss You
July 25, 2015
The fleet woke up at 7a.m. with excitement in the air, as it was Challenge Day! Challenge Day is a tradition at Sail Caribbean, where the students take full control of the boats. They have to work as a team and without the guidance of their captain and mate to keep on schedule with the day’s activities and complete the daily tasks without reminders. The day started off with diving for all Advanced and Fun divers. After the divers were collected, the girls of Miss You decided that they would like to go water-sporting, so Sydney, Sammi and Addi headed out on the RIB and had some fun waterskiing.
By 10:30a.m., the divers had returned and the skipper of the day and their mate from each boat headed over for a special Challenge Day meeting. From Miss You, it was Hill as skipper and Keith as mate. KB laid out a feast of cookies, pretzels, peanuts and soda as a special treat while Oliver told them where our destination of the day was, which was Cane Garden Bay. When the skipper and mate returned to their boats, everyone shot into action to get pre-departure checks done and get off the ball as fast as possible. Miss You led the way with Hill at the helm, Jack S. and Danielle as de-threaders, and Jack M. and John as relay and spotter.
Sutton was navigator of the day and with the help of Max, plotted out a root from Marina Cay all the way around to Cane Garden Bay. En route, the students sailing abilities and knowledge came to light. The boats tacked, jibed, sailed upwind and sailed downwind. The crew worked together and combined all their skills to sail efficiently and correctly. By 3:30p.m., all boats were on time and on the ball at Cane Garden Bay. It was a massive achievement for all boats. The Sail Caribbean captains and mates were all very proud of all the students.
However the day was not over! The Advanced Open Water divers had their knowledge review. Once they were finished, the whole fleet went for a snorkel along the near-by reef.
For dinner, burritos were prepared and devoured. It was a quiet and relaxed evening, which ended with a boat meeting that discussed Challenge day’s events. It was a phenomenal day for both students and staff. The students got to experience running the boats and apply the knowledge they have learned so far and the staff watched their students grow and thrive in the challenge. What an awesome day!
Check out some awesome snorkeling videos from the Sierra 2 and Foxtrot 2 Program Director, Oliver Bierman-Lytle!
