Location: Slipway Antigua
The day started out promptly at 7 am with music blaring from the speakers. A good way to start the day, I’d say. I woke up everybody personally and made sure they were ready for the big day ahead. We started the day off with some nutritious granola, fruit, and yogurt. Some people joked about eating the leftover mac and cheese, but I hope they were really just joking about it. Once we cleaned up our meal, we began our passage prep. The dinghies were strapped down and filled to the brim with scuba gear and other miscellaneous items, the benches in the salon were tied down, the engine room was checked, and we were ready to lift the anchor. We raised the anchor in record time and began heading for the slipway.
While we would’ve loved to sail, time was of the essence. Thus, we motored through the swells to get to home base. The ocean was the roughest we had seen yet, some people felt queasy, but all enjoyed the peaceful ride. However, once we neared the channel, we had to prepare to dock. In the swells, we had to take everything we had previously crammed into the dinghies out and store them below deck. We split into teams and lowered the dinghies into the water. Once we successfully accomplished that task, we had to get all the lines and fenders ready. In the organized chaos that ensued, we set everything up to Steve’s standard and were ready to dock. We pulled in with the help of the dinghies and made it safely to the dock.
We continued the day with a marine biology class discussing the various types of coral reefs found around the world. Steve graciously cut the lesson in half as we were all very hot and tired. After a great lunch consisting of deli sandwiches, we got ready for boat appreciation. This was not a normal BA, though. This was our chance to get the boat ready for the tropical depression headed our way. With the self-proclaimed master of lashing sails (Calum), we strapped all the sails to their respective booms and removed their halliards so they wouldn’t come up during the night. Meanwhile, below deck, watch team 1 cleaned every nook and cranny of the saloon and galley. Ethan got to use his “Iron-Sheep,” which ( as always) leaves the brightest smile on his face and whatever he has cleaned. Once everything was clean, they stripped the beds of their old linens and came up on top to help us clean the boat. We cleaned everything up on deck, from below the scuba tanks to the poop deck. I even got into the dinghy to clean the whole hull.
We finished up BA and got to take land showers for the first time in a while. We all appreciated that immensely. After our showers, we had an amazing pasta prepared by Calum and his sous chefs Ian and Nicole. Now we have seamanship class, and later we’ll go to bed and let the storm blow over.
until next time,
skipper Alex