Location: Falmouth Harbour, Antigua
Hello everyone,
It was an early 6:30 wake-up for everyone aboard Vela today. We ate delicious frozen yogurt bars created by our head chef Katie and her sous chefs, Greg and Charlie. We all then quickly completed clean-ups so we could get started on the busy day ahead, which included hiking, an optional lunch ashore, and the rest of our rescue practices. We all piled onto the dinghy to be dropped off at the start of the hike near Pigeon Beach. From there, we climbed the goat trail, which extended from Falmouth Harbour back to English Harbour, where our journey began. Along the way, we saw the beauty of the Caribbean Sea, steep cliff sides, historic structures, and the occasional goat. The views were spectacular. It was nice to get a chance to exercise the legs and explore some of Antigua’s scenery. The climb up was not easy as we were all feeling the effects of living 3 months on a 112 feet boat (not a lot of room to get your steps in). Near the end of the dock, the students got a view of Ocean Star sitting in the slipway that we will be leaving in just a few days.
After the hike, we all got to explore Nelson’s Dockyard and the surrounding area. Mack, Greg, Meg, Katelyn, Wax, Hannah, and I looked in the dockyard museum and got some pastries from the historic bakery. I highly recommend the apple turnovers. Charlie, Dre, Katie, Anthony, and Will got some food in the Harbor, while Val and Maddie came back on the boat for some mozzarella sandwiches and diving from the bowsprit. This was all followed by finishing the last exercise for our rescue diver course. In groups of three, we had to give rescue breaths and tow an unconscious diver to safety. Maddie, Katie, and I had fun figuring out how to manage giving rescue breaths while also not letting each other’s heads fall underwater and while removing diving kits. We eventually got it, but there were times the “unconscious diver” felt like a “drowned diver.” We ended the day with another delicious meal and one of Katie’s signature desserts. This time it was chocolate chip cookie bars! Another great end to a great day!
Hi everyone at home. Love you and see you soon!
(to Maddie’s Grammy, she expects brownies when she gets home…let her know if she needs to call Nancy now)
Signing out for the last time,
-Skipper Andrea
Photos:
1: Me, Meghan, Greg, and Val ready to go for our hike!
2: Katelyn taking a power nap, spooning a powerful man (hulk).
3: Meg and Val’s beach wedding, featuring Katelyn and her shoes
4: View of the harbor from Pigeon Beach
5: Katelyn and Bennitt drawing masterpieces in the sand
6: Anthony, Charlie, and Dre posing on the hike
7: Me and Mack posing in front of English Harbour
8: Smash, Katie, and Katelyn acting cool at the fort over Nelson’s Dockyard
9: Anthony doing tricks off the bowsprit
10: Maddie and Anthony doing backflips off the bowsprit
11: Will relaxing with his true love, Ting, after a hard day of rescue diving (Oh, and Maddie is also there helping him not get dragged away by the current).
12: Greg inside the dockyard Bakery