Location: Saline Bay, Mayreau
I woke up at 6:30 to make sure I could get up everyone in time and get ready for my job as skipper. Soon enough, I woke everyone at 7. Waking up everyone is so fun; I try to be as nice as I can because I know it’s hard to wake up this early. Then, we had a breakfast of chia seed pudding, and I told the group the plan for today. After a speedy cleanup and a quick downpour, we took our Seamanship test to become IYT Competent Crew certified. After everyone finished, we rolled right into Oceanography. After class, I gave everyone a 15-minute break before we started passage prep. I grabbed the clipboard from the chart house and started assigning jobs that needed to be done.
We did everything from taking sail covers off to putting halyards and jib lines on and so much more. We got that all done so quickly that we ended up having a bit of free time before lunch. During that time, most people, including myself, did some homework, and I journaled a bit. Next, we had lunch of fried rice, and after cleanup, we had to choose your own adventure time. Most people decided to go snorkeling by the nearby reef, which was amazing! We swam out from the boat and headed to the rocks. It was fairly shallow with so many fish! I saw a stingray, some jellies, a lobster, and even an octopus! I was honestly surprised I saw it since I’m generally bad at spotting things. Eva and I started to get cold, so we swam back and relaxed on deck.
I read a couple of chapters in my book before thinking that I should reapply sunscreen. After a while, I decided to take a shower and finish the rest of the passage prep by hoisting the dinghy and making sure it was secure. Soon enough, it was my time to shine. I beat Doran in a rock-paper-scissors battle to see who got to go up the mast to fix the radar, and I won! I was hoisted all the way up to the second spreader. I’ve been in a bosun’s chair before, so I knew what to expect, but it was a serious challenge. Luckily I’m not afraid of heights, but wow, I was way up there. I could see the rest of the island to the water on the other side. Once I untangled the line, I had to do a Spiderman-type maneuver to get to the other side of the mast to avoid getting my secondary line caught on the spreaders. It was a serious leap of faith. After making it all the way back down, dinner was basically ready. We ate enchiladas and then got ready to watch our leadership movie, “Passengers.”
Quick shoutout to my family, who I miss so much. I love you guys and miss you every day. Sending you my warm weather : )