Location: Falmouth, Antigua
Today started with a mercifully late wake up of 7 am. Those 40 extra minutes compared to the past few days of early starts were appreciated by the crew of Ocean Star. The first port of call was to head down into the salon to view a wonderfully crafted movie by Steve, some say he’s the next Steven Spielberg, and I can see why after this morning, pulling together some of the highlights of the entire semester. After what felt like the beginning of the end, the next step of the semester, drawing to its conclusion, took place. Tessa, a highly valued member of the crew, departed for homemaking us one short for the remaining days aboard. Her lack of presence for the remainder of the day was certainly felt.
After the tear-jerking morning, we headed up to Fort Charlotte to watch the race from the viewpoint of the race committee. After a short walk up the hill (the very same walk as we did on day 2 of the program to the tidal pools), we reached our vantage point high up above the start line. We looked on as the rest of our class began their race (we weren’t the only boat in our class to not make a final day appearance, Avenger was also absent). We stayed on the cliff tops spectating for a couple of hours, seeing the rest of the classes begin their races and having, for the first time, a view of the entire racecourse and the tactical maneuvering from other boats jostling for position. Seeing the race from a different perspective provided a wonderful cap to what was a very enjoyable (albeit knackering) classic yacht regatta.
For lunch, we had a semester first, a meal out, at the restaurant below the Antigua Yacht Club, during which we could see the early finishers arriving back to the dock. It made us imagine what it must be like to return to the dock before 1 pm. Ocean Star is wonderful in so many ways, but the speed in a race is not her strongest point.
This afternoon brought the toughest challenge of the past few days. Marine Biology Exam 3!
The evening is rounding up the 2019 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta with the prize-giving ceremony. Here’s hoping we won something! This evening also posts an opportunity for our students to have a night out, the first of classics.