Lascaris

The morning for Lascaris started with Quin and Noah bright and early listening to the cries of goats from the island to our port side. Everyone else slowly started to wake, getting hype for the epic day ahead of us. Race Day. A day when all Action Quest boats sail against each other in a high-speed chase to a finish line. As shipmates started breakfast, Margaux and Laine headed over to the staff boat to get our starting point of sail and see the exact start and finish of the race. Lascaris was assigned position 2, a starting point that was a supposed advantage, got our points of sail and headed back to the boat. As Laine briefed everyone on race, Garrison was baking up some muffins for a second breakfast. The crew then started to get geared up. We had war paint of multiple different colors plastered all over us. Some shipmates had smiley faces, or our beloved ship's name, while Ian made his whole face red as if to be the blood of our enemy’s. Once we were geared up, we motored over to our starting point and got our main sheet ready. We were all ready, positioned at each point on the boat for maximum speed. The race started with a countdown from the VHF, 3, 2, 1, GO!!!!!!!! THE BOATS WERE OFF. We got our jib out and started sailing south towards West End. We started off strong, being even with many other boats, but sadly not really passing anyone. In fact, we were falling behind, A LOT. So much so it became impossible to see a win for Lascaris. So instead, we did what we do best.
Vibe.
We ate muffins and listened to music at full volume. Covered with face paint and smiles, we sang, we danced, and were honestly accepting of our fate at the losers. But really, did we lose? We got to spend a happy, stress-free time together, with no need or rush to win. It was amazing. It was Lascaris.
As we crossed the finish line into West End, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins. Then it was time for the inevitable clean-up. We were assigned jobs and got straight to work on making the boat shine as bright as the sea. We worked tirelessly for about 2 hours until Lascaris was spotless. We did our final ocean showers and got ready for a barbecue dinner on West End with the entire AQ fleet. Before we set off, we did our final squeeze filled with laughs and confessions. We shared stories and good times from our days together in the BVI and soaked in each others’ presence one last time.
The night on West End was chill. We all talked with other boats, met up with old friends, made some new ones, and tied off loose ends with many fellow AQ shipmates. As the sunset for the last time and the darkness set over the bay, we all got on our dingy boats and headed back to our home for our final night on Lascaris.
-Laine W.