Location: Sommer's Beach, Tortola
Good evening! Today started with Garrett blasting music too loud at seven in the morning. Claire and Freddy, chef and sous chef, began making eggs while the rest of us got ready for another rotation day consisting of zesting, hiking, water sports, and diving. After eating eggs, we headed to Alpen Glow for our first rotation, zesting. After a big sail training day yesterday, everyone felt more confident on the zests. Catherine and Jordan, who were high in spirits, were successful but managed to flip their boat all the way over, while Freddy and Alyssa came out on top of the race. Ella did backflips off of the dinghy, and Rachel learned how to backflip for the first time. Post-zesting, we did a short but rigorous hike, and while most of us complained about intense inclines, Rachel maintained a positive attitude the whole time. Freddy kept us going by recapping Forrest Gump; Molly was the caboose and kept the group together. Exhausted after the hike, we began making lunch and doing a dishy pit. Lunch was Tuscan white bean soup, crackers, and salt and vinegar Pringles. After eating, we stayed on Odyssey for water sportsssss.
Brig knee-boarded and managed to perform not just one or two but three 360s. Alyssa tried water skiing for the first time and was impressively able to get up. Next, we geared up to dive with our instructors. We’re nearing the end of training for our PADI open water certification, so we dove around 30 feet, worked on skills such as full mask floods and weight checks, and explored the ocean. Jordan and Brig did barrel rolls and backflips during the safety stop. Molly, who was sick and couldn’t dive, talked to friends on Frenchie and pulled in dinghies coming for water sports. Our last event of today was a beach barbecue. We ate burgers and hot dogs and socialized with other boats. Tucker and Carson talked to friends on Alpen Glow and Shamwari, and Freddy played American Football for the first time. We all took ocean showers in the dark, and as I’m writing this, Tucker just fell into the water trying to retrieve his shirt from Sumo. We’re all thriving and sending love home!!
With love,
Greta