Location: Anegada
The morning began with pouring rain that woke up those of us who were sleeping outside. Although we were drenched, it meant that we were able to join everyone else inside for an early-morning chat while Aidan read us a few pages of his fascinating book. (There’s nothing quite like hearing about rats and plagues at 6:30 in the morning.) Despite a chill first few hours, the energy on our boat picked up very quickly. Today was Boat Olympics—a series of competitions between the different boats—on the beautiful island of Anegada, and Gary was not ready to let us lose. Let’s just say that the morning was the Ultimate Hype Time. Before leaving, we put blue face paint on and played a hydration game involving the song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC and a lot of chugging. Apparently, many of the boats nearby heard us. We then went around and motivated each other before taking a dinghy ashore, intimidating the other boats along the way.
The first competition was a Tug o’ War tournament, and I am pleased to inform you that the Frenchies came out on top, covered in sand and feeling pumped up. The second competition was a lot more complicated and somehow even more tiring. Each boat formed a forward-facing line and we stood with our legs open, forming a tunnel. The person in the back had to army crawl in the sand through all of our legs, swim through the water, climb a slippery soap-covered dingy, and make it back to shore, all while dodging antagonistic staff members who may have been having a bit too much fun as they splashed us with water, pushed us off the dingy, and grabbed some of our legs (especially Claire’s) to keep us from swimming. We repeated the process until every team member had gone. Iles Et Ailes put up a good fight and came out in second place! For the third competition, Nadiya, Noah, and Claire volunteered to balance precariously on fenders in the water. Noah brought us to second place once again. The last competition involved chasing our very own boat’s staff members around while music played and trying to be the first to touch them when the music stopped. Claire was one of four people out of everyone competing to make it to the final round. In the end, the Frenchies won second place in the Olympics!
In the afternoon, the intensity of the morning caught up to us quickly. The sail back was windy and choppy, so Sariah, Aidan, Ella, Noah, Sadie, B, and Houston hung out on the trampoline at the bow of the boat, getting absolutely drenched and having an amazing time. After a while, almost everyone passed out for a satisfying and much-needed afternoon nap. We took an ocean shower, had an amazing risotto dinner, talked about pets, and finished off the evening with dive talks. The advanced open water divers learned about night diving and deep diving, and the open water divers finished their last PADI video (hooray!) and reviewed for their final exam. Overall, it was an energetic, competitive, and rewarding day. We’re sure to sleep well tonight!