Location: Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua
On day 10 of our beautiful expedition stretching the Caribbean, Frenchie rejoices on the sands of Antigua with games, shopping, BBQ, and more. The sailors of Frenchie did not wake up at a synchronized period due to the shaky, bumpy, rigid sail the night before. For breakfast, thinking we were going dingy-sailing, we ate not much more than raw cereal and PB&J’s in a hurry, me (Peter) included. Only shortly after did we know the sailing would be, not to our luck, canceled. But the day had only to improve. After deck-showering in the blue, Mr. P docked the boat with cleat and fender assistance from me, Jack, Adnan, and Zoe. At 12:00, the real fun began. After a long toilet lesson and how not to put knives in the freezer (Adnan), Frenchie and Different Drummer took a foot to the bay for the glorious BEACH OLYMPICS. On the way, both crews dropped off their laundries and passed a dock for Mega-Yachts (one that could hold 100 of them for the sailing season!) as well as a small clothing shop both groups would be visiting later. Arriving at the beach, both sides, Frenchie and DD, huddled and prepared themselves for our first Olympic match, the Tug-of-War! Beach tug-of-war, to be precise. In the first round, despite our efforts, Frenchie hit the sand in this clash of strength. But with a genius idea from Carson, we had a new strategy for the next round. At the signal, DD pulled with great might and took the lead, but at Carson’s signal, Frenchie loosened the rope, and they fell to the sand, pulling on nothing. With this opportunity, we pulled with great might and earned winners of round 2, with Adnan and me in the front, followed by Claire, Dasha, Sloane, Zoe, Z, and Carson, with Derrick and Jack in the back. To our surprise, however, 6 of the beach’s citizen inhabitants ran over to join the fun in the final round and aided both sides. With the final pulls and both sides giving everything they had, DD, in the end, pulled off the victory. I wasn’t even mad afterward, laughing, finding the entire situation hilarious and fun. But the war has only just been waged as the next game would play differently, very differently. Our next game would be played much like musical chairs, just with sandals. I was one of the first few to get out, unfortunately, however, Frenchie lived on to the very end where in a leap and a dive, Z caught the final slipper just before the final contender for DD, securing our victory for that match. But for the true champion to stand, Derrick took a bigger leap and caught a sandal just a moment before Z the round after. The score was 1-1 and one game remained, this one more perilous than both the last combined. Both teams would line up, sending the person in the back to crawl between our split legs and run circles around a Pringles can, avoiding knocking it over. Afterward, the person would have to make it past the other team’s defender, blocking the bay’s water from ankle-deep in the waves, which would do anything to block their path. If this person, however, were to make it past the tackler, in they would have to suck up a mouthful of gross, distasteful saltwater, run back to the empty Pringle’s can, and spit it out. This cycle would continue until one can be filled to the very rim. It was a long game full of dizziness, brutal tackles, undesirable beverages, and sandy clothes, but Frenchie was hardly, and just barely able to, pull off the win at a near neck-and-neck climax, winning us the games. After celebrating with fist-pumps, high-fives, and handshakes, both sides put on their clothes and walked back to the boat in the rain. After a long cleaning of the salon, with much help from Sela and Sloane, both sides ate a short lunch (chicken salad for us) and went back to shore to shop around. Walking with Jack and Adnan, we aimed for the grocery store first but were side-tracked by that clothing shop from earlier. It was a beautiful selection of colors, and in there, all 3 of us bought at least one cool tee shirt. But I bought another shirt I couldn’t take my eyes off. It was white and showed Tweetybird (the yellow cartoon duck) crossing his arms and giving the viewer a rude attitude while displaying the words “I Have an Attitude Problem.” Simply put, I paid Jack 9 bucks to wear the thing, which he accepted. After, we joined the Minerva crew in shopping for boat food (candy, chips, etc.) and walked back, thanking the kind lady who gave us the awesome shirt. For our evening activity, the BBQ! It was one amazing night full of laughter, conversation, guy talks, girl talks, and amazing food prepared for us by none other than only Mr. P, Ben, Sela, and Claire. Burgers, hotdogs, french fries, coke, sprite, condiments, and ice cream were served aplenty, and after, we all had a part in cleaning it up. Overall, an amazing day and one I would beyond prefer over a day of only the sails. For me, this day is a 9-out-of-10.