2017 Bahamas Sailing High Adventure Trip
by James Y. , Crew Historian
On Friday, April 7th, 2017, Alex B., Jack B., Joe Z., Jon B., Sam G., and myself James Y., along with two adult leaders Dr. Jackson and Mr. Ye, met up at Forestville Elementary School at 6:30 PM. We carpooled down to Dulles Airport, on the start of our Bahamas Sea Base Adventure. The first memories began with us flying down to Tampa, Florida..
After another two short plane trips and we were at Marsh Harbor, in the Bahamas. After eating at an overpriced bad service restaurant, we all saw that the trip was going poorly. However, after a fine meal and a nice trip at the beach, and sleeping under the stars, it would only be…”smooth sailing” after today.
Our boat was named the Admiral Chi Chi, and guiding us would be Captain Jim and Admiral Chi Chi. At first, the boat seemed a little small for ten people, but somehow it worked out.
8:30. we woke up to some tasty breakfast burritos. By this point, we were cooking breakfast ourselves. The boat supplied everything we needed for a full week. We took a hike in the Man of War area, ate some cold cuts for lunch, and rotated sailing at the helm. At first, the boat was automated, but eventually we relied on sail power.
Even though I had caught the first fish, it was quite small compared to the barracudas everyone else caught, and I think our Chief Jon almost caught a shark but lost the battle. Later in the day we visited a beach for a while, before heading home to a pork chop dinner. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, while we were sleeping, it started to rain. Eight of us had to pile in a small cabin below deck, spread across the floors and sofas. The sleep was…not the best.
Monday. I and Jack are cooking breakfast, so we wake up early. On the table is sausages and abstract art pancakes. After showering, we leave the area and start sailing again. With the choppy waves and stuffy cabin, some of us, including me as starting to feel not so well. Especially Mr. Ye, who marked his territory on both sides of the boat. Use your imagination.
We thought we’d get another good night’s sleep under the stars. At 4:30, it starting raining hard, and all of us crowded into an already crowded cabin. Four people in bow area (including me), and four in the kitchen area. Rumors tell of me kicking everyone and conquering half of the area to myself, disturbing three other people, but I think that story has been greatly exaggerated.
Next morning, we woke up to French toast and sausage, and started out the day trying to snorkel; however, with the choppy, big waves, it was much too dangerous for some snorkeling. We ate lunch at a restaurant, ate sailed a bit, and then had a spaghetti dinner.
Now it’s Wednesday. Second to last day. Last night, four of us tried sleeping on deck, but it rained and we had to retreat back to the stuffy, crowded cabin. We ate breakfast burritos, and visited the light house at hope town. We shopped around too, and ate lunch there. We enjoyed a nice day at the beach.
Thursday. The week has gone by so fast. The pancakes at breakfast were actually shaped like circles instead of modern art, well done chefs. Ate a quick lunch while sailing back to Marsh Harbor, where it all began, and ate dinner at Jamie’s place, where customer service seemed to be pretty slow.
By this point, I was really starting to get annoyed by the propaganda posters. Vote James Albury, 2017. Should’ve been no big deal – except that was the only election poster, so everything was identical. Worse, there would be 4-6 of the same poster at the same spot! Seven identical posters lined up on one wall, four on a pole; I think we got the point. If I had a dollar for every time I saw that poster, maybe I could pay for my college tuition.
The next morning, we washed to boat down and scrubbed the deck, and cleaned off the borrowed snorkeling equipment. We made our final goodbyes to our hosts on the boat, and set for home.
I thought the Bahamas Sea Base expedition was quite amazing, and even though we were quite disappointed in not being able to snorkel, it was still a fascinating adventure.
