2012 Trip 5 - Pacific Swift

Trip 5 -Day 3. Anchored in Baseball Bay, we all awoke to scrumptious breakfast burritos. It was a build your own breakfast. The tortillas could be filled with eggs, salsa, cheese, cooked peppers and onions. It was absolutely delicious, and just the right breakfast to fuel everyone up for our morning expotition*. Just after 11:00 o´clock in the morning, all of the dories were launched, and the watches began rowing across Baseball Bay towards an unnamed river. Rowing towards the river quickly turned into rowing up the river. However, the wonderful thrill of powering against a river soon turned sour as it got too shallow to continue rowing. Each dory consecutively ran aground and then had to perform a short portage. Once the shallow area was cleared there wasn´t much further to row however, so the dories were tied up and one and all continued on foot. Our ultimate destination was none other than the unnamed lake that fed into the river. The journey had its ups and downs, as well as its slips and slides. There was more than one person who thought that they were steadily grounded, but then found themselves fully immersed in a pool of water. Every dunk and stumble was worth it though, because at the start of the river was a lake that was mesmerizing to both eye and ear. There was not a sound save the rustle of the trees in the calm breeze. And the lake itself was clear as glass, reflecting the blue and white of the sky above it. Many people upon reaching the lake decided to go for a wade and have a little wash. However, there were a few people who were feeling rather energetic and hungry for adventure who decided that they would swim out to an island in the middle of the lake. Needless to say, the island turned out to not be an island at all, merely a spit of land that gave the cruel illusion of an island. And the swim out there was no walk in the park. It ended up being quite a slog, and by the time everyone returned to shore it was time to depart and head back the way we had come. There were a few bumps and bruises on the way back to the dories, but after a much needed lunch of build-your-own-salad and fresh focaccia bread, a quick check in with the doctor in Tofino where it was determined that there were no major injuries sustained and everyone was in ship shape, as well as a melt in your mouth, “cannot-say-no-to-it” dinner of lasagna, the trainees were ready to make the Swift look beautiful for Tuck and Tidy, the time of day when the boys face off against the girls, and it becomes a competitive battle of the sexes, for all of the marbles and the glory, to see who has the cleaner part of the ship. Tuck and Tidy was followed by a game of Telephone Charades, which is an acted out version of the game of Telephone. The laughing the resulted from the game could be heard all throughout the harbor, leaving everyone in high spirits to move down to Mug Up. The singing was much more boisterous than the previous night, probably due to the lingering feeling of Telephone, as well as the fact that all of the trainees seem much more comfortable and friendly with one another than they did a day ago. People who met only two days prior now feel like they have known each other for much longer. Mug Up concluded with snack, which was double chocolate chip cookies and London fog. The day had been eventful and full of laughter and adventure, the perfect mixture to tucker everyone out and lead us all to bed.
As seen through the eyes of Gillian Trotter.

*A nod to Winnie the Pooh