Day 14

One full last day on the island and there was no better way to celebrate it than a catamaran trip up the west coast. The 9.00 am pick up was a challenge to some of our lads, who have now fully acclimatised to the Caribbean time zone and laid-back way of life! However the clear blue skies and turquoise seas soon picked up the spirits.

Following a short trip into Bridgetown we were taken to the local docks to meet our catamaran and its crew. It must be everyone’s worst nightmare when you book up a quiet day trip cruising around a palm tree drenched, paradise island, only to find you’re sharing your boat with 16 teenage lads intent on having a good time. Such was the look on the faces of our 15 or so fellow guests as we stepped on board. As usual the boys soon won the crowd over, or at least gained some sympathy retelling stories of giant Bajan monster bowlers and our cricketing whitewash. They failed to mention of course, that the average age of our opponents was probably 15 and we were undone on most occasions by leg spinning 12 year olds!

Enjoying the bottomless supplies of soft drinks and cruising reggae music we made our way slowly up the west coast of Barbados for a first stop to swim with some turtles. We dropped anchor just off shore from One Sandy Lane, the new palatial beachside apartment block, where Rihanna recently bought a US$24 million home. Donning snorkels and face masks we entered the water unsure what we would find. Almost immediately we were surrounded by a huge variety of fish of all shapes and sizes. In amongst them were 3 or 4 giant green turtles keen to explore the weird animals splashing around at the surface of the water. They weren’t even put off by the flailing foot of Dan Marsh who inadvertently kicked one in the head! Fortunately the turtles head didn’t suffer the same fortune as our football – the last thing Dan kicked (over a fence and into a garden!). Even the lads who didn’t choose to snorkel enjoyed the experience as the turtles regularly surfaced for air.

Back on board we made another short journey further up the coast for a lunch stop, this time in a small sandy bay outside some more million dollar houses – this time it was the owner of Chefette (Barbados’ own brand of McDonald style restaurants that are all over the Island) and the inventor of tetra carton packaging. Lunch was the standard flying fish, chicken, rice & beans and macaroni pie and salad, but there were no complaints as the food, as always, was very tasty and more importantly helpings were plentiful! Alongside the boat was a small reef with plenty of colourful fish and coral that occupied the snorkelers amongst us. Towards the end of lunch the real competition began as the crowd were entertained by our team diving competition off the side of the boat. Whilst several of the lads were reluctant to take the leap from the 8 foot height, Willem ‘Tom Daley’ Bygrave showed the way with a fearsome repertoire of dives including a thigh slapping backwards special! Harry Wren foolishly called, then executed an immaculate full belly flop, whilst Jack Fakley showed real class in the ‘bomb’ category. In the ‘length leap’ no one was in Simon Hulse’s class and special mention must go to Ben ‘I’ll only jump in if it’s over there closer to the water and next to the steps’ Norris who certainly didn’t bow to peer pressure and took the ladies option – if only we’d brought the pink armbands! Even the staff got pushed into taking the leap of faith. Mr Rowe wowed the crowd with a quality starfish into hedgehog entry whilst Mr Castle, having informed the group he was a former cub scout diving champion, pulled off an immaculate swallow dive without breaking his neck or causing a tsunami.

Before we left we had one final challenge, the ‘swim to shore touch the wall of the big house then get back first’ race. One competitor from each team lined up at the edge of the catamaran in front of a big crowd of cheering tourists. It all started so well as our finely tuned athletes leapt in and headed for shore – for the first 10 meters they even looked like swimmers. Unfortunately technique and energy soon deserted the boys as they floundered to shore (it was only 30 meters and they could touch the floor most of the way!). A foot race ensued to the wall of the big house. The pace increased as our would-be ‘Baywatch extras’ realised that the sand was very hot! At this point Mr Castle sensed potential issues on the journey back and swam half way taking on the role of the ‘Hoff’ as a real life guard. Simon Hulse used his extras levers to get back first narrowly beating Rookie Wren into second place. At the back a separate race emerged between the two Dans - ‘turtle’ Tomlinson and ‘manta ray’ Marsh.  Following a little support from Mr Castle both got back safely but very exhausted with Danny Tomlinson coming a very creditable 3^rd.

A long slow cruise back along the coast allowed us all to rest and enjoy the scenery. We managed to spot several flying fish literally coming out of the sea flying for up to 20 metres before diving in again. We were also entertained as one of our fellow sailors (who clearly had enjoyed one too many rum punches!) tried to walk to the front of the boat to enjoy the view. How he managed to get to the front without going overboard or even spill a drop of his drink defies all probability. Fortunately for him, his daughter managed to escape the wowing advances of some of our boys and came to his rescue just in time.

It was a fantastic way to end a very enjoyable trip. The evening was spent eating any remaining food (in the case of the staff it was a final helping of big game fish and a huge pot of ice cream!) and packing bags ahead of tomorrow’s departure.  Although we were unsuccessful with the cricket in every other aspect the lads have been outstanding. A credit to the school and their parents, we hope they come home with many happy memories.

Mr Castle & Mr Rowe