After three days of sailing, we got a lay day. The girls were excited to hear that when we were moving the boat today it was to a beach half an hour away and that they had plenty of play time today.
After our adventure on the beach yesterday, we wanted to encourage the girls to try out their snorkelling equipment and explore the few rocks and kelp beds that were nearby. Ella was keen to try out her Christmas present for the first time and in the end it was her enthusiasm and confidence that inspired us all!
Everyone donned their wetsuits, and once ashore tackled the fun task of popping on fins, mask and snorkel. After a few practise breaths, Ella seemed happy to try going in the water. The big girls dithered around with their fins for ages so they went with Joel and Ella and I stuck together. The water, took your breath away and I really didn’t think we’d keep going but after a few tries Ella popped her face in enjoyed seeing the sand! Getting used to breathing through a snorkel when you’re 6 is tricky and so we just stopped and chatted after a few seconds. Then once I said, right let’s go and explore this rock she was face down and kicking and I was so proud. With body shaking and teeth chattering she was loving her new skill and we will have to get her a warmer suit so she can continue to enjoy it for longer. Let’s just say, she put her big sisters to shame, they had a go but weren’t keen on exploring too far.
I loved being back in the water ( can’t remember the last time I snorkelled) and if the sun had stayed out longer would have kept going.
In the afternoon we stopped at Passage beach, with the sun shining and the water crystal clear, for a quick explore. In the past we have often found unusual things washed up here. The old wrecked boat is still here, slowly being cut up and hopefully taken away by Parks. Today there wasn’t anything much more to see except a lone stingray wandering up and down the shallows occasionally.
Gracie made a tremendous find in the sand, a paper nautilus shell, damaged but still intact. Ella then ran around showing me all kinds of other treasures and asking if they, too, were rare finds…
This evening we had our first social event, a beach BBQ. It was good to finally meet people who are like minded, enjoy the water and sailing and listen to their stories and backgrounds. The girls are unfortunately the only children in the fleet, and had to make do with their own company at the beach. They are already looking forward to the next social event next week in the Tamar Valley.
After our adventure on the beach yesterday, we wanted to encourage the girls to try out their snorkelling equipment and explore the few rocks and kelp beds that were nearby. Ella was keen to try out her Christmas present for the first time and in the end it was her enthusiasm and confidence that inspired us all!
Everyone donned their wetsuits, and once ashore tackled the fun task of popping on fins, mask and snorkel. After a few practise breaths, Ella seemed happy to try going in the water. The big girls dithered around with their fins for ages so they went with Joel and Ella and I stuck together. The water, took your breath away and I really didn’t think we’d keep going but after a few tries Ella popped her face in enjoyed seeing the sand! Getting used to breathing through a snorkel when you’re 6 is tricky and so we just stopped and chatted after a few seconds. Then once I said, right let’s go and explore this rock she was face down and kicking and I was so proud. With body shaking and teeth chattering she was loving her new skill and we will have to get her a warmer suit so she can continue to enjoy it for longer. Let’s just say, she put her big sisters to shame, they had a go but weren’t keen on exploring too far.
I loved being back in the water ( can’t remember the last time I snorkelled) and if the sun had stayed out longer would have kept going.
In the afternoon we stopped at Passage beach, with the sun shining and the water crystal clear, for a quick explore. In the past we have often found unusual things washed up here. The old wrecked boat is still here, slowly being cut up and hopefully taken away by Parks. Today there wasn’t anything much more to see except a lone stingray wandering up and down the shallows occasionally.
Gracie made a tremendous find in the sand, a paper nautilus shell, damaged but still intact. Ella then ran around showing me all kinds of other treasures and asking if they, too, were rare finds…
This evening we had our first social event, a beach BBQ. It was good to finally meet people who are like minded, enjoy the water and sailing and listen to their stories and backgrounds. The girls are unfortunately the only children in the fleet, and had to make do with their own company at the beach. They are already looking forward to the next social event next week in the Tamar Valley.