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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Seven students from Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) and three from Lucayan International School (LIS) in Grand Bahama, became the first participants of the Governor General's Youth Award (GGYA) to complete a gold-qualifying kayaking expedition. The four-day canoe trip wrapped up Sunday, February 15.
Photo(s) by Precision Media
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Ten
participants paddled into GGYA history following a successful four-day
kayaking adventure where they circumnavigated New Providence covering
nine miles a day.
Seven students from Lyford Cay International
School (LCIS) and three from Lucayan International School (LIS) in Grand
Bahama, became the first participants of the Governor General's Youth
Award (GGYA) to complete the gold-qualifying kayaking expedition on
Sunday, February 15.
Three teachers accompanied them and a rescue
vessel remained on standby during the adventurous journey which began
on Thursday, February 12.
It took around 45 minutes for the group to prepare their boats and cargo, and review safety instructions.
Sixteen year-old, Zoe Brown from LCIS utilized the time to calm her nerves and rationalize the benefits of the journey.
"I'm
a little nervous. This is my first long trip so I hope my kayak skills
are okay," she said. "This experience will make me a better kayaker-and
I'll make some new friends, for sure. I'm psyched."
She wasn't the only who was a wee bit apprehensive.
"I
am nervous about the weather and the waves. We have discovered, as we
plan, that things change from day to day," said LCIS' Michael Mindorff
for whom sibling rivalry was a powerful motivator.
"My older
brother did his Gold Award and I can't let him outdo me.My younger
brother is doing Bronze this year. It's a family thing," he said. "My
teacher told me we will be very proud of ourselves if we can complete
this.I am looking forward to the feeling of success."
The thought of soaking wet clothes, tired muscles and aching ligaments doesn't faze Luke Brown of LCIS.
"I'm
a rower and have two years doing that, so I think I can handle this
kayak trip. I love the water, love to be on the water with my friends,"
said the 16-year-old.
He feels the typical hiking expedition, synonymous with GGYA, is tougher than kayaking.
"Out
on the water it's cooler and I can splash water on my face to cool
down. I love it," said Brown. "I'm going to be pretty proud of myself
when I finish."
The sea was calm, the sky overcast, as the group
pushed off from Montagu Beach around 8am Thursday. Throughout the
entire trip they remained visible from shore.
The kayaking
adventure is a journey for which they are well equipped. The group
completed two practices - one in New Providence, the second in Grand
Bahama.
"The first practice involved one full day of kayaking
from Lyford Cay around Sim's Point to the South end of Clifton Heritage
Park," said David Mindorff, LCIS Head of Secondary School &
Academics.
"We then did two days of work together as a team in
Clifton Heritage Park cutting a bird watching trail, clearing stumps in
an area planned for a petting zoo and re-building a stone wall."
For
the second practice, the LCIS students travelled to Freeport, to team
up with LIS. Over the course of several days, they padded around the
canal, got stuck on mud flats, searched for an elusive blue hole,
explored a mangrove swamp, got soaked by enormous wave and generally had
an exciting time.
"Our plan for the actual journey
circumnavigating New Providence has us covering fifteen kilometres
[roughly nine miles] a day," said Mr Mindorff. "On one of the days in
Grand Bahama we completed twenty so we are confident that fifteen
kilometres is a reasonable day's work."
The group made camp at various coastal sites around New Providence. The trip wrapped up
Sunday at Montagu Beach, a day earlier than planned.
"They
did very well," said the GGYA's executive director, Denise Mortimer.
"The only difficulty were the 7-foot waves around Cable Beach between
BahaMar and Goodman's Bay and when they tried to go through the Harbor,
they were stopped and waited at the Hilton Beach for us to get
clearance."
She added, "Otherwise a great experience for all."
The
Gold Award takes a minimum of 12 months for Silver recipients working
in three cornerstones area: service, skill and physical recreation.
Participants must complete an adventurous journey spanning four days and
three nights.
"Our first kayaking gold qualifying expedition
demonstrates that there other types of adventurous exploration available
to our participants. This is a dynamic programme," said Ms Mortimer.
She
explained that units had kayak before, but never for the entire
duration of an adventurous journey. Other units are free to do something
similar. However, participants would have to underwrite their own
costs.
Thanks to a partnership between the GGYA and the Ministry
of Youth, Sports & Culture, the youth programme is able to attract
more participants across the length and breadth of The Bahamas.
Participants:
Students
Matthieu Boeuf
Jett Brookes
Zoe Brown
Gabrielle Hollaender
Tiera Ndlovu
Michael Mindorff
Luke Pyfrom
Jose Renteria
Jana Ward
Benjamin Willoch
Leaders
David Mindorff
Ian Brooke
Sylvia Bateman
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