River Valley School Grade 8 students recently returned from the West Coast after trying out their sea legs during the annual sailing trip.
“I’ve been to the West Coast before, but I’ve never been on a sailboat,” said Ethan Dalke, who will be going into Grade 9 at Sundre High School in the fall.
“There’s a lot more to a sailboat than I thought!”
The trip focuses on exploring the Gulf Islands and the ocean between them, said teacher and chaperone Ryan Beck.
“There were intertidal walks where we saw dozens of different species, and numerous hikes,” he said.
Parents help to organize the trip, and there were a total of 53 sailors — 11 parents as well as 42 students who mostly came from Sundre, although there was also a handful from Caroline, Cremona and Didsbury. One third of them set sail for about a week towards the end of March, while the rest were broken down into a couple of groups aboard two boats near the end of April, said Beck.
“Time between excursions was spent in team building exercises and working on the sailboat. It was the students’ responsibility to prepare all the meals, and each morning they swabbed the deck and cleaned the heads,” he said.
The science teacher said he and parent chaperones observed growth among the students, who worked in crews to fulfill their assigned responsibilities.
“They represented their community proudly, and were model citizens and crew members. The captains of the boats were tremendously impressed by our fine youth!” he said.
Without the community’s support, the trip would not be possible, and Beck expressed unwavering gratitude to everyone who pitched in.
“Each student and each chaperone must come up with $1,600 to cover all the costs.”
The vast majority of the trip’s expenses were covered through initiatives such as bottle drives and safe drives as well as working at the Sundre Pro Rodeo and Bulls and Wagons, he said.
“It was an amazing experience for the students with lessons and memories that will be with them for all their years.”
Working in teams to accomplish assigned duties was an ideal way to forge stronger friendships and get to know people better, said Dalke.
“It was a great experience for all of us.”
Although he could not decide what aspect of the trip was his favourite, the student said he really enjoyed working in the galley helping to prepare meals.
Additionally, the crew members of the Island Odyssey were amazing mentors who were super friendly and always teaching the students something new, he said.
“We couldn’t have asked for any better.”
The many hours spent working in the community to raise funds was worthwhile, and he encourages next year’s Grade 8 students to pull out all of the stops in their revenue generating efforts.
“Work hard and raise the funds — it’s totally worth it,” said Dalke, who called the trip a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“You’ll learn so much. It’s something you’ll never forget.”
