The Tribune

TEN students from Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) and three from Lucayan International School (LIS) in Grand Bahama will hope to complete a Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA) first today by finishing a circumnavigation of New Providence by kayak.

The group set off from Montagu Beach early on Thursday and aimed to cover nine miles a day with overnight camping stops at South Ocean Pools, Adelaide, Lyford Cay and Goodman’s Bay. They finish back at Montagu today if all goes to plan.

It took around 45 minutes for the group to prepare their boats and cargo, and review safety instructions on Thursday morning, when there were a few nerves among the students, seven of whom are at LCIS.

Michael Mindorff, an LCIS student, said sibling rivalry was a powerful motivator. “My older brother did his Gold Award and I can’t let him outdo me,” he said. “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.”

“I’m a rower and have two years doing that, so I think I can handle this kayak trip,” Luke Brown, 16, another LCIS student said. “I love the water, love to be on the water with my friends.”

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. I’m going to be pretty proud of myself when I finish.”

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 Simm’s Point to the south end of Clifton Heritage Park,” said David Mindorff, LCIS Head of Secondary School and 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 paddled around the canal, got stuck on mud flats, searched for an elusive blue hole, explored a mangrove swamp and got soaked by enormous wave.

“Our plan for the actual journey circumnavigating New Providence has us covering 15 kilometres a day,” said Mr Mindorff. “On one of the days in Grand Bahama we completed 20 so we are confident that 15 kilometres is a reasonable day’s work.”

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 the GGYA’s executive director, Denise Mortimer.

She explained that units had kayaked before, but never for the entire duration of an adventurous journey. However, participants would have to underwrite their own costs.

Thanks to a partnership between the GGYA and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the youth programme is able to attract more participants across The Bahamas.

The students taking part are Matthieu Boeuf, Jett Brookes, Zoe Brown, Gabrielle Hollaender, Tiera Ndlovu, Michael Mindorff, Luke Pyfrom, Jose Renteria, Jana Ward and Benjamin Willoch. The Leaders are David Mindorff, Ian Brooke and Sylvia Bateman.