I drove to Kim Malkoski’s house as she is hosting me for a couple of days at her workplace, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). We left at 6:50am to get to WHOI and to get situated for an 8am small boat training course. I will be taking this course for the next 2 days and will learn how to drive, dock, and trailer two different boats. I have minimal boat experience, and have never felt completely comfortable being in charge of docking so I am excited for this course as it will make me feel more confident. We started with some lessons in the classroom. This went over leaving the dock, basic turns, and re-docking. We then all went down to the boats and went over how to start the boat and what to always check in order to be safe. The boats we were using were an Inlander Response and and a Carolina Skiff. We started by maneuvering the boat out of the dock slip. We turned the wheel all the way towards the dock and went forward so that the stern swung out. Then we flipped it in reverse and slightly straightened the wheel to kick the whole vessel to the side. It was all about pivot points and how they change based on forward or reverse motions. It took me a few tries but 
I got it. We then went out and practiced just driving and turning the boat so we all got a feel for it. Since we had six people on each boat there was a lot of time watching others which helped me a lot with the harder maneuvers as I could observe what others were doing right and wrong before I did it. We then practiced approaching on a boat that was already moving. This would be utilized when weather conditions made the sea choppy. By both boats continuing forward together, they match up with the waves and it makes it easier to pass gear or people between boats. I did this one well and was super proud of myself! After a lunch break we expanded on our previous skills by approaching a boat straight on, doing a power turn, and then coming up beside it while the boat was moving. This one made me nervous because I really didn’t want to hit the other boat. My dads one piece of advice for me doing this course was “don’t hit another boat and you will be fine.” I ended up not hitting the other boat and actually doing the skill decently! After that long day, Kim and I got some pizza and watched the new season of Stranger Things. When we got back to her house I was over the moon happy because she had Boursin cheese and crackers and that is my current favorite snack. 
T
he next day we continued with some classroom lessons and then got back in the boats. We reviewed skills from the day prior and got comfortable, and then started docking maneuvers. I ended up not backing into a slip since I didn’t feel confident that I wouldn’t hit the boat into the dock and it was a pretty busy area ahead of the dock and I didn’t want to get in the way of other boats. I was able to dock onto the side of the pier area with the wind pushing us towards it though which made me happy. We finished the course by driving a truck with a trailer on it and doing a three point turn. This truck was BIG. I did it eventually, but definitely had help from Kim and other people on the dock. Overall, I had a great time taking this course and it made me feel more comfortable operating small boats. I will practice and hopefully get fully comfortable operating soon! While at the Malkoski’s, I got to try on my new drysuit that was gifted by Fourth Element to the intern. It is quite beautiful and I am excited to use it later in the summer. Thank you Fourth Element!!