As the weather reached triple digits Sept. 27, the class of 2012 set out to sea for a day of sailing and kayaking in Santa Cruz and Elkhorn Slough. The annual junior class trip offers a chance to enhance team building techniques and allows advisories to bond outside of their weekly Thursday get-togethers.

Students who went sailing at Santa Cruz learned to rig sails, time turns correctly and tried their hand at steering the boat. Noel Witcosky’s favorite moment of the day was when fellow advisee Bradley Araki made a sharp turn and the boat tipped because she forgot to loosen the mast. “At least I know how to flip a sailboat now,” Witcosky said.

For Daniela Lapidous, the afternoon race was the highlight of her trip. Spanish teacher Daniela Rozanes’ advisory enjoyed the friendly competition and their boat finished in 44 minutes. “We turned on the radio, took a lot of pictures, and of course tried to keep up with our real sailor’s, Jeff’s, instruction,” Lapidous said. “I think it was the best class trip I’ve been on.”

Other students went to Elkhorn Slough, where they split into small teams and kayaked among rush and pickleweed. “We rowed through this winding creek and we spotted sea lions, harbor seals, multiple jellyfish, pelicans, sea otters and seagulls!” Laura Yau said.

“All in all, I’d say it was a fun experience, even though it was pretty tiring,” Revanth Kosaraju said. “The fact that all of us were getting tired together and spending a day with each other outside of school was a really good bonding experience.”