Written by Katrina C., Captain
We woke up in the beautiful British Virgin Islands to a delicious breakfast buffet with fresh mango, lovingly prepared by Dylan and Onye.
While the divers got ready for their morning dive, the rest of us welcomed a few students from Nohea to join us for a lovely downwind sail. After demooring, we were on our way. The sail raise was efficient and smooth, with positive vibes all around. Onye set the tone by curating a great playlist, and we sailed from Cooper Island to The Bight on Norman Island.
Since this was our first downwind sail, we spent time learning about jibing and the safety steps necessary to perform it correctly. Ian, who’s a former student, was super helpful in teaching the newer crew members. We practiced two jibes during the sail, and both went smoothly!
We also reviewed points of sail and the parts of the sail, with my mate Elie sharing a hilarious acronym to help us remember:
“Mr. Luff had a tack in his foot, but didn’t know about the leech on his head!”
A goofy but super effective way to learn the mainsail parts!
Along the way, we passed a massive bloom of sargassum, which was so cool to see. After lowering the sail, we entered the mooring field at The Bight and had a smooth and successful mooring.
After a quick debrief of the maneuvers we practiced, the Nohea students returned to their boat, and we made yummy quesadillas for lunch before swimming in the clear, warm water. A little later, our divers returned—and the advanced divers announced they had completed their certification! They are now officially Advanced Open Water certified. Chris even saw a reef shark, and Sonya spotted an eagle ray!
Dinner was a Sail Caribbean classic: homemade pizza. But Chris and Andy took it to the next level, giving each person their own personalized pizza presentation, blasting Italian pizzeria music, and speaking in Italian accents to create the full experience. Everyone laughed and danced—it was such a fun vibe.
We wrapped up the evening with boat clean, boat meeting, and a round of high, low, and buffalo to reflect on another amazing day with Sail Caribbean.
