Alpha 2 Day 8: Bitter End Yacht Club to Mountain Point
July 17, 2016
Rise and shine and head up the mountain! This morning, we all ascended a high point on Virgin Gorda Island. We wound along a trail that cuts between cactus and low-hanging tropical trees; finding relief in the gaps between them that revealed views of the turquoise blue waters below.
Shortly after descending, we shuttled to the other side of the bay and had a lesson about mangroves from one of our counselors. We learned about the different types of mangrove trees. We learned how some absorb salt water and take in all the salt, while others take in the salt water but separate out the salt and secrete it though their leaves.
Then, it was time to take sail again! We shuttled back to boats, dropped the ball and drove away out of the North Sound. Shortly, we were pointing upwind to raise sails and then falling back down to a broad reach that would carry us all the way to Mountain Point. We had a little fun on the sail, too. All the boys went to the Tango program’s catamaran for the day, while all the girls sailed the Alpha monohulls.
We arrived at Mountain and sank our anchors into a shallow sandy bottom that lay below our boats. Once secure, the rest of the day was devoted to fun and good times! Most of us spent time water sporting and learning how to stand up on a wake board!
We only concluded that fun water sports to address perhaps the most important aspect of the schedule, which was sunset appreciation! We gathered on our boats, dinner ready, and watched the sun sink below the horizon from the best sunset-watching location in the BVI!
