Delta 2 Day 2: Prior To Our First Sail Excitement
written by Delta mate, Luka Walshe
July 17, 2017
Today was a busy, exciting day. We were up super early to get the final preparations ready for leaving docks. The sun shone with vigor on Hodges Creek Marina as we visited the Sail Caribbean Divers dive shop, had final provisioning organized on our boats and prepared our de-docking plans.
We went through a prior-to-first sail lesson, where we were slightly overwhelmed but excited by the pertinent information needed to run our vessels, above and below decks. As soon as we were ready to go, we began pre-departure checks and our skippers of the day talked us through our de-docking plans. One by one, the whole fleet de-docked as we motored into the channel and enjoyed our lunch under way.
Our fleet made its way across the Sir Francis Drake channel to Cooper Island, under power and sail, where we learned to pick up a mooring ball. Once we were on the ball at Cooper, we dinghied to shore, saying goodbye to the divers who headed off to begin their underwater learning. Once on shore, we visited the Cooper Island Eco Resort, where we went to the beach, took out kayaks and stand up paddleboards and relaxed out at the coffee shop. This was a perfect time for everyone to get to know each other a little better as well.
Once we were finished on shore, we shuttled back to our boats, and settled in for a quiet night onboard. We enjoyed dinner and hung out before boat meeting, chatting about where we grew up and talking about our hopes for the program. We went to sleep under a blanket of stars, before being rudely awoken by a blanket of water in the early hours of the morning. And so we end the day sprinting to close hatches, finding a spot to sleep in our cabins and salons. Welcome to the BVI!
