Delta 1: Days 17 & 18 – Saba & Overnight Sail
Day 17:
Written by Megan Deevy, Mate
Today we were ashore on Saba Island. Saba is a Dutch territory with incredible geographic features. The island is sheer rock coming out from the middle of the ocean. It’s quite incredible. We started the day with a long dinghy ride to the leeward side of the island. When ashore, we went on a hike through the rain forest with cobble steps and swinging vines. The hike was from the leeward side to the windward side, and dropped us right in the heart of downtown Saba. It’s a small town with a local dive shop and restaurant. After our hike we went to a studio on the mountain with a lady named Joe Bean. Joe Bean has been working with sail Caribbean and has a special spot in our hearts. She creates handmade glass beads from glass found throughout the French and Dutch islands. The kids got to make their own hand made beads in the studio and turn them into necklaces. It is a token of remembrance of our entire trip down island as it is one of the last activities we partake in down island. The kids got shore time at the restaurant and shops in the small town before heading down the mountain.
We headed back to boats and showered in some deep swells before getting the boat ready for the night sail. We will arrive back in the BVIs in less than 24 hours!
Day 18:
Written by Luca Norton, Mate
We set sail from Fort Bay Saba at 6:30 PM and headed downwind for the BVIs. We watched an amazing sunset and Jade, Cece, and Ethan took the first watch from 6 to 9. The 9 to 12 watch was held by Jasset, Maddi, Gracie and Cole who got to watch the stars and run radio checks with Nolde.
Early in the morning everyone woke to watch the sunrise over the open ocean. It was a marvelous experience made only better by the awesome downwind sail everyone got to partake in. By 8:00 AM Cece made much needed pancakes and everyone was stoked at the sight of the BVIs. “Land Ho!”
By 9:30 we were sailing between Ginger island and Round Rock, happy to be back in the BVIs. We went through customs at Roadtown and then motored to Nanny for some needed rest!
