Location: Gustavia, St. Barths
After sliding during squalls and sailing under the stars overnight from Guadeloupe, we arrived this morning in St. Barths, a small touristy French-speaking island. All of us students were expecting to drop anchor out in the bay like we usually do whenever we arrive somewhere new, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we would actually be at the dock for our time here. Once docked, we took care of the boat first, making sure all sails were properly flaked and all lines were cleanly coiled so that Ocean Star would look her best. Within moments of us being here, several people had already walked by and taken photos. Some of them even stopped to ask us questions, curious about the beautiful classic style of our boat compared to all the other similar modern yachts nearby.
We had sandwiches for lunch after putting the boat to bed, and then it was time for schoolwork. With a bit of negotiation, though, we were granted permission to go ashore and work from a cafe instead of staying on board. A group of us went to a juice bar and coffee shop, so we were able to have mango smoothies and frozen coffee on an adorable second-story patio while we did our work. Others went for ice cream at a small shop just a two-minute walk from where we were docked. We then walked around a bit and shopped in a number of high-end stores, buying everything from jewelry to a new wetsuit, as well as lots of snacks and cold drinks at the market.
Soon it was 6 o’clock, so we all gathered back on deck for dinner (massaman curry), and we decided to take a full group photo just as the sun began to set. During dessert, some of the fenders that keep the boat from bumping against the dock slipped out of place, but everyone immediately jumped up at the captain’s orders and hopped onto the dock to push everything back to where it should be. We then ended the night all holding hands while reminiscing together about stories of our past travels before cleaning up, finishing our Oceanography class presentations that are due in the morning, and heading off to bed.