Location: Cocoa Point, Barbuda
Starting at 6 am, most of the crew had risen to study for our oceanography exam. This would be our last exam for this class, and everyone was just cramming. After a breakfast of yogurt and granola, we headed below deck for another quick 10-minute study session and then took our exam. Once we were done, we headed up on deck for passage prep for our first student-led voyage. We were all nervous and excited for the opportunity to lead the 6-hour passage to Barbuda on our own. We had to plan and chart the entire course that we were going to follow, and thankfully it got us to where we wanted to be. Margeaux had been voted in as skipper and Riley as our Bosun. They took charge for the day and lead us in everything, from taking up the anchor, putting up the sails, tacking, and pulling into port. They did an amazing job, and we got to the right spot at the right time. I’m super proud of all of us. The passage took up almost the entire day, and the vibes on deck were super chill and fun. We had music playing in the cockpit, and everyone was just singing along and dancing while on watch. A few of us got in a nice power nap after being relieved from watch, which is definitely something we all needed. We also were racing a little sailboat for a while until they probably got scared of us and stopped and turned around. We rightfully won that race. Once we got closer to land, we realized that the staff was not lying when they said Barbuda is basically a pancake. There is not a mountain or even a hill in sight. Although it’s very flat, it’s super beautiful. We finished anchoring just at sunset, and the colors in the sky were just perfect. We all changed into swimsuits and jumped into the cool ocean, and it felt amazing. After a day of sweating, it was so nice to just cool off and shower. We then had some downtime until dinner. Ash made his amazing homemade bread again, except this time made it with garlic butter, and it was to die for. We’re now relaxing after this long day, a few people are making pies for American Thanksgiving tomorrow, and some are already asleep. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings at this new beautiful island.
Pics:
1: Margeaux
2: Isabel L.
3: Will, Julia, Kiara
4: Luke
5: Luke and Jodie
6: Riley
7: Julia
8: Julia, Kiara, Luke
9: Riley and Margeaux
10: Steve and Margeaux
11: Isabel A.
12: Calum and Riley
13: Riley and Luke
14: Margeaux and Luke
15: Ben and Zoe
16: Calum and Riley
17: Sea Plane