Location: Ladder Bay, Saba
Initially, Saba gave me the creeps. It’s secluded and rocky and steep, and it didn’t seem to be inhabited by anyone except scary villains from spy movies. The wind rocks our boat as if we are underway, and the wind chills us even on hot Caribbean mornings. It is very different from the other islands we have been to for sure. Yesterday, on our hike up Saba’s highest peak, we got to see what was hiding past the angry swells and the ominous rock cliffs: a quaint little town filled with friendly people, beautiful trails, and an overall welcoming atmosphere. I was shocked to see how my perception of something could transform so quickly after seeing what it really had to offer. Today was a reinforcement of my new love for Saba. We were picked up by Saba Deep, a dive charter, and brought to two really unique and beautiful dive sites. The afternoon group of divers reached a max depth of 125 feet, our deepest dive to date!
I was in the morning dive group and was thrilled to see two nurse sharks, huge schools of different fish species, and amazing underwater geological formations. When we came back, I was pleased to meet a new shipmate who had arrived aboard our boat, a friendly pigeon that I named Craig 🙂 He spent the afternoon with us, and I felt like it was a good omen for the coming passage. After preparing to sail and a brief MTE class on how to use radar, we had dinner and departed for the BVI. As I was on the helm while we sailed off the mooring ball, I realized this was a very big night on our trip: our last night passage, my last day as skipper on Ocean Star, and we were heading back to the place where it all began. I was talking to Alex about it, and she put it the right way; she said, “I feel like I’m going back to the place I came to life. I feel like I was born here.” I think a lot of us feel the same way. This is, in many ways, the first chapter of our adult lives, and it is finally coming to a close. I’m excited to see what’s in store for us in the next few days; I’m sure they’ll be as unforgettable as the rest of this journey has been.