Location: English Harbour, Antigua
Today was incredible! After breakfast, we started the day off with a dock walk at English Harbour, Falmouth Harbour, and the Antigua Yacht Club. We checked out all the cool boats and discussed the differences between them. Then, we were lucky enough to meet Bruce Schwab and his crew and board their boat, Ocean Planet. They talked with us for a while and allowed us to check out the boat that had sailed around the world twice, one of which was during the Vendee Globe race. We had an hour to eat lunch and then met at Antigua Yacht Club for an MTE practical. Antigua and Barbuda Search and Rescue (ABSAR) were kind enough to involve us in their rescue simulation. Eight of our crew members were cast into life rafts in a 6-foot sea, left to drift as a rescue operation was planned and executed. Those who weren’t on the life rafts helped coordinate the rescue and joined the search for the survivors. Things took a pretty interesting turn when one of the two life rafts that were deployed started to sink due to a hole in it. ABSAR and the Ocean Star crew handled the scenario beautifully, and all the victims made it to shore safely. We then showered quickly and began to head to Shirley Heights. We had to hike up to get there and arrived at a good crowd, awesome food, and unbelievable music. Ocean Star dominated the dance floor, which overlooked the island of Antigua, and had one of the greatest nights of fun on the trip so far.