Location: Nevis
Hello everyone! I apologize for my blog being a few days late. As you will read, there was little time for blogging on the evening of the 27th. Anyways, I know you all have been waiting for this one, so here it is.
As a skipper, it is very important to wake everyone up on time. Most of the time, it is done with some loud music that really gets people groovin on their way out of bed. The day before, Max gave us a wonderful wake-up, so I was determined to stop it. Unfortunately, my plan did not work because, at around 6:15, we raised the anchor and began our motor away from Statia. I woke early to help the crew get us going, and so did a few others. The rest of the crew slowly trickled onto deck as waves began to rock the boat, making it a bit tough to stay asleep. Once off of the coast, we began our 6-hour motor over here. We opted not to put the sails up, which ended up slowing us down by a few hours. Although fairly bumpy, no one got too seasick, which is awesome! The water was beautiful, and as we lost sight of Statia, a slow monstrous set of islands arose in front of us (St. Kitts and Nevis!). I sat on the helm and steered us for most of the trip over and got to talk more with Smash, Amanda, Drew, Steph, and Christina. The rest of the crew took naps and tried not to get too sick. After a few hours of travel, we had an Emergency First Response class. Amanda and Steph taught us about different types of bandaging for serious bleeding.
After we finally anchored around 3, Smash went to land to get us cleared in so we could go ashore. While we waited for her to get back, we took an EFR test, and almost everyone passed! Then it was time for some saltwater showers and a splash around in the water, and then we got fancy before we made our way to land to explore, have dinner, and enjoy a sign-out night. While onshore, we all walked around in little groups and explored the beautiful town of Charlestown. We saw Mr. Alexander Hamilton’s birth house and enjoyed some smoothies in the cafe inside his courtyard.
After exploring, we headed to Sunshines for dinner and drinks. Since our first sign-out night was such a success, we were determined to cultivate a similar environment, and we very much succeeded. After some food and drinks, the majority of us began to dance in the middle of the bar, which the locals seemed to love, some of them even joining in. Finally, the bartender put on the Ocean Star classic, Mama Mia, and it turned into a full dance party. Even Drew and Steph was singing and dancing with us. It was a beautiful sight and a warm feeling of love for each other and friendships that will last a lifetime.
This was the perfect ending to our long day of travel, and am so happy I get to share this core memory with each and every one of my crew mates. If you guys are reading this at any point in the future, I love you all. Thank you for making this trip so amazing.
Pic 1 – Steph and Amanda teaching us EFR while underway
Pic 2 – Some of the crew studying for our EFR exam
Pic 3 – The dishy pit doing an excellent job while I stand there and do nothing except take photos of them
Pic 4 – Our first sight on land at Nevis
Pic 5 – A beach shack on our walk to dinner
Pic 6 – Everyone singing Mama Mia and dancing!!!!