Location: Great Harbour Peter, British Virgin Islands
The perk of being skipper while on passage is that you don’t have to do the dreaded wake-ups. The day started at 3 am for watch team two as we clambered up the companionway blurry-eyed to take Ocean Star on the next section of our journey back to the BVI, the place where it all began. As we came on deck, we were treated to the most amazing night sky of the trip thus far. The stars were glimmering in the pitch blackness of the moonless night sky. As we sat there on our final watch of the trip, we all stared silently up into the abyss above us, greeting us with countless shooting stars. As the sun was starting to rise with our final approach into the BVI, our watch team was relieved by watch team three, so we could have an early morning nap.
We made good speed in getting to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda (we even reached an impressive 11 knots when surfing down a couple of waves). We had a speedy lunch while we cleared in to let us go on our next adventurethe Baths. While The Baths are steeped in a dark history, it is a beautiful spot creating some wonderful potential exploration onshore. There are boulders for everyone to scramble over and mark routes through the nooks and crannies of the rocks, taking you to the next hidden location. As we were returning to the boat, a couple of extremely playful and friendly dolphins were spotted off our stern, allowing us to have a close-up view of these magnificent creatures.
Once everyone had returned, we ventured down to Peter Island to moor, where we spent our very first night off the dock this trip, a fitting return to the BVI. After dinner, they were treated to the first of the lectures in the Marine Biology section of Oceanography. This has brought the guest lecturer, Amy, providing a talk of such grace and elegance that it has been said to rival that of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.