Location: Petit Bayhaut, St. Vincent
My morning started off with Maddie waking me up for my 4:30 am watch with Will! We stargazed and kept an eye on the radar until……. the anchor alarm went off! No worries, just the current acting funny, and Smash came to the rescue to fix our circle. After watch, I had a few moments to work on my fish ID’s and literature review presentation before waking everyone up. A few guys went free diving with Calum in search for Katie’s mask, and it was a success – mask safely returned to Vela.
Shona was head chef today with Katie and Bennit as sous chefs. They prepared breakfast, and our last morning in Mayreau was off to a great start. After clean – up we started passage prep which consists of making sure everything is 40/40 (forty knots and forty degrees), below deck, putting away dive gear, strapping down dinghies, removing the tarp and sail covers, connecting halyards, topping booms, and soooo much more. It was my job as skipper to hand out jobs to everyone and make sure the boat was ready for our travel back to St. Vincent.
Once Vela was all set to sail, we raised the anchor and prepared for sails to be hoisted. Smash allowed me to lead the mainsail raise. That was super cool standing starboard of the cockpit and watching each job (hoisting the halyard, easing the downhaul, fending the sheet, and pulling the jigger) work so well with one another until the full mainsail was all the way up the mast. During the passage, we had Oceanography before lunch, where Leoni taught us about the gases and minerals in our oceans and how the chemical make-up has various impacts on organisms. After a delicious lunch and clean-up, we continued Oceanography, but this time with our presentations. Charlie presented his literature review on Mangroves, Val presented on Artificial Coral Reefs, and I presented on whale’s social behaviors.
After class, we climbed up the main companionway to beautiful St. Vincent. We all worked together to drop sails and put back on the sail covers. After finding the perfect spot to anchor, the sun decided to show us the most spectacular sunset. Anthony, Dre, and Calum went to the beach close off the stern to attach the stern line to prevent swinging. We ended the night with an amazing meal, and my squeeze question was, “what is your favorite pasta shape.” Mady’s answer was my favorite -“macaroni because it looks like a smile:))))”
Photo credits to Calum!
Photo 1: Sunset from the stern with our ensign and name
Photo 2: Dre and Anthony posing for the camera while putting the jib sail cover on
Photo 3: Vela from a distance with the sunset
Photo 4: Vela’s port side
Photo 5: Vela’s port side with the sunset
Photo 6: Vela in the cove with hills in the background