Remember me? I've been a VERY bad blogger and for that, I apologize! I can't even give you the excuse that I've been too busy because in fact, I've been on vacation!
After years of dreaming about taking a sailing class/vacation, my hubby and I took the plunge and signed up for the Fast Track to Cruising from Offshore Sailing School. Now... we have years of experience sailing... we even owned our own sailboat, but we had to give up that lifestyle when we moved away from Green Bay. Years later, we finally made it back on the water!
This time, in the BVI's! (British Virgin Islands = GORGEOUS!)
After a slightly scary "commuter flight" from Puerto Rico to Tortola, we spent two days in the classroom and on board these 26' Colgate day sailors. There were 7 of us in the class with skill level ranging from experienced to never-before-sailed. It was a BLAST! We spent the afternoons puttering around in the bay at the Road Town learning man overboard drills and basic sailing maneuvers. The winds were pretty high and the seas were rolling...so everyone got wet and we really enjoyed the challenge!
(Look how small those 26 footers look next to the "over 40 footers" LOL)
At the end of that class, we relocated from the hotel to the forward berth of a 43' sailing yacht. Nate and I were joined by two other students and our entertaining instructor. The 5 of us spent the next 5 days sailing from port to port and island to island.
(Went from the little guys to the big guys!)
Each day we would rotate our roll as either Cook, CleanUp, Navigator or Captain. Amongst the stunning scenery and gorgeous weather, we would set sail and have "class" along the way, learning hands-on how to navigate both from sight-line and from charts.
(Nate and I at the helm... )
At each port we would practice either anchoring or picking up a mooring ball... and spend the night grilling off the stern or taking the dingy in to a quaint beach restaurant.
(The sun setting on our boat while moored off in The Bight)
The most nerve-wracking thing for me was practicing our docking techniques in a VERY crowded harbor at Soper's Hole. Gently weaving through mega-yachts while their crews sat and watched... sometimes yelling tips or warnings LOL. I even learned how to drive backward, but quickly turned the helm over to Nate when it came to backing into a narrow (half-occupied) slip. Luckily,I had only one sort-of "clunker" of a docking.. but by the third time around I was "Slow like a Pro!" I still have to chuckle as I hear our instructor calmly tell another student, "THAT was an example of a disastrous docking."
(The calm harbor while anchored in Mosquito Bay.)
Throughout the week we had to take written tests, showing we understood navigation, rules of the road, currents and tide tables, sail trim, safety measures and even on-board system repairs. With each test, our instructor (Dave) would take us below and say, "Let's take a look and have a giggle shall we?"
(My very favorite port... Anegada!)
The final "test" was to head back to Tortola, drop our instructor off on the dock and then sail back out for our very own overnight trip. While this last trip ended up with us sailing off into a quick rain storm and motor sailing back (light winds), we had an absolutely fabulous time.
We are now officially "certified" cruisers and can charter (and captain) our own cruising yacht!
A brief tour of the islands:
Day 1: Road Town, Tortola to Marina Cay, Tortola
Day 2: Marina Cay, Tortola to The Baths, Virgin Gorda to Mosquito Bay, Virgin Gorda
Day 3: Mosquito Bay, Virgin Gorda to Anegada (my favorite port... HUGE reef surrounding the island)
Day 4: Anegada to Sandy Cay - a brief stop to run on the beach resulted to an injury to a crew member that required stitches, so we changed course and headed to Sopers Hole, Tortola
Day 5: Sopers Hole, Tortola to Road Town, Tortola (drop off instructor) to The Bight, Norman Island
Day 6: The Bight, Norman Island back to Road Town, Tortola
It's taken me a week to get back in the swing of things and get off "island time" and to stop listing leeward when I walk! LOL
Sail On Peeps... Sail On
Welcome to Distinctive Touches! My name is Colleen Schaan and I am a teacher, writer and freelance designer. I am currently the Education Director for Imagination International Inc.
