High On A Breeze

Today we woke up early to prepare for the big race against every boat in the fleet. I went to a skipper’s meeting at 7:30 to hear about the race course and draw a spot, and I picked number 5. The race began, and we quickly started gaining on other boats. Max was on the helm, steering so straight that we flew by boats, passing Shape Up, Event Horizon, and Breakaway. We found ourselves in second place with a large gap behind us, and we were gaining on Odin, the first place boat. We sailed across the Drake into Road Town, where there was a massive wind tunnel that we did not expect. The wind was gusting super hard, making it difficult to steer. Wombat, the third place boat, saw this and adjusted their sails, giving them the edge they needed to start gaining on us. Going back across the Drake to the finish line, we fought them off as best we could, but ultimately right before crossing the finish line, they pulled out in front of us, them taking home second place and us third. We sailed our best, though, and everyone was proud of Max’s steering, Shawn Rabih and Oli’s quick tacks, and Sophia for hopping into action on the main sheet in the wind tunnel. After the race, we sailed back to West End and cleaned the boat underway. We cleaned everything from the galley to the salon to our cabins and heads. Everyone worked so well together that Emma and Allie said it was the fastest they’ve ever seen shipmates finish the task. Because we were so on top of it, when we got to the dock in West End, we were able to eat lunch on shore and go shopping. After some shore time, we came back to the boat and auctioned off pieces of our AQ flag to raise money for VISAR, the search and rescue volunteers in the BVI - we all signed each other’s flags and now have a piece of Breezy with us at home. We then did our final squeeze, where I asked everyone their favorite memory of the trip — answers ranged from dance parties to BBQs and just funny moments on board. It became clear that what made our trip so great wasn’t the sailing or diving (although those things were super cool), but how close we were able to get with each other so quickly, and the fun times we had as a result. We then headed out to our final BBQ with the other boats and spent the evening hanging out on the boat, reminiscing about our adventures. Tomorrow we wake up at 5:30 to get on the ferry and head home.