Location: West End, Tortola
This morning, we woke up to the sound of the tide for the last time, anchored in the Bight at Norman Island. We had a quick cereal breakfast before Matty P and I were off quickly to a skippers’ meeting since today was race day. We met up with all the other boats and discussed the course, which this session ended with a gybe around the channel marker in Road Harbour. We drew from a hat for our starting position and ended up sixth. At 9:05, the race proper started – the monohulls hadn’t won a race in three years, so the odds weren’t quite in our favor, but we were super hype thanks to Walker and Mia pumping us up beforehand. I was on the helm for our start upwind, and thanks to Evan and Juni on the winches, our jib was out quickly, and we had a great start off the line. As we sailed upwind, the fastest catamaran in the fleet, Nacho Dinghy, was able to pass us, but not without getting egged first. Hagan Time, the other Minerva boat, shot out to first while we held steady at third, while the rest of the fleet stood close behind us. Our first tack around the channel marker went well, and Drake relieved me on the helm for the second part of the race with Ellery and Tati on the winches. As we neared our second tack marker, we saw Nacho go in for their tack, but instead of completing i,t they got stuck in irons about 100 feet off the marker. Since our boat likes winning, we decided to thread the needle between the ball and the boat and tacked tight around the marker to take second place. For the last leg of the race, Nacho steadily gained on us. In the end, they were hardly a boat length behind us as we got to the final channel marker. We gybed just before the, and took second place in the race, which was super super fun. Hagan Time, the other Minerva monohull, took the trophy, which means a 1-2 Minerva sweep (the way it should be) and a lot of happy faces. After a quick refuel in Road Town, we were headed back to where it all started in West End. While we were underway, we cleaned out our entire boat. Evan, Mia, Im Im, and I did our cabin, while JJ and Mia swept up our galley and salon. Once we were back on the dock, time flew by – some shore time, a barbecue, and a final talk with Mike. When it comes to describing these three weeks (six for some of us), words often fall far short. The best I can say is that ActionQuest truly is life-changing, in more ways than one. I can’t say just how grateful we all our for the ways the time we’ve spent here has shaped us as sailors and as people. Leaving is always bittersweet, but for now, we are packing up and heading out. Thanks for everything that happened along the way.
-Jackson Mitchell