Location: West End, Tortola
Hey y’all!
Happy 4th of July! Today was our last day at AQ together, and we made the most of every second. We woke up at our usual 7:00 am to some awesome beats and got our day started right with some cereal and melon. Then, at 7:30, Skye and Skyler hopped on the dinghy and headed out to the skipper meeting on Ghost Rider in order to get the proper procedure for the day’s race. They drew a number out of a hat to determine their starting position on the line drawn from Pelican Island to The Bite. Skyler and Skye then quickly made their way back to Out House in order to prep the crew for the day ahead and get into starting position. The race began at 9:15 and, although we put up a valiant effort at the start, we fell all the way into last place. However, as the wind picked up, Skye headed up and overcame Glad 2 Be Here, the other monohull on our fleet.
Everyone sent massive L’s in G2BH’s direction and basked in what was pretty much the only win of the day. River then took the helm, and we finished the race in 5th, but regardless, we enjoyed our time, as it was the last time we would be under sail together as a boat. We indulged in some fire PB&Js after we finished the race and cleaned up from the ketchup attack G2BH launched at us. Afterwards, the deep clean COMMENCED! Everyone was put to work cleaning out every crevice of the boat so that when we got back to West End, we could have some shore time. We cleaned like there was no tomorrow, and yet when Riley came around to inspect us, we still got docked on our bilge pumps!!!! We quickly tied up all loose ends and stepped foot in West End to enjoy the last bit of our day.
Freshwater dock showers ensued after almost 3 weeks of saltwater rinses and we all began to get ready for our final barbecue of the trip. Before we headed over, we sent off our night with an emotional last squeeze of the session, where we talked about what we would miss the most. Everyone collectively agreed that we had an incredible group, and we are so lucky to have been able to spend these past 3 weeks together. We will miss the beautiful sails, the awesome weather, and the epic adventures that AQ has provided us with. We ended our squeeze with a squeeze, a hug, then a dab, which got us all giggling and meant that it was time to go to the barbecue. We were joined by the other boats and made the most of our last night together by chowing down on some great food and sitting around in a circle listening to Mike tell us about how much he enjoyed his time together with us and reading “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” By Dr. Seuss. We all returned to our boats to log our dives for the trip and wind down for the night because we have an early wake-up tomorrow. I know I’m speaking for all of us when I say I am so grateful to be here on this trip with everyone. We truly had the best time and made some unforgettable memories. This is Skye signing out for the last skipper blog of the session. Harbor House OUT!