Follow Our Journey! Summer Echo Days 4-6

Written by Emily Michaelse

Having slept next to turtles and watched the sunrise we woke up on the fifth day of our journey in Little Harbor surrounded by sparkling water. Finishing a delicious helping of Chloe’s world-famous blueberry pancakes we jumped into the bright blue water below us and retrieved a fallen bowl from the night before. After a quick splash, we prepared ourselves and the boat for the day ahead facing down a four-hour upwind sail to the Bitter End.

With our sails up as we charged forward into the wind, we began our first challenge of the day, honing our watch skills with each member of the crew an enemy of the clock as we rotated positions every 10 minutes. From skipper to jib sheet we rotated roles all the way to the Bitter End where we faced our second challenge of the day, a silent mooring ball pickup. As our boat stealthily entered the mooring field, our crew could only communicate with hand signals to guide our fearless skipper to the successful end of a fantastic sail.

After a quick lunch, we dinghyed ashore at the Bitter End Yacht Club where we had the chance to test our newfound skills on a super-nimble Hobie Cat. Four of us stuffed onto the 12 ft boat as we enjoyed a sail around the mooring field before returning close to shore. With our feet back on dry land, we returned to our boat to enjoy a delicious fajita dinner on board. After a quick boat meeting and freshwater shower ashore, we returned to the boat for a movie, some popcorn, and a quiet night on board to get ready for our big day preparing for the overnight sail tomorrow night.