Delta 1 Day 6: Skillful Passage to Soper’s Hole

written by Program Director, Jen Borderud

The Bight, Norman Island to Soper’s Hole, Tortola

The crew of Grand Plaisance III woke up before the sun today and went for a sunrise hike at The Bight, Norman Island. After taking in the view from a Helipad at the top of the hike, the crew headed back down to enjoy a well-deserved breakfast back at the boat. The rest of the morning was spent on the beach playing volleyball and getting to hang out with some of the Bravo and Charlie students.

In the afternoon, Pablo and Elvira continued their dive education while the rest of the crew prepared for their passage to Soper’s Hole. Our skipper of the day, Emily, got her crew going on the Pre-Departure checklist while Kricket got out the chart and parallel rulers and began working on navigation for the day. When it was time to drop the ball, Emily was totally in control as she maneuvered the 53-foot Jeanneau through the Norman Island mooring field. Once underway, the crew banded together to figure out how and when to raise the main and unfurl the jib. Cass and Trevor, the Captain and Mate of the Delta program, hardly had to say a single word! Once under sail, the crew got a lesson on tacking and then performed tacking drills up the Sir Francis Drake Channel.

With Emily on the helm and some helpful input from Dylan, the Delta crew entered the Soper’s Hole mooring field and got prepared to pick up a mooring ball. Even though they had to bail on the first approach, Emily remained calm and under her direction, the rest of the crew (Madison, Cassidy, Kricket, Emma, Chloe,  Steph, Dylan, Sam, and Hawkey) worked together to successfully hook and thread the mooring ball painter on the second attempt.

After a long, windy, and successful passage, the crew hustled through showers and headed ashore at Soper’s Hole for some shopping, dinner, and ice cream.