Today was a great day filled with a practice sail out of the harbor to work on our sail handling skills. First we tacked upwind with jib and Ian introduced the staysail to our portfolio. Yantina is a very powerful sailboat and handling the lines takes practice and respect for the forces at play. After sailing upwind, we anchored at Buck Island National Park for lunch. We are very fortunate to be in St. Croix, USVI during the lockdown because most Caribbean Islands do not allow you to return if you leave the harbor for a sail. Most island won’t allow you in for anything more than an emergency or fuel if you are traveling. Island Hopping is out of the question. So we are staying put here until weather is favorable to make it all the way to the mainland via Puerto Rico.
The sail back was with the wind of ‘downhill’ a very nice ride back into the harbor. It allowed us to experience the scenarios of sailing upwind and down wind in the same day!
Once back in the harbor we washed down the boat from the sail. Did some maintenance work on the boat until dinner. After dinner it was Canasta followed by Mexican Train dominos. A full day!