Wednesday = Wild swims and another wreck.

Hopper and I both looked out the side hatch from our tiny crew berths at the same time this morning, which seemed like a fun photo op. - HP

An early-ish sail up to Virgin Gorda was a good opportunity for a slow breakfast. We grabbed a mooring at the Baths, a place where giant granite boulders are all jumbled up on each other, creating grottoes and passages between them. It gets its name from when slave ships used to stop here after the long trip from Africa. The slaves would be washed at the beaches here before being sent to work in the sugar cane fields. I like to see the descendants of those slaves enjoying time with their families here now.

The swim course we do here is like none other and different every time. The water is often gin-clear, with lots of fish to see. We swim between the boulders as the swell pulls us through or pushes us back. It’s like nothing else. Our destination, Spring beach, did not disappoint, with its bright white sand, blue raspberry colored water, and a photogenic rock formation that holds up to 10 guests and guides. 

Back on Rhapsody, Simon kept working through the stroke videos, doing an analysis for each guest. He’s an excellent stroke technician, and I can see our guests' strokes improve through the week.

Another sail brought us to Mountain Point, Virgin Gorda. The afternoon grew very hot, so we sought shade and cold drinks on our yacht. As things cooled off, we planned a short swim to the (intentional) wreck of the Kodiak Queen, which at one time was the last surviving ship from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Richard Branson was involved in making it a dive attraction here, replete with a giant kraken made from rebar. The buoys that used to mark its location are now gone, but our swimmer scouts located it without much trouble. We kept the swim short tonight, expecting a big swim in the morning. 

Our swimmers made a brief stop at Rhapsody to pick up some beers and made for the beach!

Back aboard, I kept making painkiller cocktails and they kept getting consumed. A lovely sunset inspired much photography. Wahoo with yellow rice for dinner, which paired well with a rose’ from California. Goats nibbled at new growth on the hillside behind us. Simon was our DJ for the night, playing his soulful playlist. I allowed this only if he promised his happy playlist tomorrow. 

Night Swim! One lap around the boat under some ridiculously bright stars, while bioluminescence lit up the water as we swooshed our hands and feet. Pretty magical. A welcome breeze flows through our cabins, and we sleep a deeeeep sleep.

Hopper

PS. Here’s a short vid from the day!