SailCaribbean

I spent a month last summer cruising around the British Virgin Islands and lesser Antilles on a variety of sailing vessels filled to the brim with teenagers. These are my favorites.


Eric demonstrates to his crew of 13 to 17 year-olds how not to dive off of the Jump Rock at the Baths in Virgin Gorda, BVI. Eric is Captain of the Sail Caribbean teen summer program, Foxtrot, that teaches teenagers environmental conservation, sailing, and scuba diving.


A local artist carved out designs in old metal buoys and each month Trellis Bay celebrates the Full moon by lighting fires in the buoys on the beach and dancing to live music under the light of the moon in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.


A diver reaches out to touch a moon jelly during a dive in the British Virgin Islands in July 2005. The moon jellies are seasonal and float through the water close to the surface in large groups. The tentacles will sting you but the tops of the jellyfish are safe to touch.


The nalgenes of teenagers hang off the canvas roof that shelters the cockpit from the sun. Drinking water and staying out of the sun as much as possible arethe two most important rules when spending three weeks on a boat in the Caribbean.


A teenager girl wakeboards behind one of Sail Caribbean’s yellow rib power boats. She was one of nine students who lived on a 50-foot Benataeu with a captain and 1st mate for 17 days during a summer sailing program in the British Virgin Islands in July of 2005.


Two teenagers kayak across the bay where their boats are anchored at St Kitts in the lesser Antilles island chain at sunset. They are participants in the Delta summer sailing program, which focuses on sailing and leadership skills.