Puerto Rico Sail 2.5-Week

Participants will fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico and meet their leaders in the airport.  After a quick overland transfer to Fajardo, we’ll begin with a welcome to and familiarization of our vessels, your home for the upcoming weeks!  Living aboard a sailing yacht in a small group of 10 to 12 shipmates, you will experience the confidence of succeeding as both an individual and as a team. Up to three yachts sail together in a flotilla, allowing you to connect with others from all over the world. On the first three days of the trip we will have an introductory overview of the vessel and all its working and safety components.  During the program's initial  days you will learn terminology and basic sailing skills to get started while setting up our supplies for our voyage.  Along with an introduction to sailing we will have two practice days in the Fajardo harbor, Icacos Island and Palomino Island. (Palominitos Island being where they just finished  filming parts of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie).   Along with these practice sessions we will do some snorkeling around the surrounding cayes and an excursion out into one of the most renowned bioluminescent bays in the world. This preparation session is the beginning of your sailing experience and their adventures to come!

The first stop on our voyage will be Esperanza, on the south side of Vieques Island and  located just 18 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland.   Upon arrival, we'll be greeted by the curator of El Fortin Museum who will further explain the colorful history of this small island.  While docked in Viequest, we’ll spend a couple days completing community service at local schools and with youth groups at the Vieques Land Trust.  Projects include working with a local youth camp, building school playgrounds, and painting school facilities. On the second afternoon we will sail to another bay on the south side of Vieques were we will spend the evening preparing for our next day's to sail to Culebra Island.  The following day we will work with conservational youth groups and the University of Puerto Rico perfroming marine conservation work.  We’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy some of the many water activities in the area such as fishing, snorkeling, and sea kayaking.  The next day we will begin our sail to the USVI and head straight towards St. Thomas to resupply and continue moving towards Coral Bay in St. John Island.

We set sail from Culebra to St. Thomas where we will dock and refuel for the night.  The following day we will arrive in Coral Bay, St. John, the center of St. John’s plantation life in the early 18th century and today a growing but still close-knit and laid-back community.  Over the course of the next couple days the group will work and play in the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, 708 acres of federally-owned submerged lands off the island of St. John.  This area, administered by the National Park Service, protects coral reef and mangrove habitat crucial for the biological diversity of the entire Caribbean ecosystem.  The Virgin Islands National Park encompasses underwater areas that teem with marine life, gorgeous white sand beaches and acres of lush green forests.  In St. John we engage in conservation work within the park while exploring some of the most pristine bays in all of the Caribbean.

While it will be difficult to leave St. John, there will be more fun and adventure ahead as we make our return voyage through St. Thomas and then on to Fajardo.The final day of the trip we will wake up early and sail into the city of Old San Juan just as ships have done for centuries!   On the last evening we’ll enjoy a final celebratory dinner and dancing in Old San Juan, providing time for final reflections and memories of this once in a lifetime journey!