A Girl Scout's Essay of her Travels to the Virgin Islands

Tall Ship Sailing in the Virgin Islands - June 2014

Bryce Kulzer

The Girl Scout destination that I attended was the Tall Ship Sailing in the Virgin Islands. This was a great trip, perfect for any beginners or experts in sailing. We started off in St. Thomas, and would sail for three hours a day to somewhere new. While sailing, we would take turns steering the boat, keeping lookout, and work together to raise and lower the sails.

            This trip gave me many great memories, friends, and sailing experience. There was a perfect amount of time for learning how to sail, and to bond with the other girls on the trip. I came into this destination with a very small amount of sailing experience, but by the end of the week, I knew everything about sailing. In the beginning of the week, they separate you into three groups, each group tends a different part of the boat each day, and then switch off throughout the week, this way you know how to handle every part of the boat. The way the owners of the boat taught was very effective, and they made it a very fun. After we sailed each morning, we would drop the anchor and spend the rest of the afternoon doing activities of choice. You could snorkel, kayak, stand up paddle board, jump from the deck, or even just swim around the boat.

            On this trip, you can look forward to seeing beautiful and unique sea life when you snorkel, learning about the stars and having a spectacular view of them, and you will get to meet so many new friends. On this trip there is also a lot of freedom, once your morning of sailing is done, you are free to do whatever you want, there was one time when my friends and I jumped off every place possible that we could find on the boat.

            If you go on this destination, just remember to bring lots of sunscreen (bring the lotion kind, because the spray kind isn’t allowed), bring at least two or three swimsuits, drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated in the humid heat, don’t pack too much because they need room for everyone’s bag, and be sure to snorkel at least once on the trip, because the sea life there is amazing.