By Josie Baber ‘29
Unlike most teens this summer, junior Hunter James spent a portion of her summer sailing instead of sleeping and diving instead of dozing.
This summer, Hunter experienced an unforgettable 21-day trip with Sail Caribbean, a teen summer camp that takes place entirely on sailboats in the British Virgin Islands. Previous summers, Hunter had done intense ballet programs which she describes as stressful and time-consuming.
After discovering Sail Caribbean at the SPACE Fair her freshman year and receiving the Martin-Nicholson scholarship, Hunter decided to partake in a shorter ballet program and sign up for Sierra 21, one of Sail Caribbean’s many available programs. “I knew I wanted to do something more educational,” Hunter said, “and I’ve always loved science and animals, so I really wanted to explore and learn more about that.”
The night before leaving for the airport, Hunter felt anxious because she didn’t know anyone in her program. The next day, her mom drove her to the airport, and her worries were heightened because she had never flown solo before. However, everything happened to work out perfectly when she ended up in line with another camper who turned out to be her roommate!
Sail Caribbean is very unique in the sense that there are so many people traveling together around the British Virgin Islands. Hunter and the rest of Sierra 21 traveled with the Mega Fleet, a fleet made up of five boats including Hunter’s, Just Chillin’. In addition to Hunter, there were five girls and five boys in Just Chillin’, three mates, and one captain. One of the boats in the fleet, Hold my Beer, was a staff boat. Hunter estimates that there were around 50-60 kids in Mega Fleet.
A regular day for Hunter would start off bright and early at 6:30 a.m., with Just Chillin’s captain blasting “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges. “This was really special because you heard it every single morning,” Hunter said. After that, Hunter and her crewmates would view the job chart, which assigned every camper two new jobs a day. Some of these jobs included breakfast prep, dinner prep, monkeying, or skipper, the sailing term for the driver of the boat.
Because food was only delivered once a week and water needed to be preserved, food options were often scarce, but Hunter and the crew made it work. All of the meals were cooked entirely by the campers; no adults were involved. Ironically, Hunter was known to have the most trouble with this adjustment. “I had to learn how to cook,” Hunter said, “which was a skill I learned. I am not a good cook.”
Unfortunately for Hunter, the other campers were always unhappy when she was on food duty. Fortunately for Hunter, they always helped her learn how to cook the meals with whatever food items they could find. After breakfast, she and the other campers prepared for their activities. A typical morning activity would take place in the classroom, often focused on sailing or marine biology.
After morning activities, everyone prepared to sail to the next location. One of the days that Hunter was assigned to the job of skipper, it happened to be the longest sail and in the roughest conditions of the trip. As the skipper of the day, she was in charge of taking the boat to the next location. Despite the conditions, Hunter remembers it as one of the most special moments. Not only did she beat the boat’s top speed record of seven knots when she went 12, but she was also blasting “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John. “It was one of the best experiences ever,” Hunter said. “Now every time one of the kids on my boat hears that song, they tell me.”
After arriving at the new location, the campers would be given time on the shore. One time, they held the Olympic Games, where everyone participated in a variety of games right on the beach.
Then, they would spend their time shopping or volunteering. Hunter often worked with Green VI, a volunteer organization, which is located in several places along the British Virgin Islands. Green VI regularly hosts coastal cleanups and initiates smaller projects for other programs so they can do the same. With Green VI, Hunter helped with the trash cleanups as well as sorting and counting the trash. She also helped weigh trash and compare tourists’ use of trash versus locals’ use of trash.
Hunter also saw several types of animals at different sanctuaries and parks during her time there. She visited a park that is the only home for an endangered species of iguana. She got to pet and hold them. “It was phenomenal seeing them,” Hunter said. She also got to visit a shark sanctuary, where she stood in the water as sharks swam around her. Hunter and the other campers also got to go kayaking in the mangroves. They saw sharks and upside-down jellyfish, which she got to hold.
After that, all of the campers went back to their boats and did an activity with the whole fleet. One night, this activity was a chilli cook-off, which Hunter and her boat won. Then, everyone regrouped to enjoy a dinner that, similarly to breakfast, consisted of anything they had left. They would usually have a marine biology program after dinner, which was either a lesson or night snorkeling using bright flashlights that illuminated the water. Finally, they had a boat meeting to discuss what went well and what could’ve been better.
When reflecting on how the trip changed her as a person, Hunter feels like she grew out of her shell and gained an abundance of confidence. Not only that, but she remembers how happy she always felt to be in that environment. “I was so, so happy,” Hunter says. “My friends and family back home could tell it was the best experience and the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Hunter remembers this trip as being life-changing and completely worthwhile. “This trip was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Hunter said. “I truly cannot imagine it if I didn’t go on this trip. It was such an incredible experience.” She describes this trip as a very unique experience: getting to live in a boat with kids the same age in the Caribbean, basically managing everything by themselves. She made very close friends in the time that she was there, and she is still in touch with all of them. She describes them as the “kindest group of people,” and says that on the trip, it was“so easy to make friends.”
All in all, Hunter will remember this experience as one of the best and recommends Sail Caribbean to anyone and everyone. “Overall, the trip brought out the best in people,” Hunter says, “and it taught me how to deal with so many different types of situations.”
