By Joan M. Jackson

(Group photo at left courtesy of the Black Boater’s Summit.)

This travel adventure began, not on the sea, but on the ski slopes. In 1997 SunSail Yacht Charters asked Paul Mixon, a San Francisco Bay area skier, sailor and event planner, to market yachting vacations to African Americans. No one, least of all Cap’n Paul (as he is known in the sailing world) knew he’d still be at it 14 years later. From one charter yacht in 1997 the Black Boaters Summit grew to include as many as 25 yachts sailing from island to island through the turquoise waters of the British Virgin Islands. In August 2011 the fleet sails for one last time. Like many BBS alumni, I’m sad to see it end and compelled to share what made this sailing cruise the great adventure that it was.

What could convince a person (who has never sailed and can’t swim) to get on a yacht, a boat, and especially a dinghy, sometimes with total strangers and come out claiming it to be the vacation of a lifetime? It began the very first night when I stood in front of Myett’s on Cane Garden Bay beach and watched the sun set over our fleet anchored out in the water. That next morning, infectious excitement rippled from yacht to yacht when we pulled away from the dock for our first sail out into open water.

Cap’n Paul Mixon. Photo by Malba Allen.

It began the very first night; standing on the beach in front of Myett’s on Cane Garden Bay and watching the sun go down over our fleet anchored out in the water. That next morning, I caught the infectious excitement that rippled from boat to boat when we pulled away from the dock for our first sail into open water.

From the beginning I understood why the BVI is considered one of the world’s top travel destinations for sailors. I’ll never forget the thrill of standing at the bow of the boat (I finally got my sea legs) and seeing the sign “Welcome to the Bitter End” come into view. We spent a day and a half at the elegantly understated boater’s paradise on Virgin Gorda’s North Sound. When it was time to set sail, my group of novices pulled up the fenders that protect the yacht’s sides from the dock and carried out our captain’s instructions to the letter. That day (and many others to come) we were a well-oiled novice sailing team. “Well done, ladies,” the Bitter End’s dock master praised us. Could it get any better? Until that trip, the only fender we knew was the piece of metal on a car!

Still on Virgin Gorda, at Leverick Bay we ate, drank and to a dynamic three-man band, we line danced in the sand. At the Baths we climbed through ancient volcanic caves and boulders leading to a spectacular beach with Bombay Sapphire blue water and sugar white sand on the other side.

On the four-mile island of Jost Van Dyke, we ate lobster, flying fish sandwiches and “plenty Painkillers” at Ceddy’s One Love and the Soggy Dollar Bar. We returned a couple of days later for a fabulous barbeque lunch at the legendary Foxy’s. There, in our Black Boaters Summit tee shirts and baseball caps we took our “class picture.” Each of those photos is an entry into the BBS yearbook. I’m sure veteran BBSers can tell the year by the t-shirt color alone!

Equal to the beauty of the islands was the camaraderie – cooking a meal, raising the sails (or a beer) and dropping anchor. Every night there was a party on board somebody’s boat – whether it was a “y’all come” or a crew get together, the fun, food and drink, jokes, social and political commentary and good times rolled.

BBSers celebrate the end of another successful sail at Cap’n Paul’s “Legendary White Linen Party” Photo courtesy of Black Boater’s Summit.

I’ll never forget the thrill of standing at the bow (I finally got my sea legs) and seeing the sign “Welcome to the Bitter End” come into view. We spent a day and a half at the elegantly understated sailing paradise on Virgin Gorda’s North Sound. When it was time to set sail, my group of novices and I pulled up the fenders that protect the yacht’s sides from the dock and carried out our captain’s instructions to the letter. That day (and many others to come) we were a well-oiled novice sailing team. “Well done, ladies,” the Bitter End’s dock master praised us. Could it get any better? Until that trip, the only fender we knew was the piece of metal on a car!

On the tiny British Virgin Island of Jost Van Dyke, we enjoyed a fabulous barbeque lunch at the legendary Foxy’s. There, in our Black Boaters Summit tee shirts and baseball caps we took our “class picture.” Each of those photos is an entry into the BBS yearbook. I’m sure veteran BBSers can tell the year by the t-shirt color alone!

Equal to the beauty of the islands was the camaraderie – cooking a meal, raising the sails (or a beer) and dropping anchor. Every night there was a party on board somebody’s yacht – whether it was a “y’all come” or a crew get together, the fun, food and drink, jokes, social and political commentary and good times rolled.

I learned to pack light (if it can’t fit in the airplane’s overhead bin, don’t bring it), to sit secure in the dinghy, to tie a knot to secure it to the boat and to pick up a mooring ball. Over the years, I made lifelong friends and congratulated the marriages that owe their beginnings to BBS.

As much as I loved life on the yachts I looked forward each year to the end-of-trip treat of two days at the Westin St. John. We ate and drank Mango Mojitos around the pool, caught a quick bite at the deli, stocked up on tropical resort wear at the Westin boutique and shopped in Cruz Bay’s Mongoose Junction. At the end, we toasted each other and another great sail at Cap’n Paul’s “legendary white linen party.”

We’ll miss the emails that begin with “ahoy!” the message board full of friendly wagers and challenges, roommate requests, the yearly list of “what to bring” and of course the exuberant après-trip messages from BBSers still on that “I can’t believe it” high. For many of us the Black Boaters Summit will go down as a “one of a kind experience. Here’s a toast and a salute to the man who, year after year, made it happen and made it work. “Huzzah to Cap’n Paul” who, as we speak, is probably planning his own next great adventure!

About Joan M. Jackson:  Joan M. Jackson is a regular Black Boater’s Summit attendee.