Our first sailing experience on My Motu

Full with excitement, the three of us traveled to the British Virgin Islands in July 2021.  Here is our boat My Motu.  We bought her two months ago.  Our boat on which we will eventually live and sail around the world.  With butterflies in my stomach we landed on the island of Tortola.  Due to COVID we had to quarantine for 5 days on arrival.  We were allowed to do this on our own boat.  Immediately after landing we got our first PCR test.  Then we were taken by taxi to the marina.  It is an indescribable feeling when we first saw our boat My Motu.  The power, elegance and unprecedented possibilities that she radiates.  Magnificent.

In the BVI, COVID-19 cases got worse. After 7 pm no one was allowed outside. Restaurants and bars were mostly closed. Tourists stayed away and therefore it was really quiet everywhere.  Before arriving at the BVI we ordered two new sails for the mainsail and the mizzen and mattresses for our beds.  It hasn’t arrived yet. The first 4 days we sailed on the jib.  We are in quarantine and were allowed to sail, swim and snorkel, but were not allowed to go ashore.  Every afternoon we anchored in a different bay and did a lot of snorkelling and swimming.  At our anchorages, there were usually one or two more boats.  Surreal knowing that there are normally between 30-50 boats here every night.

On the fourth day, we sailed back to port for our second PCR test.  Everything went well and if we are lucky we can leave the boat tomorrow.  After getting the good news that we are all negative we took a taxi to the police station and they broke our quarantine bands.  Yes, free to go. After all the necessary shopping, we sailed away.  Every day we got to know My Motu a little better.  Then we received a message from B&G marine services that our sails and mattresses had arrived.  We sailed back to the marina Nanny Cay and B&G marine services installed the new sails and mattresses.  What a big difference those mattresses and the first night we all slept very well.

With our sails complete we set sail the next morning.  Our first experience with all the sails up was incredible.  The three weeks we had left we sailed, practiced sailing single handed, snorkeled, hiked and reorganized the boat inside, but most of all we tried to figure out what wasn’t working and what we would like to change.  We have made the decision to replace all the cushions inside and make cushions for the outside.  The bimini is too low for Jeroen and I.  Quantum Sails came to look at the possibilities to make it higher. Our boat feels more and more like home.  We are all 100% sure we made the right decision.  We will start our circumnavigation in the Caribbean in July 2022.