“Sail across the Caribbean Sea to a smouldering volcano lousy with Irish.”

— Thunderbeard Outdoor

Dates: April 22-30, 2017, Saturday to Sunday

Group Size: 8

Budget: $1000 plus diving, flights and food. This includes lodging for 8 nights (3 in Antigua and 5 in Montserrat), sailing a 40ft yacht to and from Montserrat, and our trips to the volcano observatory, and destroyed town.

Accommodations: We have to fly in and out of Antigua so that will bookend our trip. Our first two nights, the 22nd and 23rd will be spent at the Waterfront Hostel in 4 double rooms. The place is simple but it is smack dab in the middle of the boating festivals and events, and right above the building where we are meeting our sailing captain for the crossing.

On Montserrat we have the entire compound at Gingerbread Hill rented for the 24th to the 29th, which includes 4 separate buildings and a pool and coffee house.

When we sail back to Antigua on the 29th we will spend the last night back at the original hostel.

Thunderbeard Events:

Montserrat: I have arranged a guide and permits to take us into the exclusion zone to view the destruction of the volcano on the capital city of Plymouth. We will be gathering information to put together a remediation overview for our website that details salvage, cleanup, and preservation plans for what remains of the city.

Antigua: We arrive during the Antigua Classics Yacht Regatta (30 year anniversary) and leave on the first weekend of Antigua Sailing Week, (50 year anniversary) which are two of the biggest international boating competitions in the world. We will be in the English Harbor for the Parade of Classics on our first day, and for the welcome party of Antigua Sailing Week on our last night. My plan was to do a Dive Against Debris for Project Aware the morning of the 23rd, which would be their first on the island, but there is also a possibility of our group getting a volunteer gig with the festival itself. This will be updated once I have more information.

Our three remaining days will be spent with Scuba Montserrat working on Thunderbeard Reef. They will provide training and we will help them to construct a reef using "reef balls" and placing propagated coral to eventually grow into a fully formed coral reef that protects the shoreline and allows fish populations to return to the area.