Yesterday, we couldn’t go to Buck Island, so we signed up to go today. We didn’t know that the winds that forced the cancellation were expected to last all week, and the trip was a bit disappointing.

We got up for early breakfast, got our taxi and were off again. The taxi dropped us at the same spot in Christiansted as yesterday.

Here’s our boat, the same one we would have ridden yesterday. About 40 passengers were aboard, more than any other snorkeling adventure we had participated in.

After about 45 minutes, using the engine against the wind, we arrived at Buck Island. Two other boats from the same company were anchored at the beach where we stopped, which made the captain believe that the waves were too big to go to the reefs on the windward side of the island. This ended up being true.

Getting off the boat onto the steep beach was a challenge! But all the passengers made it safely, with the help from crew members. About half chose to take a guided hike on the island rather than brave the waves to try snorkeling. But not us.

Getting in and out of the water was hard. The waves were strong and confusing, coming from different directions. And the water was murky.

We got back to Christiansted in the afternoon after sailing, silently, full sails. Going with the power of the wind rather than against. Fantastic!

• Virgin Islands