If your destination wedding takes place in a tropical or beach locale, one of the most popular trends is booking a morning sail on a catamaran. While on the island of St. John, staying at Caneel Bay, I found myself (admittedly) nervous about the bride and groom’s booked catamaran sail…thinking it was going to turn into one of those scary situations where the boat nearly tips over, and everyone has to hang off the other side of the boat to right it.
How wrong I was!
What we were treated to was a lovely, pristine, 5-star catamaran with a fully shaded main seating area, comfy cushioned seats and plush pillows to lean against, and piped-in island music to set the mood.
The captain and his first-mate welcomed us with platters of cut fresh island fruit, and yes, the fruity rum drinks started flowing at 9:30am…if you so wished. I wished. Next came trays of island mango bread, still warm, and off we went on a smooth sail to a private island where we’d anchor a distance from the shore and snorkel for an hour to our heart’s content. Or not.
I snorkeled a bit, then climbed back aboard to lie out in the sun, on the canvas layer over the water. Soon, my husband joined me back on the boat, bringing back underwater video of sea turtles and stingrays, and then — with permission of the ship’s captain — he jumped off the front of the catamaran into the crystal-clear water. How often do you get to do that?
What made this activity incredible is that the guests were given the option of snorkeling to the shore or lying aboard the boat, ‘liming’ as the island’s residents call ‘relaxing.’ Our morning was filled with tropical tastes and coconutty cocktails, tales of pirates and the quirky history of some of the islands (such as Lovango island, the site of an eons-ago brothel where sailors would ‘Love and Go’)…and the exciting possibility that dolphins and whales might be spotted starboard.
So if you’re planning your destination wedding, consider a laid-back catamaran cruise for your guests…because you know they want to get out on that water, but without the nerve-wracking worry of deep-sea motion or ‘you must stay with the group’ guided underwater tours. Let your guests spend the morning ‘liming’ surrounded by the clear blue sea.
Courtesy of Joseph Toris
Sharon | April 19th, 2011 | See all posts by Sharon
