Location: Saint Vincent
Once upon a time, in a bay hidden in a nook far, far away, there lay a boat. Her name is Vela, and aboard her lived 15 crew. All of whom had come far and wide to gather for a great journey, a once in a life time journey. Their days were each greater than the next, filled with adventure, laughter, and great company.
Occasionally, there were days unlike any before, extra special, so special that no words could quite place it. Today, I will take on the challenge of trying to record the excellence of day 68.
The crew of Vela woke at the early hours of the day, ready and eager for all that was to come. They prepared for battle like never before. For today, they faced the Great Wall of coral. They strapped on their tanks, prepared the weights, checked their regulators, and fuelled up on breakfast.
They sat in anticipation for their first mission briefing. Crew, today we launch at 08:30, suits on, fins and mask at the ready. Your mission is to explore the cave, listen to the bats that reside in it, and have the utmost fun. The crew baby soaped their masks, set up their GoPros, and off they went.
Upon arrival, the crew treaded carefully, the ominous dark and bat screeching stirring fear. As they ventured into the cave, waves pushed them through, leaving no choice but to push onwards. Just before they reached the opening, the waves stopped; they looked down and saw a massive illuminated trench to guide them out. Safe to say that while perhaps intimidating at first, this cave was simply incredible.
The crew returns to the boat, smiles wide across their faces, and enthusiasm seeps through them. A few gulps of water, a couple of apple bites, and they were ready for their next mission of the day. With one big hoist up onto the caprail and a big lunge, they were back in the water, ready to explore the Great Wall. They descended deep, deep, deep until they reached an incredible arrangement of coral, creatures, and critters, all different from the others. Safe to say the crew spent their dive looking around in sheer awe.
As soon as they surfaced, they were greeted with an incredible stir-fry of noodles prepared by Sam. As they sat with full bellies listening to Kylers oceanography lecture, a mysterious wizard arrived offering them the fruit of hydration and potassium (COCONUTSSS). The students jumped at the opportunity to quench their thirst with miraculous coconut water!
The crew gathered together for their final mission of the day, THE HULL SCRUB. One by one, they launched: blue team, red team, and green team! Blue was on scrapper, tanks, and scrappers at the ready on the move to dive under Vela and clean her up! Red team was on scrubbers, also scuba geared up, scrubbing the hull! Lastly, the Green team placed themselves in very fashionable life jacket diapers and waded around the boat, scrubbing the hulls. 10 empty tanks, 3 soaked life jackets, and way too many cuts, the hull was looking prettier than ever.
This most miraculous day was not over yet, and the crew took a moment to watch Grant monkey climb up the mast while dinner was being served. After yummy coconut rice and chicken, the crew sat in the cockpit, ready to vote on the most important event. For you see, the next day, the students were taking on a challenge unlike any before. The students were going to start a student-led passage, which meant they had to vote on their Engineer, Navigator, Chief Mate, and Skipper. The students took turns giving speeches about why they would be best suited to take on each of their desired roles. In the end, our final four were chosen: Nashota, the engineer; Reed, the Navigator; Grant, the Chief Mate; and Erin, the Skipper. Who better to lead the students to success!
Simply put, it was an incredible day, too incredible to be put into words!
Lots of love,
Vittoria
P.S. Mamma, Papa, sono viva!! Scusa tanto per il panico, tutto ok, sto bene e contenta! BACI BACINI