Location: Nevis
Today started with BA, or Boat Appreciation, aka our regularly scheduled deep clean of the boat. We split into different cleaning crews: deck washing, wiping down bunks and changing sheets, and cleaning the galley. The process always starts with the top bunks and works its way down. Since I’m in a top bunk, I got started by taking apart my fan. I unscrewed it, wiped away all the dust that had collected, then put it back together before giving my entire bed frame a thorough wipe-down and putting on a fresh set of sheets. Once you finish your own bunk, you “tag in” the person directly below you by joining whatever cleaning job they’re working on. Mo is right below me and I tagged him in, after which I headed to the galley to help Alyssa and Zoe. We wiped down the counters, emptied and cleaned every cabinet, cleared out the refrigerator, and checked for anything that had started to spoil. After our big fruit tour in Dominica, the galley had developed quite the smell form all the over-ripened produce. A few avocados and starfruit had gone bad, and when that pungent odor mixes with the smells of the older food in the fridge and whatever mystery was coming form the drain, it made for a pretty unforgettable cleaning experience. I have a very powerful sense of smell, so I spent most of the cleanup trying to focus through some frequent gagging. Thankfully, Alyssa and I powered through and eventually got the galley looking – and smelling – a whole lot better.
This afternoon was out Peak Performance Buoyancy dive. Those of us who already have our advanced diver certification tagged along on the training exercises for fun. Even if we didn’t need to be there, it was fun to join everyone underwater. For the first time, we dove directly off the boat where it was anchored instead of taking the dinghies out to a dive site. We descended to a maximum depth of only about 30 feet onto a mostly empty seagrass bottom. The trainees practiced buoyancy by knocking over weights arranged like dominoes using only the air from their lungs. Another exercise had everyone link arms overhead to create a human tunnel while one diver carefully swam through, trying not to touch anyone as they passed. Once the group completed their skills, Perry and Zoe entertained us with an underwater slow-motion performance complete with front flips, backflips, and even a dramatic mock fight scene. Watching it all unfold underwater was hilarious.
I found myself getting distracted by something else entirely: the conchs scattered across the sea floor. There were huge live conchs slowly crawling along, empty shells that had been claimed by enormous crabs and one of the coolest things I’ve seen underwater so far – a giant conch shell that was absolutely packed with hermit crabs. There must have been hundreds of tiny hermit crabs living inside it. When I picked it up, the entire shell seemed to come alive, like a moving fortress covered in little legs. It was such a simple discovery, but at the same time more rare than a lot of the megafauna in a way. Definitely one of my favorite underwater moments on the trip. After studying the conch and as we ascended, I caught a glimpse of something that resembled a shark. I thought at first it was my eyes deceiving me, until I asked Perry for conformation that it was not a shadow of the anchor or some other trick of light or shadows. It was indeed a 4-5 foot long barracuda, and for me, probably the biggest fish I’ve every seen. To think it was lurking right beneath our boat definitely made taking ocean showers that night a little bit more eerie!