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Welcome to Ocean Star!

Location: Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua

Welcome to Ocean Star! Just two days ago, our last group of students departed after 20 days spent learning to dive, sail, and explore the Caribbean. Since their departure, the usual hum of laughter and tomfoolery has been absent from Ocean Star and replaced with a foreign sterility and quiet. While it has been nice getting the boat cleaned, restocked, and reinvigorated, we are so thrilled about the arrival of our new student group and the life and energy it has injected back into the boat. As these 13 strangers arrive for the first time, we veteran staff members (and former students!) know they will leave here forever altered by this experience - in ways they'll realize right away and in ways they might never trace back to this moment. As our 20-day students can attest to, two weeks at sea is like two years back home, and soon enough, these 13 strangers will form a bond currently reserved for family and our favorite friends. Will all of those bonds be created by days spent on white sand beaches and nights spent sailing into the sunset with dolphins jumping over the horizon? Nope! Will notable moments be punctuated by bouts of seasickness and rallying through it, and conversations had in the dead of night when sleep is beckoning louder and louder? Surely. Will we miss the comforts of cold water, constant air conditioning, and toilets that flush with simply one turn of the handle? Almost definitely. But as day 40 gets nearer and nearer, would we give all of that away for a few more days here - ocean showering and jumping off the cap rail, sailing under the stars, breathing underwater, and hiking through the heat to a rainforest peak? Absolutely.

Today, we welcome our students to their new home. And we hope they'll always think of it as home. As a past student myself, I know I left a piece of myself on Argo back in 2020. I know that the first memories that pop into my mind when I think about that trip are never the "big ticket items" - not the safari, or the whale sharks, the sunsets, or the shooting stars - they are the little things: The laughs in the dishy pit and heckling of the chefs through the gopher hole when they reeaallly should've oiled the pan. The first time, your back flip can't be categorized as a back flop. The time when it could only be categorized as a backflop. The slightly delirious and always hysterical conversations that could've only taken place at 2 am. Emerging from the anchor locker covered in mud to a friend laughing but waiting to hose your hands off. Watching this group of strangers morph into a family - one little moment at a time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself! What happened today? Our first arrival was Rhianna, who was shortly followed by Mani - both of whom were already in Antigua to witness last night's torrential downpours! Nadia was next to begin the unpacking process and our first inhabitant of the focsle! Joining a special group of alumni of the bow cabin. A bond like no other. Our first big group of arrivals was Katherine, Zoe, Robert, Will, and Max, who all came in around 3 pm. We spent the afternoon getting unpacked, checking in, and exploring the area of Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbor, a place that is pretty quiet this time of year with the superyachts long-departed for the Mediterranean. We all came back for a lovely dinner prepared by Meg of Pesto Pasta, Kale Caesar Salad, Chicken, and Lentils for the vegetarians. The last five members of our crew - Chloe, Claire, Jaxson, Owen, and Annika - have been delayed by the Miami fog and are arriving now! We've made them bowls of dinner to enjoy while they get settled in, do their check-ins, and get some well-deserved rest in their new home. Some brave souls have decided to sleep in hammocks on deck, and I fear I see some clouds moving in. Fingers crossed!

Meet the Staff!
Nick - Captain, Medic, International Crew, and VHF Instructor, Would've Been Cast As The Grinch In The Live Action Movie But They Couldn't Afford Him, Horse Boy, Unintentional Peter Griffin Impersonator
Allie - Program Manager, Chief Mate, Medic, Navigation Instructor, Shouldn't Quit Her Day Job To Write Made Up Fun Facts, Or Should She?
Meg - Marine Science Instructor, Dive Instructor, Medic, Does Nightly Neck Exercises To Better Understand Formula 1 Drivers, Only Responded To The Name "Waffle" Until She Was 17
Ben - Marine Science Instructor, Dive Instructor, British And We Won't Let Him Forget It!, Friend of Manta Rays, Irrational Fear of Packing Peanuts (Do NOT Bring Them Up)

You can read more about their real-life qualifications and true facts about their lives on the About Us - Our Team page of the Seamester website, or just form your opinion based on these! To each their own.

*The students have turned in their phones for the first week of the trip! We promise they're not ignoring your texts.
** I do my very best to post the blog nightly! Occasionally, we have connectivity issues or are on passage overnight, and I don't have service, but I post it as soon as I can.