Location: Ile Fourchue, St Barths
Holy Guacamole! Been a minute, folks but fear not, the day you’ve all been waiting for; has arrived.
SEASON. FINALE. OF. EIGHTY. EIGHT. FEET.
Oh, what a season it’s been. We’ve had our fair share of 9-mile hikes, squally nights, trips to the low side, skin infections, and more. But sad we all are to see our beloved show coming to a close. However, THIS show must go on: literally and figuratively, let’s get into today’s episode.
Skipper or Slacker: After an entire season of this exact segment, it is safe to conclude that today we had a SKIPPER! She started her day at a bright and early 5:30 with some coffee and fish ID. After memorizing, by song, many types of coral, she began wake-ups by sliding and falling down the companionway like many others before her. Despite this minor incident, wake-ups went smoothly with some calm music and the wafting smell of breakfast burritos on deck. The skipper made sure to be on her very best corralling game and watched the usual troublemakers like hawks (Sorry Waring and KT) to make sure they were on deck in a timely fashion. At the end of breakfast, our skipper read off the schedule for the day. Little did we know, said schedule ended up being nothing but factious due to…
*insert commercial break*: Is it Nick and his hose? Or Nick and his HO$E!!! Get yourself the grade A (only broken once) Ocean Star hose. Has the capacity to clean decks up to 3x a day!
Rescuers or Riddlers: After breakfast, our crew was split into two groups to take on the second portion of rescue diver training. Group #1 went after breakfast and was expected to fly through the skills, allowing group #2 to finish the diving off before lunch… Ohh, boy, was that ever a stretch. As our skipper resided in group #2 along with her buddy team of Waring and Kebo, as well as KT, Kate, Liana, and Dani, I had no choice but to tell it from her point of view. Group #2 quietly got some work done down below, drawing/recalling the beautiful, silly, wonderful fish we see every time we go underwater for our fish ID log books. When suddenly, it felt the time was going by a little too slowly. By the time we checked the clock, it was already 11:55! Lunch of “no shiz mac and cheese” was provided by our very own Drewski due to the chef team being in the water all morning. They learned all about how to handle an unresponsive diver at the surface, which is a process that is much more involved than you all at home would ever imagine. Unfortunately, at lunch, the news of OCE (arguably the top 4 classes in the Seamester program- Alexis) was canceled due to the rescue activities. However, leadership with Nick and Mia was still to go on before dinner. OHHHH boy. Another huge miscalculation due to group #2 being the water from a distinct 1:35 to around 5:15. But time flies when you’re having fun! That is if your definition of fun is spending the afternoon with ‘dead’ bodies in the water.
*insert commercial break*: Nesquick! HUGE win for the Ostar F22 program when the small container of Nesquick came aboard from the last provision! Maybe not so much for Alexis, our onboard chocolate milk expert, because he had to share his beloved morning, noon, and night beverage, which he normally keeps to himself. Remember to buy your Nesquick in bulk, people; it goes quickly… (get it, because NesQUICK)
Panic or PARTYYY: Believe it or not, almost the exact second group #2 exited the water; they hopped right back in. Why? One may ask. They were in there for hours! When training for rescue, you have to be ready for anything. Even if that means the second you take off your mask and fins, you have to put them right back on to deal with the emergent situation happening in the water. In this situation, an unresponsive surfaced Steph and a panicking Drew floating away from the boat. A group rushed to the attention of Steph, giving her breaths and getting her on the dinghy for CPR (what we practiced all day) while Dani swam out to Drew. She attempts to calm him down, despite knowing Drew’s reputation as an exceptionally rowdy victim, and gets him in the O ring to bring him back to our humble abode. But in his panicked state, he shoved it away, which was taken by the strong current, which caused Dani to abandon him, which in turn left him with none other than your very own skipper. She was repeatedly dunked in the water during care, but eventually, both he and Steph were back on Ostar safely. After dinner, it was announced that the crew had passed 1 of 2 emergency situations required for the rescue course. Huge win, for it, is not common to pass on the first try. But until our second passing grade, we must be ready. Sunrise to sunset; you never know when you are going to have to put your training into use.
It’s been a wild-ride team. Thanks for sticking along with us and our weird but wonderful crew.
Until the next season of 88 FT:
Signing out as host and skipper, Carli Trudel. To everyone back at home- see you in 17.
Photos 1-4: Avoidance of the “Rescue Red”