Location: St. Vincent
It was an early start today, especially for the few of us in watch group 2. The day started at around 3 AM when we spotted St. Vincent in the distance; only a few lights were visible from Argo. As we neared the island, the sun began to rise behind the mountains and the ominous rain clouds that covered St. Vincent. Dolphins began jumping right as the sun let out an orange glare on the edge of the sky. As we prepared for arrival off the coast of Kingstown, the few of us that were awake doused and flaked the sails. Later this morning, we experienced our first “boat appreciation,” where everyone bands together in order to scrub and clean every last speck of dirt off of Argo as a way to thank the vessel for getting us through the passage.
In the afternoon, everyone enjoyed a brief marine biology lecture and sun safety lesson from the instructors. Gifted with a break from working, many of the crew enjoyed swimming and snorkeling around the vessel, as well as catching up on homework. Dinner was an amazing jerk chicken meal concocted by our first of many student head chefs, Giselle, and her multiple sous chefs.
To end off the day, everyone explained very compelling stories about rewarding experiences that they would never want to undergo again. Tomorrow we start the first of five Advanced Open Water training dives, and all of the crew seem incredibly excited to be back under the water once again.
Pictured:
Early morning sunrise over St. Vincent
The crew working hard to scrub the decks of salt and grime
Thea and Nick excited to clean Argo
The view from Argo of the anchorage