Location: West End, Tortola, BVI
Day five began with what most all of the shipmates consider the best thing possible… a late start! After a change of plans last night and a late arrival back in Soper’s Hole, we all took advantage of the extra hour of sleep. It was amazing to see how well everyone worked together to make our impromptu night passage go smoothly as we prepared for the impending storm. Though we woke up to relatively calm conditions, the winds and rains of Tropical Storm Karen soon came racing through the harbor, making it a dash for a “sea shower” before dry towels were whisked away. By lunchtime, the eye of the storm was passing overhead, but the winds soon changed direction and picked up again before beginning to settle after dinner.
Spending most of the day down below meant getting through the introductory classes for the courses we’ll be taking during our voyage. It also meant an impromptu concert from a shipmate (Brit), a sing-along during our lunch clean-up, and some quick dives off the dock in between scrambling to “batten the hatches” during bursts of wind and rain. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve all (mostly) acclimated to life on Ocean Star and how much like a little family we’ve started to become. We’re even doing a bit of redecorating; we’ve strung the saloon with a few Polaroid shots, making our floating home even homier still.
Tomorrow we’ll be back on our regular wake-up schedule and in for what looks to be another busy day of diving and a quick passage… just another day in the life!
Until next time,
Jill
Pictured: The view of Tropical Storm Karen off the stern of Ocean Star; cheery colors of Soper’s Hole contrasting against the stormy sky; Polaroid photos hung on the bookshelf in the saloon (Brit, Kennedy, and Jill pictured second from left); Tropical Storm Karen hasn’t got a thing on Eli and Ridge taking the plunge; Kennedy hard at work on the whiteboard during Open Water diving theory; a full class in the saloon makes for a tight squeeze…(from left: Joseph, Josh, Ridge, Jill, Kaiden, Eli, Kennedy, Steffen, Matthew, Miranda, Brit, Nate, Matt, and Jade).