Location: Tobago Cay, St. Vincent and The Grenadines
My intrepid vicarious viewers, here we are, another blog; it began 9 hours and 49 seconds ago when I awoke early and realized at that moment I was, in fact, skipper. A shiver rolled down my spine, knowing I would have to wake everyone up, one of my least favorite tasks; how do I do it? Do I play music? Do I honk the horn? Set the fire alarm off? Alas, none of these options were necessary as I saw Henry and made him do it. Rapidly the group gathered for the first feeding of the day and what a feast of what I refer to as flapjacks; however, I have been informed that means pancake in the US of A, so I dont know what they call what we ate so instead let me paint a delicious image in your head. Granola-like base, maybe cereal, mixed with a tantalizing medley of fruit, throw in a dash of sugar, a pinch of some spices, and bake that awe-inspiring mix for about 30 minutes, and you have yourself some flapjacks.
Excitement was in the air after clean up, thats right, you guessed it, well maybe not, but Marine Biology was up next, and yours truly didnt disappoint; however, I cannot take credit for todays class as I showed my budding Darwin and Earles a rather inspirational documentary called My Octopus Teacher. A very good insight into octopus behavior, interactions with the environment, and how as a human, you can go a little bit wayward when becoming a little obsessed with something; Im just jealous of the mans connection with this octopus, so special. Ultimate excitement was next in order as leadership took the reins of the day, Johnny took control of class, now I must confess I dont know exactly what was discussed or his topic, so I am going to assume he asked such thought-provoking questions such as are plants are really farming us, giving us oxygen until we eventually expire and turn into mulch which they can consume? Why do Lawyers hope you get sued, doctors hope you get sick, cops hope you’re criminal, mechanics hope you have car trouble, but only a thief wishes prosperity for you? and did you know when you say ‘Forward’ or ‘Back,’ your lips move in those directions? Truly thought-provoking words from such a young mind, truly one to watch out for in the future.
Xcellent was the word coming out of everyones mouth after lunch; an amazing array of quesadillas was on offer; we had gluten-free, dairy-free, you name it, we had it, well, I guess actually it was just that, but they were delicious none the less. It was then over to the beach for some interesting science learning of transects and quadrats. Some of the shipmates will be using these important skills in the upcoming weeks to help them collect data for Oceanography. A simple slip up on one point intersect, or miscalculation within the quadrat could spell absolute disaster for them and make them laughing stocks in the science community.
Expectations were high as the beach BBQ loomed closer; everyone got back to the boat, showered, and put their best glad rags on. Good times were had by all as they chomped down on lobster, baked potato, rice, veggies, the full works. Goodnight All
*Ohhh, I must confess I totally forgot to take pictures, so I took pictures while everyone was at the BBQ and filled in the spots myself*
Picture 1 – Chef team cheffing away
Picture 2 – Deckie Team doing a thorough job
Picture 3 – A Lone Steward
Picture 4 – Hot debate in the dishy pit
Picture 5 – Interesting marine biology lecture (With some people clearly uninterested in the documentary)