Location: Statia
The roosters crowed early today with a 6:50 wake up to the delicious smell of French toast. The Ocean Star family took off to the quaint dive shop shortly after breakfast, with a rumored wreck dive on our agenda. We briefed and loaded onto the small dive boat by 9:00 and motored past Ocean Star, giving her a wave as we passed. Rolling in, we could see fragments of a crusty wreck below. After a graceful descent and a quick survey of the site, we came across a big-bellied Nurse Shark. The word on the water is that she is actually pregnant. Since a bottle of air is only so big, we were forced to make an ascent back to the boat. A brief surface interval followed back at the dive shop, where people enjoyed the luxury of refrigerated beverages. After this, it was back on the water for our second dive of the day. A deep descent along a mooring line unveiled a huge sunken ship covered in corals. Buoyancy was on point as we toured a semi-enclosed part of the deck, being careful not to bump into the coral-covered walls. As our no-deco limits began to drop, we again had to say sianara to the underwater world. A beautiful shredded chicken taco lunch was awaiting our arrival back on Ocean Star. Another A+ day for the chefs!
Post lunch a heated game of Oceanography-themed Jeopardy was initiated by Heather, preparing us for tomorrow’s final exam. A little downtime was had before dinner when the chefs emerged from the galley with pans of bubbling zucchini boats, possibly one of the most beautiful dishes ever made on Ocean Star! Tonight’s squeeze was an entertaining one. Each person picked their salty pit lineup dream team. A common theme even emerged, showing that Cap should be allowed in the galley more often, possibly due to his humorous criticisms of the salty pit. The family then banged to the beat of “We Will Rock You,” hitting the deck and clapping their hands as Mike mumbled the lyrics for the family. Overall solid day!
Over, not out.