Location: Malolo Island, Fiji
Bula! My name is Caleigh, and I was skipper for the day. One of my duties as skipper is to update the blog on our daily activities. Last night was our first night of anchor watch in Malolo. We ran on an hourly rotation with two people on watch. There were three people who got the night off, and I was one of those. So, unfortunately, I missed out on the shooting stars and fish spotting. Hopefully, tonight Ill get to join in! Those not on anchor watch through 6 am, got to wake up with the beautiful sunrise. One of my favorite times of the day is waking up in my hammock amongst 10 other lovely people. Finding a spot to tie your hammock in between the nine other hammocks crisscrossing from midship to the bow has become increasingly difficult over the last few days. However, it makes for a great picture!
Once everyone was awake, Amanda baked delicious banana bread with an assortment of toppings. Following breakfast and cleanup, we began our introduction to marine bio with Amanda. Afterward, the open water divers continued their work on completing the classroom videos, while others enjoyed some free time spent swimming, working out, and helping wherever they could. Once the classes were over, the PSCT students met with Lolo for a quick overview of the course. Amanda was on a roll today with all our meals. For lunch, we had a healthier version of Chipotle. There was quinoa, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, tofu, chicken, beef, and many more toppings. After lunch, we continued classes with an introduction to oceanography with Steph. Immediately afterward, Steph and Amanda planned a Low Tide lab. We are anchored near a beautiful reef that we were able to go explore for the afternoon. We snorkeled to the reef and discovered a new world of sea life. We saw puffer fish, squid, stingray, blue sea stars, and much more. As well, it was nice to see Argo from a distance and admire her off the docks. After snorkeling, we jumped in for quick showers. Shout out to Tyler for filling buckets with fresh water and being our makeshift shower while Steph fixed the freshwater hose.
Amanda was back at it again with another great meal. We had fresh bread, pork, potatoes, and salad. As well as a little banana bread as a little sweet treat leftover from this morning. As we end every dinner, I asked everyone what they were appreciative for today and my squeeze question, If you had a boat, what would you name it? It was a bit of a difficult question for some, but the responses were great. I posed this question because most people have a unique story behind the name of their boat, so I thought it would be another great way to get to know everyone that much better. My appreciation for the day was to Steph, Amanda, Lolo, Tim, Gabe, and Elle, who all received their first vaccination on Monday!! Today is the second day which I know is not the day you feel your best, but they pushed through. It was nice to hear people asking how they were doing and providing some tips and tricks on how to combat a
little bit of a tough morning. For my boat name, I chose Boaty McBoatface (shout out to my dad). The spelling may be off on that one. Im sure most know the story behind that name, but if you dont, it is worth a google search.
P.S. Hi, mom and dad! So my camera works underwater (obviously)!! Love and miss you guys 🙂 Hopefully, Ill find wifi soon to send you more pictures.
Pictured: Sunrise in hammock city; a blue sea star during our snorkeling lab; seagrass and blue water; a new view of Argo; working on our ID logbooks for marine biology based on the organisms we saw during our time in the water