Location: Mountain Point
“I came here to do two things: blow some bubbles and catch sea turtles, and I’m all done blowing bubbles!” The crew of Ocean Star had another epic day under the Caribbean sun. The day was primarily taken up by blowing bubbles as the crew did their first open water dives. In pursuit of some sweet scuba skills, we made a double dive today in the morning and then again after lunch. Excitement is high as the crew is quickly unlocking the treasures beneath the sea. After our afternoon dive, the crew had two options: to go on a hike that promised some amazing views of the islands or to join our sister program, Lifeworks, in their research on turtle tagging. I joined the group that went on a hunt for sea turtles, and I am very happy to report that the Seamester crew made the first catch of the day! Just when we were about to rotate out, and everyone in the dingy, Eric the skipper spotted the turtle. The crew re-donned their snorkel gear and spread out in navy seal formation. Once spotted from the water, the turtle was corralled by the group right to me, at which point I went in for the grab and came up with the turtle to the surface. Now, it is time for me to reassure the readers that this has not been done to harass sea turtles or mistreat them in any way. In fact, Lifeworks and Seamester do sea turtle tagging in order to better understand these magnificent creatures and their reproductive success. Once aboard, the turtle was measured and recorded for the BVI records. Through research done in the past few years, we have discovered that the sea turtle population is on the rise in the BVIs, which is the best news. As the crew of Ocean Star all met back aboard, stories were exchanged of an awesome hike and a successful tagging sessionjust another day aboard Ocean Star. Thanks for reading.