Location: Terre de Haut, Les Saintes Guadeloupe
Good evening loyal blog followers everywhere,
Another action-packed day here on Ocean Star. If today were a sandwich, it would be a monster, with all kinds of fillings neatly stacked on top of each other. We awoke at 06:00. As I always say the early worm doesn’t it get sunburn??? Well, I forget exactly how that saying goes. But anyway, back to the sandwich, what I mean to say is that it is amazing how much we can fit into one day.
As planned last night, we lifted anchor, calmly raised the sail, and slipped out of Portsmouth on a gentle breeze this morning. While the rest of the anchorage slept, we set a northerly course for Les Saintes and ate a hearty breakfast at sunrise. Under Devi’s direction, the student lead passage went smoothly, as did the fire drill. The staff were on hand to answer questions but encouraged students to trust the knowledge, awareness, and judgment that they have been developing over the last 40 days.
Arriving around noon, we dropped anchor. While the students debriefed their efforts, I raced ashore to try and clear customs, but I had forgotten about the siestas, the confusing computer keyboards, and how to say ‘British Virgin Islands’ in French. None of this could hold me back, though. With a little sign language and a lot of please and thank you, I returned to Ocean Star triumphant. I even managed to get eggs at a local shop. When trying to ask for eggs, I was very tempted to do a chicken impression when the shopkeeper looked blankly at me. I refrained. Call it coincidence, but as I was admitting defeat and was about to walk away, the lady opened a large cardboard box containing many egg boxes. Ahhh ha. Eggs! Perfect, I thought, just what I was looking for. Now I will not have to explain to the program manager why I failed to get eggs for tomorrow’s breakfast, and I don’t need to do my chicken-laying-an-egg impression with full facial expressions.
This afternoon was spent giving Ocean Star a really thorough clean. Our boat looks and smells amazing, and we are proud of our home. For finishing touches, we even have exotic Heliconia and Ginger-lily flowers from yesterday’s excursion in Dominica. As I type, it is now 21:00, and the night diving team is out there somewhere in the blackness. This is the second dive for them today. From what I hear, this is the last dive needed for some students to complete their advanced open water certification. When they return, we have hot chocolate waiting for them. Just what they need before heading for their clean bunks with fresh bedsheets. It all begins at 0600 tomorrow with an optional sunrise hike.