Location: West End, Tortola, BVI
After hunkering down in the British Virgin Islands to ride out the tail end of a tropical storm, the skipper of the day (me) took a new approach to get everyone out of bed. 7 am was greeted with some blaring music and breakfast burritos; not the most well-received wakeup, but effective nonetheless.
Clouds filled the sky all day, and sprinkles of rain reminded us of the passing storm. Our favorite leader Jon took some students out on a morning hike and built a beautifully created, full-sized sand replica of our home Ocean Star (pictured). The different scuba crews split off to work on advancing their certifications: newbies got some crucial training in the water and saw an octopus!! The experienced folk got to dive around the docks and see some wreckage from past storms, including a dead yacht, a very sad umbrella, and a brand new iPhone. And the ultra-experienced peeps continued studying their materials to hopefully attain their Divemaster certificates.
The afternoon included some more diving and some more time to get to hang out. Only six days in, and it’s incredible how much we have gotten to know each other’s quirks and backgrounds. Eighteen people sharing 88ft will do that. We got to celebrate our first birthday of the trip! Josh turned 19, and we learned birthdays get cakes aboard. Homemade whipped cream and a fluffy chocolate cake were the perfect end to a day full of dives. I’m just a newbie to this whole scuba thing, but I’m already learning how much it wears you out.
Lots of dive time and downtime today as we worked out some travel kinks and made some crucial repairs on board. We’re learning every day that the schedule is set in the sand rather than stone. We are hopefully setting off tomorrow to our next home. I will never get over how we can just move our house and anchor down pretty much anywhere we want- endless possibilities and endless fun.
Cheers!
Joseph
Pictured: 1. Matthew, Jill, and Stef are showing off Sand Star. 2. Kaiden is keeping dry 20ft under. 3. Jill is trying to catch dinner. 4. Our favorite Marine Biologist, Amy, is keeping up on life down below. 5. Josh and his beautiful birthday cake.