Location: Andratx, Mallorca
This lovely morning started off with some quiet and peaceful wake-ups led by me, as I tried and probably failed to be a respectful skipper to our very tired sailors. Last night was a blur of passage from Tarragona to Mallorca, with lots of late-night ramen trips and some great music to keep the vibes going. It is with much honor that I announce the arrival of two new helm-sonas on Argo (Oscar and me), who were granted our new codenames due to our nonstop 4-hour shifts at the helm. Oscar is now known as Darth Helmer, while I took the title of Alexander Helmilton.
After wake-ups, we were greeted with the beautiful view of our anchorage in Mallorca, and an easy breakfast of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit. After clean-ups, some divers (Liv, Emily, and Bryson) took to the seas to work on their certifications, while the rest of us either locked in on our marine bio essays(the 6 pm deadline looming large) or helped set up the boom swing for some fun times. Around 10 am, everyone got changed and ready for swimming shenanigans.
After that, everyone gathered for sandwiches for lunch, and then the other group of divers got their gear set up for some afternoon diving. My group (Cam, Teo, Fish, Sam, Thatcher, and I) was going for our final Advanced Open Water dive, which had a bit of a chaotic start in the dinghys but ended up being my favorite dive so far with Seamester. The other group(Samantha, Chloe, Oscar, and Alexa) got to practice their fish ID skills. Between all of the groups that went today, we spotted lots of starfish, octopi(spotted by Chloe!), eels, and basically every species that we just learned earlier this week for our fish ID quiz.
After all the dives were successfully completed, people either took naps or locked in on their essays before dinner time. Dinner was a delicious pasta dish, and we finished the meal with the squeeze question, If you could get one statistic from your life after you die, what would you want to know the most? Answers varied in seriousness from how many people have smiled because of them to how many slices of pizza theyve consumed. The last thing on the agenda was for the soon-to-be rescue divers (Charlie, Shane, Fish, Teo, Sam, Cam, Thatcher, Alexa, and me) to go over our knowledge reviews with Rachel. Overall, I would consider today a huge success, and I look forward to my next day as skipper.
Sincerely,
A. Helm
P.S. To all my family and friends, I love you so much and wish you were here!!
Maria W.