Location: Falmouth, Antigua
Hi Everyone,
Today was another relatively quiet day on Ocean Star. Lolo worked on sanding various spots that need new varnish, and she primed the port student head for new floor paint. Steve worked on chasing rust and priming spots on deck that needed touch-ups. Sasha and I worked on preparing and uploading marine science lectures, grading quizzes, and continuing to plan the rest of the marine science curriculum. The weather was delightfully sunny this weekend, and many of us on Ocean Star and Argo used the time to swim, go for hikes (don’t worry, we practiced social distancing with everyone except for a few goats), and enjoy our surroundings. We are very glad we took advantage of that time because today news went out that Antigua is going to do a 7-day lockdown starting at midnight on Wednesday night. Needless to say, Lolo and I headed out as soon as we heard this news to provision for 7+ days. We got plenty of healthy food, and a little bit of junk food too.
Here are some key differences in our routine now compared to when we have a full boat:
– We cook and eat individual breakfasts instead of the head chef making a big batch of whatever is on the menu for the day
– We can all sit in the salon without even touching each other
– It’s QUIET
– We all are working on our own individual projects instead of going hiking, diving, etc. with all of you for the day
– We talk to an empty chart house with a few screens in front of us to give lectures
– It’s really quiet
– Squeeze doesn’t involve any handholding or actual “squeezes”
– We decide what’s for dinner about 5 minutes before we start cooking it, and there is a lot less loud music
– We can spread out in the salon to get work done instead of being crammed into our bunks
– Instead of teaching class until 8 or 9 o’clock or going on night snorkels, we are mostly all in bed by 9 pm
– Turns out, we are kind of boring without you all!
– Did I mention it’s quiet?
We are safe and well-stocked onboard, we just miss all of you!