Location: Deep Bay, Antigua
After Graham’s delicious lemon chicken last night, the group rallied for a night dive, although there was a storm in the distance. We had a brief but thrilling dive before being recalled back to Ocean Star to lash down dinghies and get the deck 40/40 for high winds and rain. We hunkered down in the salon with some good tunes and hot chocolate to ride out the storm and got a sound night of sleep.
We awoke today to a beautiful Caribbean morning and the smell of Ash’s french toast wafting from the galley: arguably the best way to begin a day. Although the previous night’s storm had blown over, we had some strong, steady winds for sailing, so after breakfast, we took down drying clothes, stowed sail covers, REEFed our sails, and made off for the high sea. This group of charming individuals is starting to work as a real crew! We had a beautiful day sail to Deep Bay, where we now sit resting securely on both anchors and arrive just in time for a fantastic taco lunch.
We spent the afternoon continuing our Navigation Master certifications with our first set of hands-on chart work. Calum introduced us to navigational charts, dividers, and Breton plotters. With their help, we measured distances, charted coordinates, took bearings, plotted courses, and learned how to get by on a vessel without GPS! We have a lot more to learn, but our fearless leader’s infectious love for everything maritime with undoubtedly bring us through safely!
A hot afternoon made for some tired crew members, so we took the chance to nap, swim, and work on our fish ID logbooks. After finishing up a spaghetti bolognese dinner, we’re ready to take our second Marine Biology exam later tonight and get some sleep for rescue diver training and beach Olympics in the coming days!
All the best from Ocean Star and her crew,
-Caleb