Location: Statia
We started the morning off slightly earlier than normal to eat breakfast and load dive gear in the dinghies for the morning dive. The morning dive group consisted of Sam and Ash with Stallion, Ari, Sissy, Elodie, Ray, Jake, and Declan. The morning divers were welcomed on the wreck with many large sting rays, and some were even lucky enough to see a black-tip reef shark. Dive group 2 has some free time on shore while group 1 was diving. Some took the morning to relax, explore the town and visit the museum and local markets. Desmond and Payton decided a chill morning was not part of the plan and hiked to the top of the volcano before heading back to town for the afternoon dive.
Dive group 2, consisting of myself, Maris, Grace, Hannah, Payton, Desmond, Lauren, and AJ, left the dock shortly after lunch to explore our two dive sites, Chientong Wreck and Stinapa Reef. We saw many large sting rays, a turtle, and three large puffer fish. While group 2 was diving, some members of group 1 took to town to explore and eat at some local restaurants while others headed back to the boat to nap on the chart house or cook our delicious dinner that included a dessert called fairy bread that was new to most crew members. For those who don’t know what fairy bread is, it’s buttered bread (with no crust, of course) with rainbow sprinkles on top and cut into a triangle (obviously). It was a big hit, and I think some crew members’ new favorite dessert.