Location: Gustavia, St. Barthélemy
As my 6:55 am alarm went off, I woke up this morning to the sound of Ocean Stars engine roaring and the windlass hauling the anchor chain. The bustling wind surprised us and forced us to pick up anchor and move to avoid possible collisions. It was our first official day in Saint Barts, and the crew was more than enamored by the superyachts and the ever so beautiful sailboats that were gearing up for the Regatta this afternoon. For breakfast, the crew enjoyed some cereal once the crew successfully moved to a new spot within the anchorage. As Wiggy and Steph went onto land to clear in at customs and provisioning for meals, the crew got the whole morning to relax and study. Some of us are studying for our upcoming Seamanship quiz, working on our fish IDs for Steve, or just simply admiring our new neighbors in the bay. As a few of us sat up on deck, we spotted our dingy from a distance, Wiggy driving and Steph with her backpack filled with something. What could it be? French baguettes, must you say?! For lunch, we enjoyed some delicious baguettes with a variety of fancy cheese and meats and searched for things to dip in Nutella, as always.
After lunch, we went out for a research/fun dive for our Oceanography group projects. My dive team, Olivia, Elle, and I grazed the reef searching for Christmas tree worms for data and ventured into the world of underwater yoga and backflips between data collections. We ran into the second dive team briefly with Devi, Peyton, Kelsey, and Duncan, who enjoyed a fun dive. Meanwhile, our fourth member, Lucy, was completing her second to last Open Water dive with Steve and will be finishing up her certification soon. Go, Lucy! The rest of the afternoon was spent on the boat, enjoying the sunshine, studying, and resting below deck. This evening our Chef, Will, made some delicious sausage, broccoli, and mash potatoes for dinner, followed by a lovely quiz in Seamanship class. IYT VHF Short Range certification, here we come!