Location: 17,32.3N ; 061,46.77W
Carpe Diem, seize the day. This was the theme of our gentle wake-up. Shipmates turned to me with blinking eyes and growing smiles as I listed the many reasons for greeting the day with a smile. Alex, Meg, and Nic Coaxed us up with a novel bagel brekkie, Nutella included. The sun somehow shone with a new gleam today, and the blues of the waters invited. Perhaps the difference was in the clearer atmospheric conditions way above our heads, but special energy was evident amongst the Ocean Star Crew as tonight we would be taking our first Night sail!
The first dive group set off for Cocoa Point Reef soon after breakfast and left the rest of us aboard with time to prepare for the upcoming Navigation Master Exam. The last lesson has been held before the exam, and we’re in the final stages of fine-tuning our new chartwork skills. However, just as we were beginning to ponder the quietness of an emptier boat, the dive group arrived back bumbling about dolphins! Their unmistakable squeaks and clicks had been heard below the surface by the divers before they magically appeared to the bewilderment and glee of the lucky group. The second group was kicked into a frenzy to reach the dive site in time to catch their own glimpse of the playful marine mammals. The dive was incredible, with tiny creatures found beneath rocks and amongst the coral. My new personal favorite is the juvenile spotted drumfish, zebra stripes, and a disproportionally long dorsal fin. By the end of the dive, however, no mammals had been spotted until, as we were leaving the dive site, the elusive grey domed back and dorsal appeared near the dinghy, sending everybody scrambling for kit to enter the water. Brief as the encounter was, we had managed to swim with dolphins!
The last Marine bio class was held, followed by the last seamanship class, before we eagerly tackled the tasks of passage prep. In the dying moments of the day, the mysterious and elusive green flash was spotted by some before a most magnificent display of colors as the lights danced on the clouds in their pinks and blues.
Now underway towards Antigua, the engines are silent, and we roll along to the swells and the breeze beneath a glittery sky.