Location: Rodney Bay
The rainy morning weather called for some calm wake-up tunes this morning, so I whipped out some Otis Redding, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sufjan Stevens to coax the shipmates out of bed and towards their morning teas which were cozily sipped in the salon. Will warmed our hearts with bagels and Moroccan scrambled eggs. The sun came out just in time, so we were able to eat on the deck and enjoy our pre-drive meal in the open air. Many of our meals lately have been foiled by the Caribbean rain, so this was truly a treat. After breakfast cleanup, the first dive group got their kit together and excitedly awaited the Marine Park dive boat that would soon be picking them up for a drift dive in the reserve. When the rangers arrived, everyone hurried into the boat and sped off to the reef for a dive, which they would later describe with wide, salty smiles. Meanwhile, the non-divers and second dive group had a relaxing morning on Ocean Star. Margeaux, Kiara, and I jumped into the water to clean off sections of the hull for our Oceanography project on Bio-fouling. Pearse and Lenox each took one of their two naps of the day. Jodie drank tea. When the first dive group was spotted on the horizon, we sprung into action and readied ourselves for the dive. We efficiently swapped groups despite the exciting chatter between divers relaying all of the amazing things they saw. The rangers took the second group to the dive site, which was called Superman’s flight, and we kitted up and rolled gracefully into the water. We started our dive following the guide into the current, which took up over some beautiful Porites coral colonies and massive barrel sponges. The current was a bit more intense than we were used to, so the buddy teams ended up spreading out a bit, and we all found a pace that allowed us to peacefully explore the beautiful landscape. Adelaide and I saw some very cool trumpetfish, juvenile damselfish, large hogfish, and mostly healthy coral colonies. We all surfaced after about 50 minutes and returned to Ocean Star in time for lunch. Lunch, as it turns out, would be served underway while we motored to the fuel dock in Rodney Bay.
Lunch was a very delicious meal of Mediterranean wraps complete with hummus, which was a wonderful treat. The rest of the afternoon was spent motoring to the fuel dock, fueling up, and then anchoring in Rodney Bay. I enjoyed spending time on bow watch with Luke, watching out for floating debris from river runoff. Once we arrived at the anchorage, everyone spent time relaxing and enjoying their free time. Dinner was a lovely Moroccan Chicken with potatoes and veggies. Tonight it will be early bedtimes for all so that we can wake up early for round three of the dreaded COVID tests.
Cover = Porites colonies!
1 – Boys on a boat
2 – Riley, Margeaux, and Jodie loved Will’s breakfast
3 – (So did Lenox)
4 – The salties hard at work during after-breakfast clean-up
5 – Captain and First Mate enjoying moving O-Star towards the fuel dock
6 – Riley expertly laying out lunch
7 – Riley, Julia, and Isa enjoying their free time and some good news from the US
8-9 – Beautiful Ocean Star!
10 – Our new anchorage in Rodney Bay
11-15 – Photos (ft. Ben and Isabel) from the dive at the Saint Lucia Marine Park (credits to Isabel)