Location: St. Barths
How do you make a good day even better? 8 AM WAKE UPS!! After an overnight passage the night before, everyone enjoyed a bit of a sleep-in this morning. Those who were up a bit earlier sipped on coffees and cut up a few mangos to snack on while admiring the mega-yachts surrounding us. Once everyone was ready, the students headed to shore in time for breakfast. The group spent the day in St. Barts shopping in the fancy boutiques, eating gelato, and lounging on the beach until late in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Heather did a round of provisioning and laundry while Nick worked on repairing the hinges on the companionway door. Ben and I also stayed back on the boat for a bit to scrub the hull. It was tons of fun to kit up in scuba gear and scrape away all the barnacles that had accumulated over the course of the trip. Hopefully, this cleaning will improve Ocean Stars hydrodynamics just in time for Classics at the end of the month! After cleaning the hull, Ben and I headed to shore as well. While he searched for a SIM card and a haircut, I did some window shopping. While working for Sea|Mester, I didnt have much of a need for nice clothes- but it was really fun to try on a few fancy dresses. St. Barts would be worth coming to just for the shopping alone! In the afternoon, everyone returned to the boat, and the second group took their NavMaster exam. I am so proud of the students for all their effort in preparing for this exam- its a tough subject, but I have a good feeling they will do well! The hardest parts of the Seamanship course are now complete, and we only have the VHF unit remaining for the last few weeks of the program. Time is flying! Also, shoutout to my grandparents- the number 1 fans of the blog! Hi W + F! Miss yall!