Location: Salt Island, BVI
We started the day with breakfast underway as we began our short ride over to The Baths. We piled all our important items into my dry bag as we had a very wet entry to The Baths. We all back-rolled off the dinghy into the crystal clear water and swam to shore. Once on shore, we all went on our own mini adventures exploring all the caves, tunnels, and hidden pools The Baths had to offer. Drew discovered an underwater cave and tunnel, which we captured with Cameron’s Go-pro. Some people tested their breath-holding skills by swimming up through the tunnel and popping up on the other side. Don’t worry. We are all rescue diver certified, so we could save anyone if needed. A hunt for a good jump spot was another common adventure. A decent jump was found, and some people leaped into the pools below, making sure to avoid the rocks underneath. If we learned anything from The Baths today, it’s that crystal clear water is very deceiving. Elling and Aidan went on a search for a more intense jump spot and succeeded. They debated for 20 minutes whether or not they would pull off the jump, and in the end, they pulled the trigger and succeeded. After swimming and relaxing in The Baths, people had some post exploring snacks at the Poor Man’s Bar. Fries and Cokes were popular choices. We then began to make our swim back to the boat while carefully maneuvering around jellyfish.
I started to play with the jellies as we waited for the dinghy to pick us up, which was quite fun. Once back on board, we had a spaghetti-filled lunch and then prepared to make our way to Salt Island. I felt like a real skipper today as Smash gave me helming lessons on how to take up and put down the anchor and then let me man the helm all the way from The Baths to Salt Island. That’s a cool thing I get to add to my list of fun things I’ve done; manned the helm of an 88 ft schooner from one island to another in the BVIs. Once we arrived at Salt Island, we had our final oceanography lecture. A bittersweet class as it was another reminder of how soon our trip is coming to an end. Before dinner, we had some time to put some finishing touches on our group research project presentations and papers as we get ready to present them to everyone later tonight. While we were working, Steph was hoisted up the mast to tend to a lightbulb that needed replacing. I think a couple of people, including myself, wished we could’ve traded spots with her. We all mustered for our delicious fried rice dinner, and after reflecting on some regrets, we had in life, we answered the question of the day. After final project presentations, we will be closing out day 36 here on Ocean Star. As much as everyone is excited to get back to flushing toilets and sleeping with blankets, we’re all going to miss this amazing trip and the people we’ve gotten so close with.