Location: English Harbor, Antigua
The day started off sunny with breakfast on the deck. We conquered our first task as a sailboat crew, which was flaking the sail and putting up the sun tarp. All the first-time divers went straight into learning scuba diving theory by watching videos and working on practice questions. The previously certified divers, myself included, took a short hike along the harbor to some historic cannons overlooking the turquoise water, and on the way back, we ran into some goats on the beach. We all came together for lunch before getting a crash course on how to move a sailboat off a dock, how to understand sailing lingo, and signals. Long story short, we learned that moving a boat is not as easy as it sounds. After some technical difficulties, we will be spending tonight at the dock and will try again tomorrow. The new divers continued covering material, and after a little drizzle, we all did our swim tests, which consisted of a couple laps by the dock and ten minutes treading water. The swim was a great way to cool off after a very hot morning. Treading water was a group highlight for the day; the water was warm, and floating together was peaceful. The new divers then hung out on the boat while the certified divers went to do a checkout dive nearby to make sure our skills were still sharp. The dive was quick and on a sandy/grassy bottom, but there were some fish and lobsters to see. After some drills, we headed back to the boat, rinsed off our gear, and ate dinner with the whole crew. After dinner, we did squeeze, where we all held hands and said one highlight from the day, and the question of the day was to say a fun fact about ourselves. Now, after 24 hours together, we have all started to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.