Location: St. Kitts
Today began exceptionally early for the students of Ocean Star. Right around midnight, the GPS read 40 miles to St. Kitts, and my watch team groggily wandered onto the deck to take over the ship. The dim, almost mystical lights of Saba and Statia passed us by as the shipmates helmed our little schooner over the black ocean. At 3 am, like clockwork, the next watch team was on deck to relieve us, and my guys ducked back below decks for a little well-deserved sleep. A few hours later, we were awoken again to help drop the anchor off the beautiful shores of St. Kitts. Everyone was exhausted after a long night of sailing, but we had a mission, and there was work to be done. While the captain went ashore to clear customs and do his captain-y things, we rolled into a little bit of Boat Appreciation for Ocean Star. We scrubbed the salt off her deck and rigging, cleaned the streaks from the side, and gave the living spaces a thorough airing out. The cleaning was done astoundingly quickly for how tired we all were, so we rolled right into completing Advanced Diver Knowledge Reviews to prepare for a slew of dives in the coming days. Once Kevin returned and we were all cleared in, we poured into the dinghies to finally get our land legs back. We hiked, restocked our snack supplies, and explored Fort Brimstone, one of the most beautifully restored colonial forts in the Caribbean. Then it was back to the boat for showers, more studying, and a phenomenal dinner of roasted chicken and veggies prepared by Nick, Matt, and Katie. After cleanup, we’ll head down to the saloon for Oceanography class and then get ourselves prepped for an early day of diving tomorrow. We might be counting the minutes until we can get back in our bunks and go to sleep, but we’re loving every second!