Location: Rodeny Bay, St. Lucia
Laurie’s birthday started off with an enormous plate of bacon made into a weave just for her by JP and Tor. Many others created numerous birthday sketches and drawings to follow. After breakfast, we learned how to plot a dead reckoning in MTE class. Shore time then followed, which consisted of market trips and Americanized infrastructure that was a different vibe than that of the Caribbean, which we had all grown accustomed to. After shore lunch and exploring, it was time once again for some Hobie Cat racing! We rented a few boats on shore and took turns sailing around the bay. The wind was more favorable, so we were able to cruise along swiftly on beam reaches for some intense races. While others were out racing, those of us on the beach encountered some international American beach volleyball players who were taking a break from their tournament with a swim in the ocean. They were an interesting bunch to meet. After dinner, there was an OCB class in which Matty lectured about different types of marine plants and reviewed them for the Marine Biology test tomorrow. We are now all eagerly awaiting the chocolate cake that’s in the oven to finish baking so we can all sing Happy Birthday to Laurie!