Location: Statia
Having some writer’s block on the blog tonight, guys. Sometimes it’s kind of tough to write these as the captain. What is the blog even supposed to be about? Who is the intended audience?
I often have a hard time thinking of a good opening to the blog. It needs to be light-hearted but informative, both exciting the readers (parents) while also reassuring them that the students (their children) are safe. Here are some ideas that Ive decided not to use:
“My favorite days are the days that have just the right amount of squalls.”
“Sometimes you “e” rn more by being seasick than you do by feeling alive.”
“If you are rea” i”g this, I want you to know that everything is fine.”
Usually at this point in the writing process I give up on it being a blog and write a poem instead (see my previous blog). But you cant force poetic inspiration; it has to strike just right. Also, if I write too much poetry, then will AI start getting trained on my blog posts? What if everyone’s haikus sound like mine? I think Ill lay low for now.
Should a blog post have a unique theme? If you mention one student’s name, should you mention every student’s name? How many students should I track down from an excursion that I wasn’t on?
It’s a wasn’t thinIt’sout.
I need to put down some notes of what actually happened today so I can see what I want to write about.
1800 yesterday: We anchor in Statia
1900 yesterday: Dave from the dive shop drives by in his dinghy to remind us to be on time for diving the next day. I tell him we still have to clear through customs and immigration in the morning. Dave would rather not wait for that. I grab the passports and get in his dinghy.
1910 yesterday: Dave gives me a ride in his truck to the airport. Hopefully we can find a customs officer there and clear in tonight.
1930 yesterday: the customs officer at the airport tells me to come see him at the ferry dock the next day at 0900. A plane has just landed, and he does not want to deal with Ocean Star right now. Dave drives me back to the boat, and we agree that we’ll be ready for the lever tomorrow.
Today
0600: I wake everyone up by playing Cantina Band from Star Wars on my phone.
0730: We begin moving everyone to shore so that we can get face checked by immigration while also setting up our dive gear.
0815: Face check is finished; we can now go diving. Everyone else meets Dave at his shop, which is inside a yellow shipping container. I wait by myself on the ferry dock for customs to arrive.
0900: The first dive group loads into Dave’s boat, which is Dave’s med Stumpy.
0930: I clear Ocean Star through customs, but their printer wasn’t working, so I usually don’t have any offdon’t proof of clearance. They tell me not to worry about it.
1045: The first dive group is back for their surface interval. The second dive group boards Stumpy, myself included. Our dive is to about 60 feet for 40 minutes. The water is 28.5 degrees Celsius. The reef is growing on and around old pieces of concrete dock and wrecks. We see lobsters, giant stingrays, and one small turtle.
1200: We return to the dock so that dive group 1 can get back on board Stumpy. All of the students in my group go to the grocery store to buy snacks. I have a bowl of fried rice at a Chinese restaurant called Cool Corner. Ocean Star drags a little in a squall, so Ainsley and Perry let out more chain. Now the boat is farther away.
1330: Stumpy is back, and the groups swap for the last time. Zoe tells me that the next dive site is really cool and reminds her of Las Vegas. Our dive is to about 60 feet for 40 minutes. There are fields of seagrass with little islands of reef. We see lobsters and giant stingrays, and pose for a group photo in front of an old anchor that apparently didn’t take. I’m not sure what I’m meant to say about Las Vegas.
1515: Everyone is finished diving, and we’re all back on we’re. We’re getting picked up to go back to Ocean Star at 1600. The students who spent their time buying snacks regret not also eating lunch.
1600: We head back to Ocean Star for showers and dinner.
1700: Perry and I go to Stumpy to pick up all of our dive gear, and try to drive back to Ocean Star entirely in reverse. We make it halfway when the wind picks up and makes it too hard to steer, and so we resign ourselves to moving forward.
1845: To end the Squeeze, we play sardines. I hide in the foc’sle, and someone else manages to fit in there with me.
Okay, now that I have all of that laid out, I can start writing my blog.