Location: North Sound, Virgin Gorda
I have to admit I couldn’t tell you the day of the week; it’s nice when things like that don’t matter. Just a week ago, we were seven kids who had never met each other, from different parts of the world and all different backgrounds; now it’s as if I’ve known everyone for years. Close quarters, common goals, and incredible experiences certainly bring people together. Today, we added a new member to our team, Samantha. Although she has come into the program late, she will be quickly brought up to speed and will absolutely add nothing but positivity to our group’s experience. We are happy to finally become a complete crew. After eating breakfast, while the sun rose, we checked out all our scientific gear on board. Afterward, we went on a very rewarding research snorkel through the mangroves at Virgin Gorda. It’s very interesting to see where the young fish grow up and how much the ecosystem depends upon one plant. In the latter part of the day, we did my favorite thing in the world, sailboat racing. It was very nice to see the other crew members learn and begin to enjoy this amazing sport. The skill levels varied, but it was very competitive and, most of all, very fun. Tonight is going to be a little different than normal. It’s BBQ night on board! The grill master, Matty, is cooking up shish-ka-bobs on deck with the help of Ivy and Meghan. Day seven has been very memorable, and everyone is looking forward to the next 73 days.