Location: Drawaqa, Fiji
Hi blog!
Today, Vela made passage from Kuata to Drawaqa as we continue our adventure island-hopping through the Yasawa islands. After laying anchor off Drawaqa, we set about our diving activities for the afternoon. The newly certified Advanced Open Water divers (myself included) went on our first dive without an instructor; luckily, we had divemaster-certified Ty to lead us, so we weren’t completely alone. Meanwhile, the Rescue Diver group practiced carrying a victim (our program director, Ben) from the water at a nearby beach, as the Open Water divers, having recently completed the last of their certification dives, looked on from the beach and snorkeled nearby.
Then it was back to Vela for ocean showers and backflips off the bowsprit before dinner. After dinner, we continued our nightly post-dinner ritual called “squeeze,” when we go around the circle in the cockpit and everyone shares a point of appreciation for the day and answers a question posed by the skipper. My question to the crew was, “What is your biggest goal in life right now?” Our answers ranged from passing our Yachtmaster exams to passing our dive certifications, and on to our grander intentions for how we want to live our lives, providing a great insight into our fellow crewmates as we grow into a closer and closer family with each day aboard.
We typically end by squeezing each other’s hands on either side of us, then clapping or snapping or some other direction by the skipper. Today we took a bit of a turn and ended with a squeeze challenge to hide and seek. You’d think there’s only so many places to hide on a 112′ sailboat, but I was surprised to spend the next 45 minutes finding my fellow crewmates hiding under the bowsprit (Josh), in the bilges (Charles), propping themselves up under hatches in the ceiling (Jill and Anda), or blending in with booms by hiding under sail covers (Jack, the winner!).
All around, it was a great day onboard, as is any day on a sailboat in one of the most beautiful places in the world, made even better by our fellow crewmates, the numerous adventures throughout the day, and an incredible sunset at Drawaqa. Looking forward to more tomorrow and in the days to come with our last days in Fiji before we depart for passage to Palau on the 19th!
Special shoutouts to Lily, Mom, Dad, and Grace! I miss you all very much 🙂
Best,
Arden