Location: Similan Islands, Thailand
Today, the crew of Argo awoke to another picturesque day in the Similans. After breakfast, we took our species ID quiz, requiring us to identify 50 marine organisms by their common name and phyla. We then found out the engine was experiencing some mysterious trouble, meaning we’d have to head back to Phuket a day early. Disappointed to lose a day off in the Similans but eager to make the most of our last day of dives, we headed out into the water. Groups of fun divers cycled throughout the day, and almost everyone got to dive twice. We all agreed that we were at a great site. There were massive boulders that all sorts of creatures hid in and around, providing plenty of opportunities for exploration. Claire and Allison even saw a whitetip reef shark, which was very exciting. Rachael and I had to finish up our navigation dive for advanced certification, but after that, we were able to dive for fun. In between dives, people scrambled to finish their last ten species IDs. Zev led a team of bread makers in making challah, which was then made into the most delicious garlic bread by Jack and Hannah.
Before dinner, we completed most of the passage prep. Since we’re not diving anymore, people brought their dive gear down below to their bunks instead of storing it in the laz, yet another reminder that our adventure is ending in just a few short days. Tonight’s squeeze question asked everyone to name their favorite meal we’ve had aboard Argo this semester. The clear winners included Captain Sam’s burgers, Laurie’s chicken satay, my own eggplant parmesan, and, of course, Thanksgiving. Following dinner, we had a final SLD wrap-up, and Leah handed us back our goals for the trip that we had written nearly three months ago. Those of us who wanted then wrote letters to ourselves on the back of those goals, letters Leah plans to mail us in a few years. We then broke into watch teams and set out for Phuket, our final passage of the trip.