Location: Palau, Sardinia
In the wee hours of the morning, Watch Team 2 began the day by striking sails as we arrived at the start of the Bisce Passage. This is the same waterway that Lord Nelson navigated under the cover of darkness, with the help of only a small lantern on the stern of each ship, to evade his French pursuers before the Battle of Trafalgar. We dropped the hook in the harbor of Palau and enjoyed the last few hours of sleep without the hum of the main engine. After breakfast, everyone settled into their respective dive classes- Open Water and Rescue- while the non-divers helped with some boat projects and tried their hand at splicing. Lunch was a delicious and warm Chicken Tortilla soup to warm everyone up before jumping in the water for the swim test in the afternoon. The crew was in good spirits and even belted out Yellow Submarine while treading water at the very end. After refreshing deck showers, the crew had some downtime, which included some card games in the saloon, working out how to hang hammocks on deck, and maybe a nap here and there. The chefs cooked a delicious dinner, and the crew is getting an introduction to academic life on board this evening. Everyone is looking forward to applying their newly acquired diving knowledge toward their first breathes underwater tomorrow!