Location: St. Pierre, Martinique
Being the awesome crew that we are, we arrived in Martinique at 5 am, putting us, once again, hours ahead of our expected arrival time. While some team members only got a few hours of sleep due to watch hours, everyone woke up excited to start a new day on this beautiful island. Being the dedicated tribe members that we are, we spent the morning scrubbing, sweating, de-rusting, scraping off algae, cleaning cupboards, and mopping the boat until Ocean Star was glistening and sparkling in the sun, making all other boats jealous of her beauty. After being the great students we are, we studied long and hard for an oceanography quiz. The strenuous studying left our brains sizzling, so we decided to head into shore for a couple of hours to explore Martinique, snack on baguettes, replenish our caffeine supply with some fresh coffee, connect to WIFI, and soak in the beautiful island scenery. With every intention of coming back to the boat to prepare for our oceanography presentations before dinner, we arrived at a minor, unexpected anchor problem. The winds were slightly more intense than anticipated, and the holding was not so great, causing the anchor to drag a little. We raised the anchor and then had to relocate the boat, which took a bit of time but gave us a great opportunity to bond and share more laughs together. Once we anchored Ocean Star in a sturdy environment, we sat down to a delicious dinner of baked chicken, lentil beans, and garlic bread, which refueled our tired brains and bodies. Proceeding to dinner, we started our presentations and will be finishing the rest tomorrow as we were all getting a little tired. The first few students did a great job, and we cannot wait to hear the rest! In all, it was a good day, leaving us all very tired and in need of a good night’s sleep! Goodnight!