Location: Charlestown, Nevis
Hi, my beautiful fine feathered friends!
I’m glad you decided to use your mouse and perhaps keyboard to navigate your way to this lovely day-13 blog post. I won’t bore you with small talk, as I’m sure you are incredibly eager to hear about what the Ocean Star squad got up to on this lovely, wet day in Nevis. After an evening full of libation and merrymaking at the nearby beach restaurant establishment facility area, it is safe to say that all of us here on this vessel was experiencing a wee bit of weariness. And so, as you may expect, the morning was full of bleary eyes and slumped shoulders.
Alas, after a hearty breakfast that included toast of the french variety paired with some inexplicably juicy papaya slices, we were all able to rub our eyes for a few seconds and charge up for the day to come. Beautifully and eloquently, I recited the schedule for the day and rallied the troops for cleanup time. It then dawned on us all that it was time for class. A double whammy – back to back! Oceanography AND leadership!? Would we make it? Surely we would. We all got cozy in the saloon and settled in for the long haul. Amanda taught us that sometimes the magnetic poles just magically switch. North becomes South, apparently? After that, Matt “Burger” Burger did a phenomenal job summarizing our latest leadership reading assignment and led us through a robust discussion on our own personal experiences with leaders and leadership in our lives. Wrapping up with the class, it soon became apparent to our stomachs that lunch was just around the corner.
Now, I will be frank with you, my dear friends. The next hour or so of the day is lost on me. Was there a giant squid trying to squeeze Ocean Star in two? Did Hailey stub her toe on a D-ring? Had Matthew fallen asleep in Irving (our starboard dingy)? I truly will never know. What I do know is that one second I was crawling into my bunk to rest my eyes, and the next thing I remembered was the sweet, smooth, scrumptious sound of Sasha’s voice waking me up because the “Sea Moss” people are coming. What is a “Sea Moss” person, you ask?
Contrary to what you may imagine, it is not, in fact, a human being composed partially or entirely of sea moss. Rather, it is simply an individual who is involved with the project of sea moss farming, a new and promising enterprise. The nice fellows who came to talk to us about their project described that sea moss is absolutely, positively nutritious, and can be used in a vast array of products! So next time you find yourself in the grocery store, make sure to look out for anything containing sea moss. It’s the next big wave!
After saying goodbye to the kind ambassadors of sea moss, it was time to start thinking about dinner and showers. The chefs rushed anxiously into the galley to begin preparations. I would later find out they made burritos, a fantastic, fabulous, far-reaching, fan-favorite of a dinner. Some of us soaped up and jumped overboard (See Gus pictured above) while others on deck became enamored with the intersection of helping get the boat ready for sailing tomorrow, and making faces at rainbows (See Faith pictured above).
Soon enough, dinner was on deck, and therefore, the entire crew was as well. As Ocean Star swung about the anchor, we ate Mexican food with the light of the setting sun. After dinner, we watched Vanishing Sail, a documentary about the dying art of boat building in Carriacou, one of our stops in the near future. This blog post is starting to get long-winded, and I think it’s about bedtime for me.
Until next time,
Your humble skipper-of-the-day,
Tye