Location: Spanishtown, Virgin Gorda, BVI
Hey, blog fam! This is Claire, and today, I will be sharing with you day 32 on Ocean Star. Our morning started a little bit later at 7:30 a.m., and everyone most definitely enjoyed that extra thirty minutes of sleep, which made it feel like they were sleeping in. After everyone gathered up on the deck, we had a French toast breakfast made by our lovely chef of the day, Rhi-Rhi. In the morning, we were in quarantine and were not able to get off the boat, so we made the day as productive as possible. With such little time left ( eight days, seven now when this is posted ), everyone wants to make the most of each day. These thirty-two days have already gone by so fast, and it can be quite sad to think about this journey coming to an end so soon. Being on the boat and not being able to touch the sand or explore put everyone in a slightly down mood last night, so today was focused on getting class priorities done and good vibes. In the morning, we all voted for the majority of the group that felt ready to take the two-hour navigation final today rather than tomorrow. After breakfast cleaned up, we had a navigation review held by Allie and then some free time to work on our research projects or nap. My body decided a two-hour nap would be fantastic, and it was. Right before lunch, we headed over an hour and a half to customs so they could see our boat and prove to them our good behavior. At lunch time we enjoyed some fried rice while soaking in the beautiful day and views surrounding us.
Allie gave a little tour of the island passing us, and let’s just say there’s a fancy petting zoo on a tiny island, which is a must see one day. After cleanup, the tests started, and those not taking the test gathered in the salon, on the floor, or in any open spot around the maps to prepare. Max had a lot of patience with me, and we went through half the test together despite my attention span dwindling. While the first group was taking the test, Robert was kind enough to do a “rain dance” to scare off a few incoming dark clouds. This dance was done multiple times and was mostly successful. After two hours, another group picked their spots and took the test, which ended right before dinner time. Math is not my thing at all or anything map-related, so it is safe to say I am taking my test tomorrow. While the second group took the test, Chloe was kind enough to give me her phone for almost three hours, so I was able to call my family and a friend. After not activating my Wi-Fi for quite some time, it was nice to FaceTime with people from home. Zoe was so kind and even brought me a mug with Nutella in it while I was on a call. We had steak quesadillas for dinner, which were absolutely delicious, and then we got the fantastic news that our boat is now #free. This is great news as tomorrow we can explore the Baths and have some time off the boat, which lifted our spirits from a long day of studying and school. The squeeze question I chose was, “Where do you want to be ten years from now.” I personally want to work with children as a speech-language pathologist, and it was great hearing about other people’s ambitions for the future. As I write this, we are about to review and then take our VHF exam, which is for our radio operator license to communicate on marine radios. We are all so excited to explore tomorrow, and even if things don’t always go to plan, today was proof that, eventually, things do always work out ( thank you, Ben, for this reminder ). Make sure to check in tomorrow to hear about our day in the Baths! Also, as many photos were not taken today, I have included a few fun bonus photos from the past few days, like yesterday when I slayed the rope and was the first person up the Boom swing.
Peace out,
Love you, Mom, Dad, Marc, Madeleine, Piper, and Theo