Location: Lesser Antilles and Caribbean Basin
Following a cake-filled evening under the stars celebrating the third birthday of the trip, the Ocean Star shipmates arose to some last-minute revision cramming with their eggs and beans at breakfast before taking their diving exams. The extra studying clearly worked, and all participants successfully passed and are now PADI Open Water SCUBA divers. A proud moment for everyone and another string to their ever-expanding bow! There was no time for celebration, though: following short steam from Gorda Sound to Great Dog, everyone was back in the water, diving at The Chimneys, moving amongst the corals, and making their way through a rocky cavern. Moving around to the western side of the island, we anchored in the azure blue waters of the island. A sunken airplane lay just off the side of the reef, waiting to be explored. A large dog snapper, some jacks, and a couple of barracudas swam over the top of the wreck for the divers to view before descending to the seafloor and making their way into the airplane. Navigating through the wreckage, divers were able to enter the cockpit, which now has an underwater realm with a liberal sponge and coral covering. A combination of exercise and showering followed the diving before the anchor was picked up, and Ocean Star made her way off into the sunset towards Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. As the pink and orange skies faded to black with dinner, the evening was completed by the first classes of the Basic Seamanship and Oceanography courses. Another full day on Ocean Star, and more to come tomorrow as we leave the British Virgin Islands and set sail for Nevis!