Location: Carriacou
First of all, to be here writing this blog for a second time feels surreal, for it means that I have to spend twenty-three days aboard Ocean Star. That, to me, is incredible, and I’m so proud of my classmates and myself for all the hard work we’ve been putting in lately between classes and sailing and shore excursions. In regards to the day, however, I’d say that it also started out with something to be pretty proud of. Huge props to Morgana for being head chef today because she made us crepes for breakfast, and it was pretty awesome. Much to everyone’s approval (minus Slick Nick’s), Nutella was involved. Afterward, we had a quick scheduling meeting to figure out when to hold all of our classes this week. That went smoothly, and afterward, Nick taught all of us about the skeletons of boats because we then went and toured a couple of the places where the famous Carriacou Sloops were being built. It was really incredible to see the inside of the boats being built, to see the bare bones of a ship. Our taxi driver and guide, Linky, told us all about the traditions and customs that go along with the building of the traditional sloops. Then after touring around the island a little bit and seeing some killer views, we came back to the boat for lunch and soon launched into a really informative lesson on how to analyze and cite scientific papers. I know it was really helpful for people like me who maybe haven’t read one in a long time or possibly ever at all. Big thanks to Carolyn and Annemarie for showing/reminding us about the proper way to do that. During class, Nick and Tor (by themselves!) moved us from Carriacou to Sandy Island, which was only a little ways away from where we were anchored. Once we were there, we had some free time to work on classwork and just hang out and appreciate the view. At this time, however, Evan decided to make his 400 yards swim that’s required in order to become a divemaster. What on Earth made him decide to do it with the current was a good idea isn’t clear to me, but he did it, and I rode along in the dingy with Tor and Caroline and cheered him on the whole way. He swam (along with a few other souls who didn’t believe him when he said it was super hard) from the bow of Ocean Star all the way to Sandy Island. It was super awesome to see him do that in under 8 minutes, earning him a score of 4 on that divemaster challenge. Big props to him for being able to do that. Then we had another awesome meal made by Morgana and her sous chefs for dinner. Overall, today is a day I’m pretty happy thankful for, and proud of. This crew of Ocean Star has come a long way, and we have a lot to be proud of.