Location: Les Saintes
The picture of this morning’s sunrise speaks for itself–what a sight to behold. The students and staff who made a trip to the fort at 4:30 am definitely earned their view. The rest of the crew joined them on deck at breakfast. As clean up began, the future marine mammalogist Bridget skillfully identified three visiting dolphins checking out the fish relying on O-Star for a hiding place. Shipmates proceeded to have two science classes afterward. Ivy finished up the section on underwater geology, focusing on marine sediment clays that fall to the abyssal plain, siliceous oozes all that fun stuff. Nick introduced a cool new lab and talked about population estimation. The students and staff all got some shore time and spent some Euros on bathing suits, Gelato, and red cabbage (Ivy’s favorite vegetable), as well as stopped by the numerous picturesque beaches. Backward dives and various other forms of water entry methods were attempted; what students lack in grace is made up for in creativity. We fully expect to see an O-Star Fall 2013 student at the Olympic Games in Rio. The night shall conclude with an MTE class on anchoring and docking with Kris, followed by a night dive for all the nocturnal enthusiasts. Tomorrow, after lunch, we hit the seas for our longest passage to our southernmost island, Grenada. More from there in a couple of days!