Location: Portsmouth, Dominica
For this crew on board Ocean Star, today started a little different than they are used to. For some (watch team 2), the day started at midnight as we were on our first overnight passage from the island of St Kitts to the anchorage of Portsmouth, Dominica. Watch team 2, who stood watch from midnight until 3 am, consisted of Hannah, Ray, Stallion, Peyton, Kas, and Desmond and was led by myself. We actually had a pretty eventful watch as we cruised past Guadeloupe with a large tanker passing us, going in the opposite direction. A flying fish joined us in the cockpit for a quick visit before being thrown back and some sail handling as the wind died off, and we were forced to turn the engine on for a while.
At 3 am, watch team 3 took over for the next 3 hours with their team made up of Grace, Declan, aka Deckie Mo Mo, Ginny, Sissy, AJ, Sam, and Meg being the watch team leaders. They were fortunate enough to experience a squall and run through their own sail-handling experience with the addition of some rain and more wind. Watch team 1, led by Nick, with Jake, Maris, Ari, Lauren, and Elodie taking over at 6 am. By 9 am, when watch team 2 was back on, Dominica was insight with Portsmouth, our new anchorage dead ahead. A team of us from all watch teams took down the sails and prepared the anchor to drop as we pulled into the large panoramic bay of the garden island of the Caribbean.
The rest of the morning was more relaxed, with some people choosing to sleep, others swimming and showering, reading and journaling, with Nick working away in the galley on some grilled cheeses for lunch. Once everyone was finished with lunch, clean up, and a quick swim before class, the crew gathered in the saloon down below for Oceanography, where they learned about gases and nutrients as well as trialing some of the science equipment on board so that groups can start to figure out what they plan to cover for their research projects.
While a dinner of mashed potatoes, sausages. Veggies and gravy were prepared in the galley, and people on deck showered, swam, and got haircuts and shaved beards, so look out for the fresh cuts on Ginny and Ari in the coming blog photos. As I finish up writing this blog, the crew is interspersed throughout the boat, playing games, writing lit reviews, speaking with family, and sharing stories.
Stay Awesome, and thanks for stopping by,
-Ash