Location: Underway to Saba
Today we had the joy of waking up to a breakfast of salty chocolate chip pancakes. Who knew tablespoons and teaspoons could make such a large difference? After we covered the sea in pancake lily pads, we slipped the mooring and made our way over to Salt Island. This is where we had the pleasure of diving down to see the Rhone wreck: A ship that sunk in the 1800s has now become a home for coral, dozens of species of fish, and even a moray eel we all said “hello” to. This dive was particularly special for those of us who just became certified divers. Going down about 70 ft. made this dive the deepest many of us have gone yet. We also dove in groups, so while some of us were diving, others were getting an introduction to the basic vocabulary and dynamics of Argo. Some of us (me) have resorted to making up songs and dances to make learning easier, but only time will tell if this method proves to be effective. After some lunch and cleanup, we made our way back over to Road Town, where we had picked up some of our sails only a few days prior. This time we got a chance to go on the shore where we could use the internet, buy some snacks for our upcoming passages, or enjoy a local papaya-pineapple-strawberry smoothie. By 5 pm, it was time to head back to Argo, enjoy some dinner, and then prepare the boat for our passage to Saba. Getting the sails ready and making sure the entire boat was prepared for 40/40 (40 degrees of heel and 40 knots of wind) took a bit of work, but we were all in it together and excited for this amazing journey to finally really begin. By nightfall, we were separated into our watch teams and hoisting the sails up: We were finally sailing.