Location: West End, BVI
Amidst the fray of boat appreciation cleaning, there was an air of time slipping so quickly away. We have become a family. We are a crew. We moved smoothly around one another today, deep in our cleaning as we gave back to the boat that has been our home for the past 39 days. No one really seems ready to go. What seemed like so many days ahead when they first arrived on this very dock now seemed all too quick. Best friends shot inside jokes around the boat all day like fireworks lighting up the experiences only we have shared, that only we can truly understand and that we will never forget. By afternoon Ocean Star gleamed brighter than the day our students arrived. Everyone set off into town for gelato and one more souvenir before our Final Night dinner. Dressed in our best clothes, we sat circled up around Ocean Stars cockpit, holding hands for our last squeeze. We shared what we would cherish about this experience. For Emi and me, it was hard to hold back a few tears as we told the group just how much we valued each and every friendship we had formed during this program. Feeling closer than ever, we set out in our dinghies one last time to eat dinner at Fish and Lime just across the water. Dinghy Captain Robbie got to say goodbye to his hard-earned boat Excy with a final drive to dinner. We had steak, chicken, and penne Alfredo followed by key lime pies. Giant Jenga became the centerpiece of the evening as Brit and Marina stacked block on block to the ceiling, coming one block away from beating Jenga! The tower crashed to the floor, and we laughed away our final night together. Things are quieting down now back on the boat. As I sit writing this trip log, small clusters linger on deck, wanting just one more minute amongst friends before calling it a night. Its hard for everyone to accept that tomorrow they fly away.