Location: Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua
This morning, we awoke surrounded by the beautiful clear-blue waters of Green Island and Bird Island. We began the day with breakfast and an MTE class taught by Captain Kev. The highlight of our morning, however, was the appearance of the long-awaited boom swing. By combining our line-sweating and knot-tying skills, we raised the boom of the mainsail and tied it off so it was almost off the beam of the boat. Kevin tied the rope swing knot and took the first swing for “safety” reasons, but we all know he just wanted to be first! We were all so excited to try out the swing and a little nervous from the height of the jump, but it just added to the fun! The rope swing had something for everyone, whether it was getting up the courage to try it for the first time or working on perfecting a backflip off of it.
After lunch, we headed back to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua. With some fancy maneuvering and intricate dock lines, we were again safely and securely docked. As soon as the deck work was finished, it was time to take our OCE midterm, which had been looming over us for the past few days. We learned, though, that after the test, we were in for a treat for all our hard work. For dinner, we were headed back to Shirley Heights, where we had hiked a few days ago, for a BBQ cookout and dance party. As we walked into the party, we could smell the wonderful Caribbean grill and hear the beat of the steel drum band. As the night went on, we all enjoyed our delicious meals and began to make our way to the dance floor. We all became the stars of the party when we danced with a member of the steel drum band and jumped on stage to dance with the reggae band! The night was only complete after the taxi ride back to Ocean Star, with everyone singing our favorite songs from the Fresh Prince theme song to Don’t Stop Believing and everyone’s favorite, Wagon Wheel. Everyone agreed that today was definitely one of our favorite days of the trip!