Location: Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Last night, when going to bed, I overheard Ben and Kackie talking about going free diving at 6 am the next morning. I said id been down to join… cut to 6 am and Ben’s waking me up, I won’t lie, instant regret BUT I rolled out of bed whilst somehow managing to avoid the recently glued bed siding on the bunk below that Shane would probably murder me for disturbing, and jumped on in. I still suck at free diving, but it was a great way to start the day!
Nini, Zac, and Talia were cheffing up breakfast in the galley; Some might think that they have learned a lesson from their hot oil fried chicken session during the last revolution of the job wheel, as today’s breakfast is fresh from the freezer: Smoothie Bowls! No drying cloth or oil armor required.
After brekkie, all the students headed into the salon for their Oceanography exam. There were nervous faces going in, but everyone seemed pretty happy heading out!
Did they get a nice rest after their exams? Nope, they were straight into Leadership class, trust me though, this is a good thing, Nicole(noscopy) teaches this and she’s a rockstar. Zac and Talia were presenting today and then they all played a game called statue, i tried to ask what is was but i was stonewalled by Kara, aparently its a secret…so thats all i have for you there.
Then, before lunch, everyone got their dive kit ready as the Advanced students had their penultimate training dive, Peak Performance Buoyancy with Ben, and the Rescue Students were learning how to deal with unresponsive divers at the surface! It’s a dive day afternoon.
Lunch was a quinoa salad (cold…surprise surprise) and it was delicious! My skipper days are always blessed as we have Ben as the bread maker, and he knocked out some seriously banging Focaccia to go with Nini’s salad.
After cleanup, the gang started to gear up. Bens Advanced students (Nini, Cecily, Olympus, Bennett, Eli, Isaac, Talia & Sylver) Jumped in a descended to 20ft just of the side of Argo To start the class all demonstrated their “Hover” this skill demonstrates that you have good control of your buoyancy, hovering in place, controlling your depth with only your breath. Next was the obstacle course! Ben had used lift bags, dive weights and quadrats to create a maze that the students had to navigate themselves through without touching the sides. Try to imagine a giant game of Operation, but the river is the scalpel!
While beneath the waves, the Rescue gang (Addie, Kara, Darien & Zac) were on the surface. Meghan had them going through role-play exercises on how to deal with an unresponsive diver at the surface; This covers everything from initial contact with the diver, in-water CPR, and how to effectively remove the diver from the water. These are some of the most important skills that you learn as a rescue diver. It really is an excellent course!
Whilst all this was going on, Nicole and Shane were tinkering away on the outboard engine of our dinghy “nopes” so that it was all good to go for when Calum heads to shore to clear us all out with customs, as come first light, we’re outta here! Martinique is calling, and we’re all very excited for fresh baguettes and a new island to explore.
But im jumping ahead, next up is dinner and Nini and the gang have braved the oven to cook up a truly special lemon and Brussel sprout pasta (a few might wince at that description, as did I, but it was fantastic!)
So that about sums up day 70 of 90, they’re really flying by now that we’re island hopping around the Caribbean. We’re all excited to get to Antigua, our final destination, but knowing that means all of this is coming to an end is a touch saddening.
Anywhoo, time for bed,
Mum, Dad, John, Anne & Dash, I send you all my love.
Yours Aye,
Dave.
P.S. from Isaac: Happy Birthday, Nick!!! I miss you so much, man, and am pumped to see you again when I make it back home! Party hard today, brother!!!