Location: West End, British Virgin Islands
This morning started early for the new crew of Ocean Star. Jumping in the water for the swim test made us only slightly wetter than the rain outside, but that wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits! After a few laps and some treading water, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of French toast and made our way upstairs at Pusser’s to have a program meeting. After covering various businesses and making agreements with one another about the way we would live for the next 79 days, we proceeded back to the boat to get started on some scuba training, an introduction to our new divers, and a refresher for the old hands. The afternoon saw more rain, and some impressive squalls came through as a front passed over our area and moved off to the west. We feasted on a tortellini dinner and continued learning about the ship in the evening as we rotated through the different areas, learning names, systems, uses, and protocols for many things on board. The crew bunked down after a busy day and the much-anticipated arrival of our last crew member, Sam, whose flight had been delayed. Finally, a full ship’s complement, the crew bunked down, tired from a busy day and excited at the prospect of exploring the islands around us and putting our new home to the test the following morning.