Location: Peter Island BVI
Waking surrounded by the forested mountains of Peter Island, the crew of Vela started the day off with a fantastic breakfast. Head chef Nate and his sous chefs Anda and Dan cooked a spread of well-seasoned sausage, eggs, fruit, and fried potatoes that were unlike anything we had ever tasted before. After clean up, the crew of Vela suited up for a dive near the beaches of Peter Island. The dive consisted of skills required for PADI’s Advanced Open Water dive certification, weight checks, buoyancy control practice, and maybe just a little playing in the sand. Marine life, such as upside-down jellyfish and rays, were also spotted on the dive. Following this amazing experience, we ate lunch, and then our second day of class began. Reviewing the proper way to write a scientific paper in Oceanography was both fun and informative. We were given hands-on experience processing scientific data into a short paper. After our writing workshop, we learned how to safely operate important lines and maintain vital equipment. During Nautical Science, our second class of the day, we went on deck to learn the basics of seamanship aboard Vela. We learned knots such as the round turn two half hitches and cleat hitches, as well as how to maintain cleanliness and safety on deck by coiling lines. We didn’t just learn basic line handling but also basic seamanship terms, allowing us to become more immersed in the nautical world. We also learned about our smaller dinghies, Tia and Angkarn. To finish off the class, we spent some time learning about pintails and their safe operation through hands-on work. After a nice round of refreshing deck showers, we ate curry for dinner while watching the sunset over the island mountains in the distance. During the scenic sunset, we saw a massive turtle surface not far away from the boat. Our staffer Emma, of course, jumped into the water trying to get a good photo. Our seventh day will end off with a nice night of cookies and movies, being an awesome end to an amazing day.