Location: Charlestown, Nevis
Our day began with a short sail from St. Kitts to Nevis, and in preparation for the long haul down to Grenada that is quickly approaching, the captain had us practice our first safety drills on Ocean Star so far. We broke into two almost even teams (seeing as how there are 11 of us) and then ran through different disaster scenarios, from a fire on the boat to a man overboard. We have been told that these scenarios will be drilled one or two times a week after all practice makes perfect.
On our arrival and anchorage at Nevis, we took a quick break for lunch but quickly went back to work in the classroom this time. New divers working on their open water certifications and a couple of veterans who wanted to brush up on old skills learned how to use dive tables (essentially, they tell a diver how much time is required to safely decompress after each dive). Following the short dive lesson, everyone was required to participate in the first official meeting of the Seamanship class. I say “official” because we have been learning many of the concepts and terminology firsthand throughout our time here without even thinking about it. Of course, the class goes into much greater detail than what we have learned on our own so far, but it’s great to see the overlap between classroom knowledge and real-world application. After class, we were given another short break to go for a swim in the warm Caribbean waters and to simply enjoy the scenery. This close to the island, you can clearly see a huge crater from when the volcano erupted and tore itself apart. The volcanic soil left behind brought an incredibly dense forest that covers the entire mountain in a uniform dark green.
Tonight was a special treat though, after many dinners on the boat, we were able to go ashore for a night out. We stayed on the beach and had dinner at Sunshine (the name of the restaurant), where we were served heaping platters of fish, rice, and chicken, all of which were delicious. Perhaps the best part was not having to do the dishes at the end, though…