Location: Pearns Point, Antigua
We fueled up to move out of Falmouth Harbour with chia seed pancakes and bacon this morning. After getting cleared in by customs and the health department yesterday afternoon, we decided to move away from the rolling swells in Falmouth to calmer waters. It took about an hour and a half to motor to Pearns Point, along the western side of Antigua. Ocean Star anchored in a small bay with turquoise waters and a small beach within swimming distance. Once the anchor was set, the shipmates took their final Oceanography quiz, which focused on marine management and climate change topics. While our chef team, Ruth-Riley, Mike, and Zoe, prepared homemade pesto pasta with chicken, the rest of the shipmates then began reviewing for their Oceanography final or writing their final Marine Biology paper about artificial habitats.
Calum started teaching us about courses to steer in Navigation Master for Seamanship. Course to steer involves how to determine the heading you need on your ship’s compass in order to reach a particular destination – taking into account the speed and direction of a current. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon practicing several courses to steer problems and how to plot these problems on our charts. Most of the shipmates had the rest of the afternoon free to study, write, swim, snorkel… Ben, Luke, Mike, and Will went for a swim over to the nearby beach to snorkel and explore a boat that had grounded. Calum, Zoe, Isabel, Ash, and I decided to spend this time working through some more Divemaster (DM) skills for their course. Calum, Zoe, and Isabel all demonstrated how to properly perform a buddy check and do a deep water entry. We all dropped down under the boat to watch Zoe and Isabel do their gear exchange. The visibility was too bad, so we cut the underwater skills short. Our three DM’s demonstrated how to switch between a snorkel and regulator, take off their BCD and put it back on, and properly check if you have correct weighting before a dive. We were all excited to spend some time back in the water and are eager to get in some actual dives now that we are back in Antigua!
Ruth-Riley, Mike, and Zoe made us a delicious dinner of couscous with veggie kabobs and surprised us with chocolate chip muffins! During the squeeze, we learned what island has been their favorite thus far, with Bequia coming in with the most votes. A few of the shipmates ended the night by getting some more Navigation Master practice in. Some finished up their papers for Marine Biology, and some just relaxed before calling it a night and getting ready for anchor watch.
Photo 1: Ash and a rainbow
Photo 2: Motoring from Falmouth Harbour to Pearns Point
Photo 3: Ocean Stars new anchorage
Photo 4: The shipmates taking the oceanography quiz
Photo 5: Studying for the oceanography final
Photo 6: Will and Luke after their afternoon swim
Photo 7: Julia, Luke, Isa, and Xonel enjoying the sunset
Photo 8: Julia, Luke, and Isa
Photo 9: Julia hard at work studying
Photo 10: Margeaux preparing for her day as head chef tomorrow