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Location: |
St. Marten |
Leader
of the day: |
Casey |
Activities: |
What a beautiful day. We awoke this morning to Captain Dan's famous pancakes. This was followed by some MTE class and a little PADI work. Many of the shipmates then went ashore in St Marten for some shore time before we convened at 12:30. Our travels today took us to Orient Bay, on the Dutch side of the island, there we rented some hobi-cats and practiced our skills at small boat sailing. It started off as a race around some buoys, followed by some sail practice and a little bit of beach time. Tonight we had a late dinner and prepared the boat for out sail to Saba tomorrow. |
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July 3 - Day 16 |
Location: |
Saba |
Leader
of the day: |
Kelly |
Activities: |
Today we actually slept in and didn't have breakfast until 7:30. It was followed, as always, by a skipper's brief. We then got the boat ready to sail while Captain Dan went to shore and pulled up the anchor as soon as he got back. After that we took a sail to Saba (the magical island of unicorns, fairies, gnomes, etc as Dan calls it). Once we got there we picked up a mooring right by The Ladder, took showers and had dinner. After that we had a quick cleanup and a super sized version of MTE class. |
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July 4 - Day 17 |
Location: |
Saba |
Leader
of the day: |
Luca |
Activities: |
Today half of the group split up to do a hike to the summit of Mt. Scenery, nearly 3000 feet up, whereas the other half dropped below sea level and saw fish and sea turtles on a fun packed dive. We all came back and prepared the lovely Ocean Star to sail. We head back to the BVIs tonight, port watch team starts! |
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July 5 - Day 18 |
Location: |
Great Harbor, Peter Island, BVIs |
Leader
of the day: |
Francis |
Activities: |
An early awakening indeed, at five o'clock am to resume my watch post during our return to the B.V.I., from the mystical island of Saba. As night melted into the soft light of morning, a slight melancholy hung in the air as we approached our destination; this would mark the end of the last true voyage we would undertake on our now beloved Ocean Star.
Sighting the Baths (named thusly for various disputed reasons) brought forth an atmosphere of exuberance and jocularity among the crew as we sauntered up to the mooring. We took our MTE exams (the results of which are yet to be revealed), luncheoned on noodles and bean soup, and presently were ferried to the Baths by our fearless leader Captain Dan for an all-too-brief visitation consisting of splashing around in the various caves and pools, climbing rocks, and basking in the cool blue-green waters (a personal highlight of the trip's observations).
An hour and a half later we hoisted anchor and set off for Salt Island; a short jaunt to a rather famous (or infamous) dive site. The 300 ft. RMS Rhone met its end during a hurricane in 1867. A very popular wreck dive considered to be one of the finest in the Caribbean. As we descended deep into the murky depths clarity was restored to us upon reaching the bottom. The exploration of the sunken vessel was of both majestic and eerie quality as many of the passengers were lost to the depths upon its sinking. Everywhere teemed with life of all color and variety; tiny minnows cycloned in massive schools, large puffer-fish swam idly by, surfaces everywhere were covered by a multitude of spongy outgrowths. Rumours circulate of ghosts and spirits though I felt no paranormalaties while below.
Back aboard, we again hoisted anchor bound once more for Great Harbour Peter, which was the secluded little place of our first anchorage at the dawn of our salty voyage. We feasted on a hearty Mexican buffet, a culinary cornucopia if you will, provided by our dedicated daily chefs. Following a hasty clean-up we witnessed a nostalgic documentation of our exploits of the last 20 days in the form of a slideshow compiled by our lovely galley-master Leah.
A bittersweet story was recited by our Captain, which served as a precursor to the night's final activity. Twenty cards were handed out to each for the purpose of a kind of memorabilia. Each crew member is to write a heartfelt note of a positive or complementary nature to every other crew member, which I find to be a most appropriate end to our journey. Tomorrow we motor a short distance to Soper's Hole, West End where, inevitably, we must depart back to whence we came; to our various residencies. It has been a journey of rememberance, and I will carry the events in my mind to the end of my days. |
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July 6
- Day 19 |
Location: |
West End, Tortola, BVI |
Leader
of the day: |
Mariel |
Activities: |
This morning we woke up and immediately powered over to where we first met and boarded Ocean Star, West End, Tortola. A little rainy as we woke up, a beautiful rainbow arced over our path. We ate breakfast once we arrived and began right away with our giga-BA: extreme Boat Appreciation. The whole day was spent cleaning, organizing and buffing Ocean Star to perfection. We had a short PBandJ break for lunch. Tonight we are free to explore Soper's Hole (West End) before we have our final squeeze and buffet dinner together at Pusser's Restaurant. Everything is coming to a close, however we are sure to continue our relationships and appreciation (for the past 3 weeks) for many years to come. |
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July 7 - Day 20 |
Location: |
Heading back home |
Leader
of the day: |
n/a |
Activities: |
Students wake up early, said their goodbyes, and catched flights back to family and friends at home! |
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