Location: Cane Garden Bay, Tortola
Bonjour everyone! Today was day 14 here on Iles et Ailes, meaning one week until we depart :(((. We woke up this morning at 7:15 to move the boat back to Muskmelon for CHAOSSSS DAY! For once, we didn’t dive the first rotation, so we headed over the Shamwari and Odyssey and were rafted together. Chaos day just means there is no set schedule, and the dive boat (us) works all day to get everyone the dives they need in order to become certified!! So we hung out with Odyssey and Shamwari, and after a bit, Julia and Maren decided to bring out the Henna. In the meantime, Celeste, B, and I, as well as our friends Molly and Freddie from Odysea, went to do some water sports. I kneeboarded, which is my favorite, and Celeste just came for the ride. B, however, was absolutely shredded on the Wakeboard. Sariah and Aidan went out on the zest together, while Houston took one on his own, and Noah and Nadiya took another. Ella and Sadie enjoyed a peaceful morning reading and sitting on the cover of the Bimini. After a long, long time on the raft with no food, we needed a moral boost. SO Will brought us over the the monohull in the fleet and we got to do boom swings which was so fun, plus Sariah and Houston got to see their siblings who were rafted with the monohull. Most everyone got a chance to go off before we were finally picked up and brought back to Frenchie for lunch (my personal AQ favorite: Quesadillas). After a speedy lunch, we headed to the bow to set up our kits and get ready for our final training dive. The open waters were the first in. Sadie, Sariah, Ella, and Nadiya saw a lobster and did some tricks at the bottom.
Meanwhile, the advanced divers (Me, Celeste, Aidan, Noah, and B) were ready to complete our final specialty: Peak Performance Buoyancy. Celeste and I were nervous because we never know what to do with our feet but it was better than expected (thanks to lots of practice). We learned how to kick backward underwater and then Negative buoyancy. We took off our fins and raced each other, attempting to run along the sand. Noah and Aidan tied for first! Then Garry challenged us to a sword fight underwater, using our fins as “weapons.” B was spinning around and fighting like crazy, and it was my favorite dive so far! After we all surfaced (OFFICIALLY SCUBA CERTIFIED), we were overjoyed. After we dekitted, it was time to begin our sail to Cane Garden Bay. We raised to main sail with Julia on the helm and were underway shortly. Houston helmed while we did a few jibes downwind, and Aidan took over from there. Once we were settled in Cane Garden with the rest of the fleet, we began dinner of Thai curry, cheffed by Houston and Celeste. While they were cooking, Julia and I played speed while everyone else sat around and chatted, Maren bringing the most exciting stories to the tables. We finally sat down for dinner and ate our curry, happy to be settled after our day of total chaos! Now, we are baking some cake to enjoy while we complete Lifeworks and prepare for the hike tomorrow (which is slightly scary). But we’re ready to take on the challenge … I think.