Location: Sommer's Beach, Tortola
The shipmates of Surprise awoke to Cha Cha’s raging tunes. 6:45 AM, a time I used to dread at home, was already filled with Disney music and the smell of breakfast. Jimmy and Jordan prepared us a delectable breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and warm blueberry muffins. The relatively relaxing day was kicked off with “Reactivation Training”. In the divemaster course we learn how to properly refresh certified divers that have not been in the water for a long time. Half the students pretending to not know how to scuba dive complete this series of drills. For example, Jules “accidentally” secured her tank upside down, but luckily Jared was able to fix the situation. Connor and Jimmy fell face first into the water because they “forgot” to step forward during the giant stride. Once in the water we were able to practice our instructor skills. After refreshing our “students” how to descend we made our way to the sandy ocean floor. Our 25 minute dive was full of endless shenanigans. Kelly held me down while Jules and Griffin stole the fins off of my feet. I then proceeded to run along the ocean, chasing after them. In that shallow dive we also practiced our bubble rings and tan cradles, laughs were shared and memories were created. After taking off our gear we helped the younger AQ students on the Vega trips get suited up for one of their last open water dives. While they were in the water, we prepared lunch and practiced our underwater map making skills. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, hot soup for lunch after a morning of diving is a perfect meal. It may have only taken 13 days, but the divemasters finally had enough free time to go wake boarding and waterskiing. Once the water was sufficiently shredded, we motored our catamaran to Sommer’s Beach for the annual AQ Beach BBQ. With bellies full and memories made, we headed off to sleep.