Location: Mountain Point, Virgin Gorda
This morning, we woke up after a rainy night to loud music (Soulja Boy) inside the boat and out in the cockpit. There was a beautiful sunrise along the horizon, and the ocean water was glimmering during the early morning. The chefs for the day prepared breakfast while other people finished getting in their swimsuits in preparation for the day ahead. We all reunited at our dining table and ate oatmeal. We agreed that oatmeal was not our favorite breakfast, so some of us grabbed fruit and yogurt. After we finished our food and completed our daily chores, we all slathered ourselves in sunscreen and got ready for our first rotation day. Our boat rotation day started with water sports.
We got into groups of four and set out on dinghies. We all got the option of kneeboarding, waterskiing, or wakeboarding. Most of us decided to go waterskiing. The water was so beautiful and clean. After that, we moved to a different boat and were taught how to tie fenders and bowline knots. We learned a lot and almost had a relay race to see who could tie fenders on the sides of the boat the fastest, but we ran out of time and had to eat lunch. We returned back to our boat for lunch. After we cleaned up and ate, we got to go zesting on mini boats in the middle of the BVI. It was the best part of my day because we got to learn how to sail and balance. It was really funny trying to keep our balance but it was also a great learning experience. Me and my buddy Sophia I did not fall over, but a lot of other people ended up capsizing. After we got off zests we all swam around the boat and then got back on the dinghy’s and headed towards land near the scuba diving boat. We arrived early, so we had plenty of time to get in all of our gear and prepare for our first-time scuba diving. Some people were nervous, but we started off in shallow water with coral reefs and fish surfacing underneath us. It looked like a whole new world underneath the ocean, and it was the most amazing thing I had seen in a very long time. The water was clear and blue underneath and above. Taking our first breaths underwater for a long period of time was the biggest part of the day. We learned many skills alongside our scuba groups. One of the counselors caught some lobster heads underneath the water, too, which was really shocking. Everyone had so much fun, and we all can’t wait to go back into the refreshing water. Before dinner, we took our nightly ocean showers as it started to near nighttime.
We were on the cockpit drying off for about an hour, and then the daily chefs, today it was Eloise and JD, started cooking. In the middle of preparing for dinner, we found out the head director of ActionQuest was joining us to get to know all of us and meet our boat. We all cleaned up, and the chefs made beef stroganoff and salad. My squeeze question was, if you could own an exotic animal without any consequences, what would it be? The sunset started beyond our boat with bright pink and orange hues and a sparkling ocean ahead of us. Our dinner was very talkative, and we talked about doing the boat Olympics tomorrow. We are all looking forward to what’s ahead, and overall, it was the best and most engaging day of the entire trip. Editors note: apologies for the lack of photos, rotation days are crazy busy!! (A fun busy though)