Location: The Bight, Norman Island
This morning, we woke up bright and early (it was optional for Vegas; however, Annika was awake as always for an early morning sail, enjoying sailing through the dark) at 3:45 am, again to sail to the Rhone at 4 am. Once we got to the mooring ball, the DMs splashed off of Gap Year for another amazing dawn dive. We were able to scout out the site to plan how we would lead our dives later on in the day. We were also surprised by an eagle ray and a large sea turtle, which was very exciting! After the dive, we went back on to Graytful to enjoy a lovely breakfast and get HYPE for Rhone Day, where we officially woke everybody up playing Sandstorm over the sound system. We began an early morning hype session as Rhone Day will forever be the best day ever. When someone asks me what was the best day of my life, it is Rhone Day. After breakfast, we headed to the hardtop to shotgun some energy drinks or “sip” water and danced to Sandstorm again. Then we began our rotations, where the Vegas started off by taking their sailing test, where they all passed with flying colors, so they now received their certification! For the DMs, we lead Gap Year on a dive, and as they are advanced certified, we were able to take them to the bow of the boat to do the swim-through of the hull, which was really exciting. Next rotation, Vegas did the Salt Island hike, but it wasn’t necessarily a hike at the top; it was more of a walk through bushes. On the way down, Macy decided to run to test her cross-country readiness and realized that she would need a lot of practice when she got home. Kiki also took another tumble, but she is perfectly fine, only some giggles ensued. The DMs lead Beso del Vientos dive. As they are open waters, we only took them to the stern as that is the shallowest part. They were able to do the propeller swim through, touch the lucky porthole, and find the captain’s teaspoon. During the next rotation (three rotations before lunch??? Wowowow), the Vegas hung out on the boat, having a chill time sunbathing, which Ruby particularly enjoyed, and getting ready for their RHONE DIVE! The DMs lead Meow or Nevers dive following the same plan as we did for Beso. On this dive, we saw a cool octopus just hanging out on the wreck. A lot of exciting squeals, movements, and motions were made when it was found. For the last rotation, it was finally time for Graytful to dive the RHONE!!! RHONE DAY! RHONE DAY! RHONE DAY! The DMs all talked about how amazing it was to lead our friends on one of our favorite dives of all time. It made everyone laugh as every time a GoPro was filming or trying to take pictures, August always made an attempt to photobomb. It was so impressive to see how far they have come from their confined waters to their last dive at AQ. Milo was so excited, trying to talk underwater, as he saw a spotted thing that flies (an eagle ray)! After the last rotation, we headed back to Graytful (as we dove off of Gap Year) for showers and a sail to The Bight. It is crazy to be back here, as this was one of our first stops during the trip. So many things have happened since we have all arrived. Our chefs, Micah and Madeline (with Amelias assistance) made amazing broccoli cheddar soup with pasta. After we all ate, we headed up to the hardtop for some hangout time, giving each other back rubs and head massages. We have all come to a consensus that Alexis is hands down the best masseuse on the boat. During this time, Scott was on AUX playing some good songs for us all to vibe to. We are now all sitting around writing letters to each other. Now that this trip is coming to an end, it has truly been such a surreal experience. There have been so many difficult parts to it, but it has all been so worth it for the friends we have and the memories we made.
To Jasper – WE MISS YOU SO MUCH. WE LITERALLY TALKED ALL DAY ABOUT HOW MUCH WE MISS YOU #GRAYTFULS13thSHIPPIE
Mom and Dad, I am so excited to see you when I get home! And Ellie, I am totally looking forward to seeing Ponyo in theaters; I have been talking about it so much.