Location: Sandy Spit, Green Cay
Today started out with an early splash as Jake, and I were tasked with a search and recovery mission for an overboard camera just before breakfast. We prepped different search patterns, hand signals, and plans based on conditions, but of course, we found the camera as soon as we descended. Unfortunately, the battery latch was open, so we couldn’t take some amazing selfies before returning it to its rightful owners. Meanwhile, back aboard Graytful, Sedona and Josh whipped up some delicious cinnamon-sugar pancakes and french toast for the rest of the boat. After breakfast, we were joined by some instructors from other boats and prepped one of our final dives needed for the dm certification. Today’s slate included leading a “ReActivate” program, in which people who have not dove in a while get a little skills refresher before they are brought on a full dive. After interviewing each instructor to assess their underwater talent, we headed out to The Playgrounds, the same site that we dove on yesterday (the one where Kai still never saw a hammerhead). After Stich guided my group to where the sharks hung out yesterday, everyone was now dead set on seeing one of their own, so the navigation of the dive was a little crowded. Unfortunately, my group (Player and I) did not see any sharks, while every single other person found a reportedly massive sleeping nurse shark. As much as I hate to admit it, this shark sighting I might have to believe. There were also reports of an octopus in the area, so I spent much of the dive looking at random rocks, hoping it would start to swim away from me, to no avail. Despite getting a bit lost by leading my group East instead of West, I had a great dive, seeing a lot of other fun marine life like cleaner shrimp, arrow crabs, and a large stingray (and, of course, my favorite, flamingo tongues). We popped back onto Graytful for a quick, insanely chaotic, yet surprisingly well-carried-out lunch of chicken salad and deli meat sandwiches before completing our demonstrations of the last set of skills. The groups split up and went on our different ways. Jake, Claire, Anzie, and I all started off with a dry refresher on our CPR skills and practiced our plan of action in different emergency situations.
Sedona, Lizzie, Player, and Kai quickly knocked out their last skills. Perhaps the most interesting group of all, Sally, Daisy, and Josh, began their acting careers as they played distressed divers that the AQ Rescue students needed to save. As it was the Rescue group’s first “scenario,” things didn’t go exactly as planned. Sally and Daisy were each rescued by a single diver, and Josh was reportedly mobbed by every single girl on the rescue boat. As Sally recounted, while being ignored as she drowned, Josh was being swam back to the boat atop a pink flamingo floatie like a movie character. Pranks were then pulled on the rescue boat as Sally and Josh both asked for cups of milk after being rescued, which they immediately “threw up” all over the rescue boat. After being reunited with our freshly saved friends, we closed out the day cycling through the skills, CPR training, and doing some more studying before the final divemaster test tomorrow night. I, for one, was wiped after the long day and took a really long nap before (and after) dinner to close out another great day.