Location: Great Harbor, Jost van Dyke
Hey guys, it’s Samantha!
Today, we started our day early with some country music and a bumpy ride to Salt Island. On our way there, Ari helped steer the boat, and Sienna and Hays got breakfast ready. When we arrived on the Island, we all got ready and started conspiring a way to capture a goat and take it with us on our hike. In reality, all the goats ended up running away. So after finally getting on Salt Island we talked about the history of the Island and then took a hike up it to see a beautiful view with the best breeze. Although there was a beautiful view and a really good breeze, there was also one not-so-great sludgy part of the hike. Pictured down below! After our short but great hike, we went back to the boat and got ready to motor over to the other side of the Island where the RMS Rhone rests.
During our time going over to the Rhone Sienna and Hays were trying to jump when the waves were at the right time to try to get some air time. Scottie tried, too! Lyla, Jackson, and I helped attach the boat to the mooring ball when we got to the location of the Rhone. While we were getting our scuba gear ready for our first shipwreck dive of the summer, Jake and Jo were diving into the wreck to make sure the current wasn’t too strong. When they got back, we jumped into the water and started our descent into the waters of the RMS Rhone. The water was so pretty, and we were able to see everything. Kate and I saw a huge Barracuda along with a bunch of fish! We also did two swim-throughs, which means we went into the wreck, which was absolutely amazing! After our dive, we ascended back to the boat, where the waves were pushing everyone like crazy. When we got back on the boat, we all put our dive gear away and got ready for our motor back to Great Harbour Peter. On our way back, Evan, Megan, Scottie, Sienna, Lyla, and Reese all laid out on the roof to get some sun. When we anchored at GHP, we all jumped in the water and just had some fun in the sun! Reese did some backflips, I did some dives, Sienna jumped off the boat sixteen times, and Matthew also jumped a couple of times. After we all played and swam in the water, we snorkeled the area that we would later be doing our second night dive in.
While snorkeling, Sienna and some other girls took pictures, and Ari and I looked at the shells. And honestly, that was really fun! After our snorkel, we got our scuba gear ready again for the night dive, and we did a little reminder on how to use an RDP(Recreational Dive Planner). Then, the chefs got food ready for dinner. Tonight’s dinner was, in fact, Mexican night! It was so delicious and filled everyone up. When everyone finished dinner, we played Squeeze, cleaned up the dishes, and prepared for our last dive of the day. Our night dive! When we plunged into the water for our night dive, it was pretty cold at the surface, but as we descended, it got warmer. After we finished our skills during the dive, we saw a couple of cool things, such as little red shrimp, a stingray, minnows, etc.…. We also saw the bioluminescence in the water, which, in my opinion, was so cool!! When we finally got back to the surface, we took our showers and then ate some brownies that Jake had made for us. We also get to get our laundry done in the next couple of days, so that’s really nice! So finally, we ended our day just relaxing and enjoying the night. Anyway, we had a great day, and I can’t wait to tell you more next time!!
Love, Samantha S.