Foxtrot 1 & Sierra 1 2015 – Day 6

written by Program Director, Oliver Bierman-Lytle

The day began with a staff motor from Great Harbor, Peter Island to Cooper Island Beach Club. The students woke up at a new location and the Open Water Divers finished their final confined water dive. The morning allowed the non-divers a chance to relax on the beach, enjoy an iced coffee and ice cream, splash around on stand up paddle boards and kayaks and swim on the beach. When the Open Water Divers finished their dive, they also enjoyed some time relaxing on the beach and soaking up the sun. After a busy first week, the students were all happy to enjoy some down time on the beach and at the shops.

After lunch, the fleet split into their two groups. Sierra students, Kayla, Emily, Mayra, David, Aiden, Liam, Alejandro, Nico, and Matt found themselves in the cockpit of I Am Free participating in a lionfish dissection led by mate, Liz. After the dissection, the Sierra students discussed their marine bio projects, formulating their proposals and hypotheses. Meanwhile, the Foxtrot students,  learned about turtle tagging and the importance of their contributions. After the lesson, the students entered the water and quickly came across three turtles feeding in the grass beds below their boat. A group followed Ish and landed the first turtle of the program.

The turtle was brought back to Miss You, where the students gathered around and learned how to tag a turtle. Marley ran the procedure, recording the data that was measured by Eric and Robby. After the turtle was measured and tagged with two flipper tags, it was released back into the sea. The Foxtrot students headed out in search of another turtle, but they were quick to discover just how elusive these amazing creatures can be. The students ended the day feeling pride in their new found skills of turtle tagging on Foxtrot and exploring the anatomy of a lionfish on Sierra.

Enjoy some photos of previous days’ events! Look forward to some turtle tagging photos in the next day!

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