EARLIES Day 10
Written by Bronte M., Marine Science & Dive Coordinator
G’day! Bronte, the Marine Science Coordinator here with a TUPDATE (trip-update).
We woke up at Saba Rock near the Bitter End Yacht Club. My day started with French toast and my favourite part of the day… the Morning Radio Announcements! Staff and I share the weather, updates, horoscope, and a special original song designed to be stuck in students’ heads all day.
Then I had some Sierra students join me on a morning adventure! We headed to Beau Budd and discussed ecosystem health indicators (diversity, abundance, and human impacts). Also, to celebrate World Sea Turtle Day, students were briefed on Sail Caribbean’s work with the Association of Reef Keepers (ARK) BVI Sea Turtle Programme! We have staff trained to help capture and tag turtles, with the mission of discovering new turtle hot spots—giving us a better idea of turtle dispersal and migration patterns.
We ventured out on a snorkel around a shallow seagrass habitat. No turtles were found, but we did spot plenty of interesting invertebrates, as well as a small, unexpected coral reef!
During this time, other students waterskied, tubed, and played on the lily pads—which made for a super fun free-time session—while the Foxtrot students were at the eco-park (which I didn’t join, but it sounded and looked so cool!).
We then dropped our mooring ball and motored up just 5 minutes to the docks!! The afternoon was spent exploring our new dock/home: the Bitter End—with watersports, Hobie Cats, and shopping. The students had an absolute blast, and this spot is super fancy-looking, so everyone soaked it in. Oh, and let’s not forget: possibly the best showers and bathrooms in all the BVI.
Once free land time was over, everyone headed back to boats, took land showers, and started dinner prep. Tonight on staff boat, there was a big mates’ meeting, so I and other staff members prepared dinner for them! We made what was on the menu for everyone last night, burrito bowls.
But the filling food didn’t stop there, mates went to shore for their in-depth meeting while captains stayed behind to chaperone the boat bake-off! Each boat prepared and presented baked goods for me and two other staff to harshly judge. We got pretty silly with it—putting on blindfolds and having food shoved into our faces. To our surprise, everyone did so well and got super creative with their presentation and taste.
Ultimately, Beau Budd’s French crepe/meringue extravaganza took the cake (pun intended)—but it was possibly the toughest decision of my life. I have never been so overwhelmed by sweet little treats. The night wrapped up with everyone smooshed onto dock space, side by side, full of sugar and smiles.
Anticipation is in the air—Challenge Day is tomorrow! Stay tuned for more! :0
