Bravo 1, Charlie 1, Foxtrot 1 & Sierra 1, Day 13: Turtles, Diamond Reef and Night Dive

Written by Henry Joslin-Davis

Edited by Meredith Evridge

Today was a wakeup at Leverick docks. Today, the program would split and spend the day doing different activities. Bravo and Charlie would be spending their morning sailing to Marina Cay. Wanting to pull away early, everyone went ashore to the bathrooms one more time. Dedocking went very smoothly and away they went towards Marina Cay. It was a bit windy but our sails were up initially, as we headed downwind. Gusts picked up to over twenty seven knots, so for safety, sails were reefed. Down to Marina they sped!

While they were sailing, our Foxtrot and Sierra campers had the option of turtling or diving that morning. Those that opted for turtle tagging went to Oilnut Bay. Once anchored, they got to work. There were so many turtles around that kids would catch a turtle, but there would already be one in the process of being tagged! It was extremely exciting to see so many turtles around! At the end of the session, two turtles had successfully been tagged. They were given the names “Turt Magurt” and “Parmesan.” There were also a bunch of stingrays in the area. Around one o’clock, Soxtrot headed to Marina Cay to pick up mooring balls next to Chavo boats.

Our Mega Fleet boats clustered together, the group of yellow burgees waved in the wind cheerfully. Chavo folks headed to Diamond Reef to snorkel in the sunkissed waters! They then dinghied ashore to Marina Cay to check out the beach, the cafe with great pies and drinks, and Pusser’s, a Caribbean specialty shop.

While they were snorkeling and on shore, Soxtrot campers spent their afternoon blissfully chilling out on and around boats. They enjoyed the down time before their night dive that evening.

Lots of behind-the-scenes action continued to play out by the dedicated staff, including sending in laundry to be cleaned. Everyone was excited about that. Skipping boat showers, dinner was prepared and polished off. Then all students gathered for a night dive. They had a blast, pairing up and using their waterproof flashlights to illuminate octopus and squid!

Finally, they had their boat showers and boat meetings, and headed to bed.