As usual, today we woke up early. The chef on the boat made delicious chocolate muffins, which made the morning much better. Then, we had a chalk talk about the morning’s first dive, out of the three for the day. Diving is mighty tiring, but worth it, because it’s amazing! After our debrief, we got our dive gear ready, which is becoming much easier nowadays. Our first dive on the surface, we went over basic skills such as the tired diver tow, which is EXHAUSTING to do! For our second dive, we finished our certification where we had to remove our mask and clear it underwater (my least favorite skill to do). I absolutely despise taking off my mask. It is dreadful. But I did it, and became certified with all the other teens! Hurray!
Jane, Mary, Kylie, Oriana, and Evan
Isaiah, Jackie, Tori, Nick, and Alex
- Kylie
We are officially DIVE CERTIFIED!! We woke up to a cloudy, rainy morning aboard the Coral Reef II. Isn’t it supposed to be sunny in the beautiful Bahamas? Living on the boat is beginning to feel natural even though we haven’t interacted with anyone except SEA TURTLES for the past couple days. The first certification training of the day was at 8:30am. Despite the strong currents, we were able to accomplish everything from buddy-tow to BCD removal and replacement. Then at 11:00am we made our way back in the water for our final certification dive, which included navigation and complete mask removal (eek!). We had to fully remove the mask, exposing our entire faces and being unable to see was an uncomfortable challenge in itself.
From left to right: Barb, Oriana, Alex, Sarah, Tori, Jacki, and Nick
From left to right: Kylie, Jane, Sarah, Mary, Barb, and Evan
- Jacki and Oriana
Congrats on getting certified! It looks like you folks are having an amazing trip and I'm keeping up-to-date with blog as you go!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations SEA TURTLES!
ReplyDeleteWhat a tremendous program! Despite the teen-centric nature of the posts, I can only imagine how much planning and support is being provided by staff from the New England Aquarium. I hope everyone (especially the teens) appreciates all the planning and effort before and during the trip and give a big "Thank You" to all the people who made the trip possible.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the teens and the staff on all their dedication and hard work ! You're scuba certified!!! It would be great to hear about the teens experiences in person. Will there be a lecture or presentation for the public to attend after completing the expedition? I'm hoping that might be a possible.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations everyone! I'm following the blog and am so impressed. What an amazing experience!
ReplyDeleteOh the mask removal tingum...Boy do I remember that...I had to say to myself: "Be the fish. Be the fish. Don't breathe and don't freak out. Beeeee the fish."
ReplyDelete