The moment that stuck out to me the most so far was when my classmate, Tori, pointed out that there were dolphins swimming near the vessel. I immediately hurried outside to see them. Once I saw them I was amazed! I'd never seen a dolphin in real life and today I fulfilled that dream in the Bahamas. We were even given the opportunity to snorkel with them. I also took advantage of taking a couple of pictures. I am looking forward to seeing more animals as the experience progresses.

Isaiah strikes a pose.

-Isaiah

Notes from Tori, Jacki and Oriana

Day three aboard the Coral Reef II: Today was most definitely an incredibly eventful day! We began the day with a beach seine, where we encountered a large variety of different animals, including being welcomed by a few southern stingrays! We recorded all the animals that we caught in the seine net. My job (Tori) was to snorkel behind the net to make sure it did not get caught on any rocks or other objects. I noticed one ray got caught for a moment, but with the help of Captain John it was safely released. Seeing stingrays in the wild, and being so close, was “mudda sick” (Bahamian for “wicked cool”.)

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to seine we go!

Fishes we collected and released.

Not long after the seine, dolphins were spotted off the starboard side of the boat, and we were granted the opportunity to snorkel and observe them from a distance. Once under the water, you could even hear their vocalizations. It was amazing that the dolphins swam so close to the boat, and stayed around for so long.

The two dives of the day were very amazing as well! We saw spotted moray eels (Jacki’s absolute favorite), lionfish, and triggerfish. Even the dolphins made an appearance while we completed the certification skills underwater. Only one more dive until we are certified!

- Tori, Jacki, and Oriana