Cover photo is my first of many Caribbean sunsets at sea
Nothing about my decision to move to the West Indies all by myself to work a vague job that I applied for on Craigslist felt real. It wasn't until I was landing in St. Martin and saw the legendary turquoise blue water and the tourists standing on the beach waving to the planes coming in that my new reality began to set in.
That morning- waking up at 4:30 am, saying goodbye to my mom, the plane ride, the layover in Charlotte- was a blur. I couldn’t put my finger on the feelings I was experiencing. I felt numbness more than anticipation, anxiety, excitement, or anything else for that matter. Looking back, I think it was just sheer exhaustion. I had just completed the Wilderness First Responder course with NOLS- 100 hours of emergency wilderness scenarios crammed into nine days with an hour commute each way. I’ve always had a hard time leaving behind people that I love, but it struck me as I prepared to leave for this adventure that they had come to expect it. This alarmed me then, but by now I find comfort in it. My family, Rowan, Mindy, Eva, Zoe, everyone that I care about…we have learned to love each other from afar and for the time being I am content with it.
Day 1. I arrived in St. Martin and was taken to what will be my home base for the next three months, affectionately named ‘The Pad’. Once there, I met what seemed like a hundred people, all of whom I immediately forgot the names of, but who will come to be my family for the summer. I had arrived at the right time, because just as me and the other new arrivals finished putting our clothes in the heavy duty storage bin assigned to us, 5 pm hit. Everyone quit working, and suddenly there was a beer in my hand and I was in the middle of a stampede towards the beach. Within 30 minutes of my arrival, I was swimming in the Caribbean Sea. Dinner was waiting for us when we got back. I hadn’t realized, but I was ravenous. Grilled fish, Greek sauce, chickpea salad, and fresh mango salsa, everything was amazing. I thought I couldn’t eat another bite when someone brought out warm chocolate chip cookies. Full, warm, and happy, people started drifting to bed around 8, knowing well that the 6 am wake up would come before we knew it. I found a spare spot on the deck of a catamaran and fell asleep pretty instantly. That is, until I was woken by one of those classic Caribbean midnight squalls. Soaking wet, I rolled into an open hatch that, luckily, contained an unoccupied bunk. I had barely closed my eyes before it was 6 am. This was my first day on the start of a summer’s journey in the Caribbean.
Days 2-4. The next few days were similar. Working during the day, slowly getting to know my co-workers. I quickly learned the way things worked: work hard play hard in the most paradigmatic of ways. All day was spent looking forward to beers and beach at 5, yummy dinners, bed super early, and the one day we had off every 2 weeks. There was even pleasure in the midnight rain - it gave you the sensation of waking up before your alarm and getting to go back to sleep for a few hours. I love every minute of it.
The Pad is a crazy operation. There’s about 50 of us here and never an idle hand. There is a boatload (get it??) of things to be done before kids arrive- hundreds of lifejackets, wetsuits, and BCD’s to be cleaned, repaired, and serviced, 18 boats to be fully stocked with dishes, cutlery, books, and miscellaneous odds and ends, countless oxygen tanks for diving to be filled and serviced, emergency kits to be put together, and thousands of kilos of dry food (literally I have never seen so much food before) to be inventoried. The bathrooms are a good ten minute walk away to the other side of the marina, of which we are the only post-hurriane tenants. Toilet paper gets thrown in the trash and you flush by getting a bucket of seawater from outside and pouring it down the toilet. The showers are just hoses tacked to the wall and surrounded by a plywood stall. They only turn on for about 10 seconds at a time and the water is cold, but at the end of a long hot day, I can’t think of anything better. My co-workers have so many fun new accents- there are people from the UK, US, Australia, Israel, Canada, Chile, Scotland and Germany. Overall, I am so so so so excited to be here. Everything is new, I cannot stop smiling and I’m sure the best stuff hasn’t even started.
Day 5. In Anse Marcel Friday night equals reggae night. There's a live reggae band at the local "bar" and all the Broadreach staff go for the music, the dancing, and the rum. This place was an experience unlike any I've had. I took a shot called “Bathtub Rum” which I have on good authority is literally rum that they make in a bathtub in the back. The structure itself is…hard to describe. The bar-goer is distracted from the questionable construction by bright colors, dim lights, and quirky decorations. Other than us, it’s all locals. There is a reggae man in full Rasta garb, carrying a rain stick and smoking a joint who meanders around dancing with all the women. There’s a bar dog and a couple of goats that are more or less friendly, depending on how many drinks you’ve had. The foosball table has seen better days. It no longer stands evenly or has a flat playing surface. Any number of things may be used as the foosball. Tournaments at this table go by an unspoken set of rules you have to observe to learn. The whole thing is at the top of the hill overlooking Anse Marcel and it is, in a word, Caribbean.
Day 6 marked the beginning of Staff Training. The idea is that all the new staff take a week to sail and dive the route that we will subsequently take the kids on.
Day 1 of staff training. Anse Marcel -> Grand Case. I have never met a group of leaders confined to a small space with such little ego. No one is trying to prove anything and everyone is SO kind and helpful and willing to disseminate their wealth of knowledge to the others. I am the least qualified of everyone- neither holding my Dive Instructor or Captains License yet, but no one has made me feel the least bit inferior. Broadreach does an amazing job orchestrating the bonding and training. Everyone’s music taste has been particularly good as well, it makes me feel a connection to these people who were strangers less than 150 hours ago. I can’t believe I’ve only been here that long! It is insane how quickly humans adapt to new environments.
Day 2 of staff training. Grand Case -> Columbier. Each skipper in training got assigned to a system on the boat and was instructed to find out everything we could about it. We spent the first half of the day tearing the boat apart, opening every possible cabinet, looking through the nooks and crannies, crawling into bilges, finding out every part of the freshwater, saltwater, 12 volt battery, 220 volt battery, propane and fuel systems. We spent the afternoon sailing to St. Bart’s. I was simultaneously homesick and seasick, so I spent the time intermittently reading, writing, resting, and daydreaming. We practiced mooring when we arrived and Lihi (my new Israeli friend!) and I, on the bowlines, saw a sea turtle pop his head up for air, followed by 2, then 6. We were SO excited! As soon as we were secured to the mooring, we grabbed our snorkel gear and hopped in. We saw turtles, a stingray, and a giant barracuda. It makes me so happy to see animals :))
Day 3 of staff training. Columbier -> Gustavia. Lots of yoga/morning stretches which started today off on a good foot. We did a gorgeous hike to ‘Bodysurf Beach’ for group training, games, and swimming. Jess (new friend from the UK) taught me how to do a partner somersault in the water that I can’t wait to teach my siblings. (Side note, Megan is coming to do a Broadreach program in July and I cannot wait- she is going to LOVE it here). We saw loads of tortoises, iguanas, some baby goats, and a beautiful teal spotted lizard on the way back. We spent the afternoon filling dive tanks, sailing to Gustavia, checking into customs, and practicing docking.
Day 4 of staff training. Gustavia -> Saba. I’ve been thinking a lot about Bart lately, and what role he would play in my life if he was still alive. Would we be really close adventure buddies? Would he have kids that were my best friends? Would I call him when I saw a new species of lizard or when I was lonely or when I needed advice? We went to town today and I connected to wifi for the first time in a bit. Being online again was instantly addicting. I could have spent my entire town time glued to my phone screen. When I was able to pull myself away, I still felt the pull of technology; back on the boat I had a strong urge to check my phone. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I even wandered into my cabin and picked it up a couple times, even though I’m on airplane mode and there’s no chance for any notifications to come through. We spent the rest of the day sailing to Saba. Where we anchored is almost 100 ft deep, but it’s so clear you can see straight to the bottom like its 10, which is a bit off putting, but impressive. It was my turn to cook (with Abigail) and the boat had just loaded a bunch of fresh produce from town, so we put a ton of veggies in coconut curry with quinoa on the side. It got very good reviews from our boat-mates.
Day 5 of staff training. Saba. Into town for customs and a lesson from the local marine conservation center, then back to the boat for mooring practice with only one functional engine. There was a bit of a learning curve with communication (shoutout to Matt for being patient with me), but in the end we got into a groove and it is inexplicably satisfying to work with a group of people towards a common goal and to finally achieve it. We had just enough time for a quick snorkel before dinner and…man, it was easily the most beautiful snorkel I have ever done. The earth is just so. damn. breathtaking. And I am so lucky to be able to observe it. We didn’t see much flashy marine life (like sharks, etc), but the health of the ecosystem in Saba is so impressive and unlike anything I have seen. We saw more species of fish and coral than I could count, everything was vibrant and clearly thriving, it made me feel extremely appreciative. I was blown away.
Day 6 of staff training. Saba -> Tintamarre. Off anchor at 5 am for the sail to Tintamarre today. I was at the helm for a good part of it, which was refreshing. I have learned loads of things about sailing since I have been here and I am feeling myself improve significantly in just a short time. Once we arrived, we spent the day exploring the island. We free dove a wreck (my free diving is improving as well) which was amazing, and spent the rest of the day exploring the island, having hermit crab races, handstand contests, and overall bonding as we cherished our last day on the boat together.
Day 7 of staff training. Tintamarre -> Anse Marcel. Today! I spent much of the day writing this blog post
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