Monday, November 19, 2007

Back from Charter!


Well, we survived our first charter! The guests were amazing, we couldn't have asked for a better group of people! They were laid back, funny, and best of all, they loved to drink painkillers. They were all from Des Moines, Iowa, and we miss them already! We took them to Virgin Gorda to The Baths, over to the wreck of the RMS Rhone where they learned to SCUBA dive, and over to the other side of Salt Island to do another dive the next day. Everyone had a blast and the crew worked very hard to make sure of that. We came together as a team and really had a great charter. Other than losing a contact, getting a chunk of glass stuck in my foot for 3 days, smashing my middle fingernail off in a ladder, and getting rope burn on my forehead, I'd say things went well. The rest of the crew had their share of bumps and bruises as well. Meg has a few good bruises that we originally thought were dirt, when they didn't wash off in the shower we realized we both had more bruises than we thought possible. She also has an imprint of a dock cleat from Salt Island on her foot where she caught it while picking up guests from the shop on shore. Pete lost his dive knife and broke his toe, and Rebecka escaped mostly unharmed.

On a better note, I learned to drive the tender and and docked it perfectly at the marina and surprised everyone when I docked it along side Wanderlust as she was under power like I had done it a thousand times before. I was so proud of myself! But we were so busy we didn't have a chance to take any pictures.

We all had high points and low points but at the end of all this, we did a great job and everyone on board had a good time.

Wednesday the girls and I will catch the first ferry to St Thomas, and wash away the past month of stress. We are staying over at Villa Olga again and will spend Thanksgiving with our good friends Doug and Jill. We can't wait to see our buddies again and show Rebecka a proper American Thanksgiving! Cheers!