We began the day by going to the classroom and eating breakfast. After that, Casey began teaching us about the importance of Marine Biology, especially how it can affect the economy. She gave us multiple scenarios to test our sympathy for marine life. For example, Joseph and Hank engaged in a debate on whether Sea-world was morally correct or not. Next, we began looking at many different types of marine life, and we classified them based on similar characteristics. Some of the students volunteered to guess a fish that Casey had secretly chosen. After lunch, we went out to the boat and began to learn about the safety features of the boat, as we were setting up our scuba gear. We then set out for dog island. Once there, we planned out our dive and learned about the scuba skills we would have to demonstrate under water. After gearing up and completing our buddy check, we entered the water and descended. Once at the bottom, Jessica asked us to complete the skills, which included regulator clearing, regulator recovery, partial mask clearing, full mask clearing, and hovering. Next, we began to swim under an overhang, where we saw various species of crab. Along the way, we spotted sea fan coral on the bottom. Then, we entered the chimney, which was an extremely narrow passageway, which brought us into an open area that was closer to the surface. In this area, we spotted some angelfish and a moon jelly, which we got to touch. After our 3 minute safety stop, we ascended and got back on the boat. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day.
