This morning I woke up and immediately began preparations for the breakfast feast. It gave John, Matthew, Jackson, and I the opportunity to show our responsibility as well as our ability host a crowd of hungry people. After a good meal we went back to the marina and set course for our first dive site, where we would perform the experiment for our project. We dove down to about 35 feet and began setting up PVC pipe barriers, weighing down the multi-colored t-shirts, and planting frozen mackerel bait. We learned just how territorial some types of fish can be, as they fended off competing fish. Surprisingly, the smaller fish that arrived at the area first were able to hold off the large fish that approached towards the end of our trials. Our information showed that they were attracted to bright colors, no matter the type of fish. After all of the project work, we discovered a juvenile lionfish near our area, which Jeff swiftly harpooned. Finally, after an hour long dive, we returned to the Sea Monkey and rehydrated. Then we went towards the coral nursery. Casey taught us how to clean the coral habitat of stinging-algae. That nursery has a 99.6% success rate! This is much higher than the normal success rate of around 85%. Cooper, Reece, and I diligently cleaned and eventually finished ours first. We then were able to explore the reef with our scuba guide Beth, where we saw spaghetti worms and an assortment of eels. After we surfaced and chased after a stray weight, we headed to a cove, where we ate lunch on the boats and then snorkeled to the shore of Savannah Bay. We went to a dried up salt lake, a habitat for many animals like iguanas, crabs, and even small mangroves. Afterwards we snorkeled back to the boats and returned to the marina and eventually back to Guavaberry. We worked on our projects at the commissary for about an hour and then headed to the beach for a burger dinner, to play with Casey’s dog, Dixie, and a night snorkel. We saw a nurse shark, an octopus, extremely large lobsters, flounder, and schools of squid. During the snorkel, krill, worms, and other types of shrimp were attracted to the lights, so, in turn, the began trying to get in our mouths and ears. It was an interesting experience, and I’m extremely thankful that I am able to experience it for a second time.
