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Day Nine - The Santa Maria and the Great Barrier Reef

Just before 8am I shed my shoes and boarded the Santa Maria, a gaff rigged schooner, for a two-day sail to the Great Barrier Reef. Instead of a single reef, the Great Barrier Reef is actually more than 2,900 reefs spanning 1,600 miles. It can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.

Along with me for the trip were a couple from Sweden, a three girls from England, one from Manchester and two from Reading, who seemed to mostly stick to themselves. Also the Captain, Scuba instructor, and a host-cook-Julie McCoy type.

The Santa Maria
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Living Quarters
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Voyagers and Crew
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When we arrived at one of the reefs, we had a big lunch and then went out for some snorkeling. I paired up with Jessica, one of the Swedes, and she was very helpful, as this was my first experience with snorkeling. Jessica has become very seasick and was having an awful time on the boat the whole way. I felt very bad for her, but her attitude was remarkable. She smiled the whole way, even though she was vomiting every 15-20 minutes. She was fine once we were in the water, however, and eager to show me the ropes. The water was quite rough and my mask was leaking, making it a bit difficult at first. But it was really incredible seeing all the varied life forms making up the reef. We stayed out about an hour before I was called in for a turn at diving.

Johnny, the dive instructor, went over the basic rules and we suited up. Along with Johnny, I would dive with Amanda, from Manchester. It was her first time, as well. Breathing under water was much more natural than I expected and I found diving to be so much easier than snorkeling. The only problem I ran into was when someone knocked the actuator from my mouth and I experienced about a half-second of panic before remembering what to do. Johnny had made us practice this exact thing at the side of the boat and now I fully understand why. Calm once again, the three of us explored the area, finding many types of fish, giant clams, seas cucumbers, anemones, and a variety of other species. I had an underwater camera, but the photos really did not turn out well, as you can see below. We stayed out about 30 minutes before returning to the boat.

Reef Diving
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Vince, The Scuba Master
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Reef Diving
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We came back to the boat for dinner, then moved on to another location and resumed snorkeling until dark. The group chatted for a while and I had a few beers and was soon ready for bed. A storm started up and we had to leave the hatches closed down below and the living quarters became very hot. That along with rooming with other people, the thunder and lightning, and rocking boat made for a very long night. I doubt I slept for more than a couple hours.

 

Day Ten

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