Hi OBE Students-

If you are all checking the blog, just wanted to let you know that your underwater photos will be in the mail and on the way to you shortly.  Hope you are having a great end to your summer/start to school.  Keep in touch.

Cara

We’ve been all over the Bahamas since our last post: Eluethera, Little San Salvador, Cat Island, Conception, Rum Cay, and Long Island. We’ve hiked the highest peak in the Bahamas (200ft), dove some  amazing drop-offs, invented a new game of sandbar volleyball, and spent a day snorkeling through the beautiful mangrove forests of Conception Island.

After exploring the outer Bahamian Islands and learning about the reef ecosystem, all the studets have successfuly completed their Reef Check Course.  They are now certified “Reef Check Eco-Divers” and on the way to becoming coral superheroes!  So far our team has completed 2 surveys and we are on the way to our third.

We will spend 3 more days in the Exumas and then we will begin our journey back to Nassau to send all the kiddies home to you!  We are having a blast, laughing way too much, and playing in the water all day long.  We will try and post one more time before we send them all safely on their way.

Click on each photo for a better view.

We have had an incredible trip so far, diving like crazy for the past few days all over the Northern and Central Exuma Cays.  We began our Diadema sea urchin relocation project and had all of our certified divers down on Cracked Coral reef, introducing the urchins to their new home.

The students have adopted their sea legs and even created a Pirate Creed including “Ye who hurts thy reef must sleep in the dingy or get fed to the Kraken!” (Don’t worry Mom and Dad, we won’t actually let them sleep in the dingy.)

Yesterday was the graduation day for our Open Water Divers (everyone made it)!  As a celebration we entered the protected “Exuma Land and Sea Park” for an incredible dive at Amber Jack Reef.  Surrounded by huge grouper, schools of horse-eye jack, and some friendly reef sharks, the whole Ocean Blue crew were lookin’ like old pros underwater.  We finished off the day with a campfire on a beach nearby.  

Today we will head to shore on Warderick Wells Cay for an exploration hike and a good old fashion treasure hunt.Tomorrow we head to Eleuthera for a couple days to hit some great reef diving on the Southwestern shore and then down south to Cat Island and Conception.  We will post again as soon as we pick up a signal.

Thanks to all those who have sent us messages; keep them coming and we will pass them on!

Our journey is about to begin; everyone has arrived safe and sound from 7 states and 2 different countries.  Despite long hours and jet lag, the students are still awake sitting on deck getting to know each other and talking enthusiastically about the upcoming trip.  Skies are clear, the air is warm and soca music is drifting across the calm waters of Nassau Bay.  A handful of the students are planning to spend their first night outside on the deck of the “Morning Star”, their new home for the next 21 days.

Our crew of 17 will embark tomorrow for the Northern Exuma Cays to begin scuba certifications, underwater photo classes, and their first taste of life at sea.  We are all excited about this much-anticipated journey.  Friendships are forming immediately and the morale is high!

Ocean Blue is very excited about our new website.  Please stay in touch for new updates from our Coral Reef Ecology Trip in the Bahamas coming up on July 11th-July 30th 2008.

Welcome to the BRAND NEW Ocean Blue Education blog! Right here, we will be posting information on our trips, pictures and videos of our adventures and much, much more! So, subscribe via RSS or make sure that you visit back often.