The Queen of our Galley

Today the crew of the Robert C. Seamans had the privilege of snorkeling one of the most remote and least seldom visited reefs in the Pacific, the fore reef of Caroline/Karoraina Island. From what I understand, the island is a protected area in Kiribati, and I can absolutely see why!

It’s absolutely beautiful to look at (even though we don’t have permission from Kiribati to actually step foot on the land). We arrived early in the morning today and witnessed a beautiful sunrise over the island just after breakfast.  Everyone was anxious to get in the water and, just after an incredible lunch, myself and the other intrepid members of C Watch ventured out to snorkel the reef and collect our data for our projects. On this trip so far I have developed a bit of an obsession with wrasses, whether they be humphead, six bar, or (especially) bird wrasses, and let me tell you that this reef was tore up with wrasses. I had a great time as a member of the Fish Team today identifying all of the different wrasses and the other fish on the reef too.  We even saw a sea turtle and numerous black tip reef sharks, so the day was a success for the fish team. 

You may have noticed that I’ve mentioned food twice in the blog already, and I just wanted to take a part of my blog to brag on the queen of our Galley, Lauren.  Lauren is a SEA Semester alum herself, has a slight obsession with the musical Hamilton, and is quite experienced in the art of cooking for 30 hungry sailors 6 times a day every day and managing to make it incredibly tasty at the same time! As someone who has a number of annoying dietary restrictions, it is unbelievably comforting to know that Lauren has always taken the time to think of me and make a meal both absolutely incredible and fits my diet! To say that she has literally given me the strength to do this trip wouldn’t be an exaggeration in the slightest.

Lauren, we all love you and thank you for what you do.

All the best,
Sam

PS- Hi, Mom and Dad! I’m alive (and I’ve slept through the night almost every night!) I think about you both daily and can’t wait until I see y’all again! Give Claire a hug from Uncle Sam and give Opal a nice belly rub for me! I wish you both could see all of these amazing things with me! I’ll be home before you know it and (hopefully) I’ll be a little more tan than when I left.