20 Questions - Griffin

What is your name?
Griffin
How old are you?
11
Have you been to the BVI before?
No
What are you most looking forward to?
Scuba diving
How do you think it will be with 9 people on a boat for 9 days?
Not packed but a little jammed.
What do you think it will be like?  Describe what you think you will see.
Lots of fish and islands.
What do you think you will see when you are scuba diving?
Fish and coral.
How do you think traveling to and from the BVI will be?
Long and tiring.
What will you do on the plane?
Read, do homework and play my iPod.
What types of fish do you think you will see while snorkeling and diving?
Sharks, rainbow fish and stingrays.
What fish/creature do you most want to see?
Sharks
Estimate the number of different types of fish you think you will see.
20
What job will you have on the boat?
Manning the dinghy.
What do you want your nickname to be on the boat (your boat-name)?
I don't want one.
Do you have a boat-name suggestion for anyone else?
No.
What do you think swimming with the dolphins will be like?
Really fun and interesting.
Will anyone accidentally fall in?  Who?
Maybe...
How many sunny days will we have?
8 or so.
What will you miss most while you are away from home?
I don't know.
What do you want to eat?  Drink?
Seafood.

20 Questions - Carter

What is your name?
Carter
How old are you?
11
Have you been to the BVI before?
No
What are you most looking forward to?
Warm weather and seeing cool fish.
How do you think it will be with 9 people on a boat for 9 days?
Kind-of crowded but easy.
What do you think it will be like?  Describe what you think you will see.
We will see tons of fish and have fun.
What do you think you will see when you are scuba diving?
Coral and fish
How do you think traveling to and from the BVI will be?
Long and boring
What will you do on the plane?
I will play my iPod and watch a movie.
What types of fish do you think you will see while snorkeling and diving?
Eels
What fish/creature do you most want to see?
Barracuda
Estimate the number of different types of fish you think you will see.
25
What job will you have on the boat?
I will help raise the sails.
What do you want your nickname to be on the boat (your boat-name)?
I don't want one.
Do you have a boat-name suggestion for anyone else?
No.
What do you think swimming with the dolphins will be like?
Fun and exciting.
Will anyone accidentally fall in?  Who?
I don't think anyone will fall in.
How many sunny days will we have?
Most of them.
What will you miss most while you are away from home?
I don't know.
What do you want to eat?  Drink?
Octopus

20 Questions - Nick

What is your name?
Nick
How old are you?
12
Have you been to the BVI before?
Yes
What are you most looking forward to?
Warm weather.
How do you think it will be with 9 people on a boat for 9 days?
Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
What do you think it will be like?  Describe what you think you will see.
It will be fun, we will see fish.
What do you think you will see when you are scuba diving?
Fish and coral.
How do you think traveling to and from the BVI will be?
A long plane ride, cold at home and warm in the BVI.
What will you do on the plane?
Play games and listen to music on my iTouch.
What types of fish do you think you will see while snorkeling and diving?
Parrot fish and eels.
What fish/creature do you most want to see?
An octopus.
Estimate the number of different types of fish you think you will see.
Over 20.
What job will you have on the boat?
Bailing the dinghy.
What do you want your nickname to be on the boat (your boat-name)?
Nick
Do you have a boat-name suggestion for anyone else?
No
What do you think swimming with dolphins will be like?
Just like the first time I did it, fun.
Will anyone accidentally fall in?  Who?
No.
How many sunny days will we have?
How many days will we be on the trip?
What will you miss most while you are away from home?
My dog.
What do you want to eat?  Drink?
Lobster and Pina Coladas.

20 Questions - Britton

What is your name?
Britton
How old are you?
10
Have you been to the BVI before?
Yes
What are you most looking forward to?
The weather and the beautiful fish and water.
How do you think it will be with 9 people on a boat for 9 days?

Crowded, but it helps that we are all good friends and always have fun when we're together.

What do you think it will be like?  Describe what you think you will see.

I've already been there but in my mind I can still picture the fish and the clear water.
What do you think you will see when you are scuba diving?

I think we'll see tons of cool fish and we will all keep our fingers crossed that we'll be able to find the Chimney and see the ship.

How do you think traveling to and from the BVI will be?

Been there, done that, but it is always fun and it helps that I actually like riding on airplanes.

What will you do on the plane?

I think I'll do some reading , homework and playing on my iPod Touch.
What types of fish do you think you will see while snorkeling and diving?
I think we'll see lots of Angelfish and Parrot Fish with swarms of minnows by the millions.
What fish/creature do you most want to see?
An octopus.  My dad saw one last time we were there and played peek-a-boo with it.
Estimate the number of different types of fish you think you will see.
45.  We'll see more than last time because we'll be scuba diving.
What job will you have on the boat?
Working in the galley (kitchen), I hope and some other easy jobs.
What do you want your nickname to be on the boat (your boat-name)?
Captain Britton, but that won't happen, so Brit or Princess (in training).
Do you have a boat-name suggestion for anyone else?
Carter, Griffin and Nick - the Punks
Chip (my grandpa) - Captain
What do you think swimming with the dolphins will be like?

Amazing!!!

Will anyone accidentally fall in?  Who?

Nick, Carter or Griffin doing stunts in the dinghy.

How many sunny days will we have?

Let's hope all will have sun at least part of the day.

What will you miss most while you are away from home?

My warm bed and the animals.

What do you want to eat/drink?

Strawberry Daiquiris!!!

Practice Dive at The Dive Shop

Sunday, October 24

We went for a practice dive at The Dive Shop.  It was fun to play around in the pool, we swam and even did somersaults underwater with all of our gear on.  We also figured out the settings on our camera and tested out our new underwater housing.  It works at depths up to 200 feet so we should have some great photos of our BVI dives!  Everyone had a great time and we all feel confident about our diving skills.

Griffin - Open-Water Checkout

I went to Beaver Lake in Arkansas to get my open water certification. I became a scuba diver, like what you see on tv, at Beaver Lake. Carter and I started taking lessons at the end of March of this year with our friends Nick and Britton and their Dad John. Believe it or not we had homework. We got to go in the pool on every other class and then we did book work. We had to read this long book and answer questions at the end of every chapter. When we got to the end of the class we had to take a 50 question test. You could only miss 12 to pass the class and go get your open water certification. Of course I passed!   

My mom and dad and Carter and I went to Beaver Lake with Nick and Britton and their parents. We did 5 dives that weekend. I had an awesome instructor that made the dives fun. My favorite part was at the end of all the dives we were able to go on a tour of the lake. We saw fish and a red pipe and a ton of other things. We went down 29' and found the thermocline. It was so cold! It was pretty cool to put half my body below the thermocline and freeze while the other half stayed above it warm. I can't wait to go to the British Virgin Islands for a real dive with my friends. We are going to have a great time!                                                 

Carter - Open-Water Checkout

I had a great time getting my open water certification at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. It was a blast to go with 2 of my best friends, Nick and Britton, and my brother Griffin! It was so warm and the water was very clear. There were tons of old things in the lake for us to find. I saw a huge clam that was halfway out of its shell, I went to pick it up and it sucked back into its shell really fast. When we had completed all of our underwater skills we got to go down to the thermocline. It makes you really cold really fast! When you swim by it and accidentally swim into it without knowing it is there, it almost scares you because it turns so cold so fast. The hardest thing we had to do was the compass course. I had to stay under water the whole time until I got to where I was supposed to be. My time at Beaver Lake with my friends and family was an awesome experience! I can't wait to get to the British Virgin Islands to scuba dive with everyone! We are going to have a great time!