Programs Blog
Our First Reef Snorkel Survey!
Wednesday, February 25th, 2026
Very Sunny with East Winds, Force 3, and heading underway to Dominica tomorrow!
Anchored 75m offshore in Frederiksted, St. Croix
Today I woke up bright and early at 5:30AM to get ready for our first reef snorkel survey. I had a quick breakfast and headed on one of the last boats to the pier since I had galley clean-up with my watch. At the pier, we took taxis driven by our new Cruzan friends Liz and Prince. They dropped us off at Cane Bay where we began our reef snorkel surveys. B watch began first in the morning, followed by C at around 12pm. B and C watch were out collecting a bunch of data by doing photoquadrats, three different fish surveys, two different invertebrate surveys, a rugosity test, and a damselfish and brain coral count along a transect.
Throughout this time, I was having some delicious Mahi Bites, some Jerk Chicken Tacos, and making sure to stay hydrated and sun protected. When it was finally time for my watch to snorkel, we were told that the visibility decreased dramatically, and we would not be able to get any reliable data. Our Chief Scientist / Oceanography Professor Dr. Heather Page advised us that we should wait until the next snorkel survey in Dominica to get good data points, so the rest of my watch mates went out and brought back all of the equipment we deployed that morning. We then headed back to the ship, taking in the last bit of St. Croix.
As we got back on SSV Corwith Cramer, I cleaned up all of my snorkel supplies with some bleach and freshwater, took a quick salt / freshwater shower, and began chores. Chores were done fairly quickly, with a delicious dinner at 7:00PM prepared by our stews. I took some time to eat saltines and have a ginger chew, making sure my scopolamine patch is ready to go underway and help battle some seasickness. I ended my night with a bit of stargazing and looking forward to what the rest of the trip has to bring!
Shout Outs: Love to Malachi, Mom, Dad, Pau + Antoinette, Gio, and my closest friends from back home and from college! I miss you guys so much and I can’t wait to see you soon!
Laura Hernandez, A Watch, Cornell University
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Programs
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- The Global Ocean: Hawai'i
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