Everyone’s content but tired, all of us wrapped in towels. We are huddled together in the captain’s room, all wanting to be outside, but also wanting some protection from the wind coming off the waves.

We’re moving to another entry point to drop anchor before going on our afternoon dive and eating lunch. Tonight is our night dive, which is scheduled for seven thirty, right when the sun goes down. Pippa wheedles Aaron until he promises he’ll point out some constellations tonight if it’s clear enough.

As soon as the boat picks up speed, fragments of music start to blare over the ship’s speakers. The volume picks up until it’s blasting and when the chorus blares through the speakers everyone starts to sing along to ‘Island in the Sun’. Vanessa pops her head out of the cabin and cheers.

‘Let’s dance!’ she cries, swaying her hips in time with the music. Pippa squeals and joins in immediately, tugging Andrew behind her. Before I know it, we’re all crowded on the ship’s deck, shouting the lyrics, limbs flailing wildly in the air. Even Natalie seems to be letting loose, she’s doing a hula move with her hands and rocking her hips back and forth.

‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’ comes on next, and everyone yells out the words. Vanessa puts on hit after hit, and every time the song switches Hugh’s face lights up in recognition. Between the sound of the waves and the wind, at some points we can hardly hear the music over our own off-key singing. I raise my face up to the sun during a chorus of ‘More Than a Feeling’ and sing it so loud my voice cracks.

Pippa attempts a viral TikTok dance and whacks Derek in the face accidentally, making me cackle with laughter. He takes the hit in his stride and playfully starts to dance alongside her. Vanessa teaches Miguel the steps to the start of a swing dance. Hugh is sillier when he dances than I imagined. He moves his feet like he’s doing an agility drill and punches the air with his fists. I’m having so much fun that I don’t want to stop, but singing at the top of my lungs in salty air is drying out my throat by the second. I’m about to sit down when Miguel grabs my hand and pulls me in close before spinning me out towards the railing. Laughing, I let him pull me back in, and when our torsos meet, he lowers mine into a dip. Pippa hoots.

When the next song comes on, I sit down on the bench, exhausted.