Our first week in patch reef research was a new experience for almost all of us. The first class consisted of an introduction to the research we will be conducting this semester. By the second class, we went to Forth Hole on our bikes for our first reef exploration. We were able to use our newly gained knowledge to identify fish species living on the reefs and practice marking the abundance of different fish species. Even though the depth was only four feet, we saw fish species ranging from a Great barracuda to small damsel fish. Even though we were all happy to have explored our first coral reef, we were freezing and ready to get out and lie in the sun while reflecting on our sightings. We are eager to improve our surveying abilities through this research course.