Considering the poor sleeping conditions, we were up before the sun and found that Steve was already in the cockpit. Once everyone was up, and a breakfast of eggs and bacon were enjoyed, a quick shopping trip on Mustique allowed us to acquire a few additional provisions.

We had our first class in the cockpit, and we covered the basic terms and functions for the Basic Keelboat Sailing Standard (ASA_101). Following class, we dropped the mooring ball (11:00), brought up the sails, and struggled with light winds for the first few hours.

The winds picked up to the point where it became useful for Sheryl and me to learn how to put a single reef in the main. We were eventually overtaken by a squall and we dropped the sails entirely and motored through the weather. On the other side we went back to sailing and eventually came very close to Baleine Rock as we were approaching the Tobago Cays.

Sheryl and I were placed on anchor duty and had our first opportunity to use a windlass. On Holiday Again was equipped with an all-chain anchor rode. Once the anchor was down (15:00), in order to take the strain off of the windlass, Frank asked me to tie a clove hitch to the chain with a stretch of dock line. Up to this point, I had done just fine with his knot requests (bowline, round turn and two half-hitches, cleat hitch) but I had not yet studied the clove hitch. With some degree of embarrassment, I watched while Frank tied the knot.

Once the hook was down, we had our first encounter with one of the "boat boys," entrepreneurs who motor around in little skiffs offering everything from bread to t-shirts. We asked Mandy for some fish and ice to be delivered in the morning.

Once Mandy the Boat Boy was gone, we immediately got out our snorkel gear and followed the chain to check on the anchor. After which, we worked our way against the considerable current to a deserted island. Angelina was a bit nervous, but the four of us stayed together and made it out to the island. It was raining, and we were the only people on the island, a perfect crescent-shaped stretch of beach on one side and waves crashing upon the rocks on the other. Returning to the boat with the flow of the current was much easier.

We enjoyed a dinner of grilled chicken, salad and mac & cheese. Rum punches and studying rounded out the night. Scattered showers caused us to wake and open/close hatches throughout the night and was to set the precedent for the nights to follow.