Once again we were up with the sun. Please note that Sheryl is beautiful from sunup to sundown, and all points between. After a quick breakfast of some type of sweet bread and coffee, we went snorkeling at Horseshoe Reef. Among the beautiful coral we saw many schools of colorful fish, parrot fish, and a lobster.

We returned to the boat for class and discussed topics like navigation rules, safety requirements, and points of sail. After class, Mandy returned with ice and indicated that some guys would be by shortly with our fish. Mandy's colleagues came around shortly thereafter and we decided to purchase a large yellow snapper and a smaller red snapper (sufficient to feed four). We also asked them to clean them for us, so that I could learn the appropriate procedure. He boarded the swim platform of the Beneteau and proceeded to use a fork to strip off the scales of each fish and used the rather dull knife we had available to remove the fins. It should be noted that Sheryl (a devout vegetarian) took photos of this less than savory procedure. He gutted each fish and we placed them in foil and tossed them in the ice box for dinner that night.

As we set sail (11:00), it was apparent that the wind was up; therefore, we started with a double reef in the main. The trip afforded a lot of practice tacking. This day also marked our opportunity to navigate through a gap between Punaise and Mopion, two shifting sand banks which are the visible markers for a 300 meter opening between shoals. We navigated this gap by sighting the sand banks and aligning our boat with a rum line which we could sight with a hand-held compass to a peak on Petite Martinique.

Before we went in, Frank took a moment to demonstrate the man overboard and heaving to maneuvers. He indicated that we would have to do
these in order to pass our certifications.

As we prepared to drop anchor off Petite St. Vincent (15:30), a very strong squall came up on us and Sheryl and I on the bow were pelted by heavy rains. The strong winds prevented us from getting the anchor to grab (as it kept dragging until we were too shallow). We pulled up the anchor and tried again when the storm had passed. After a quick swim, we went ashore to the Petite St. Vincent Resort and enjoyed a couple of martinis and planters punch.

Back on the boat, after a wonderful dinner of grilled fresh fish and rice, I went swimming and showed the effect of bio-luminescence in the water. Steve and Angelina had never seen the "sparks in the water" before.