Location: Tobago Cays to Mustique
This morning, we started off our day with a very loud and alarming wake-up. All of Ocean Stars students were sleeping soundly in our bunks, dreaming about land and WiFi, when all of a sudden, the fire alarms began squealing and wailing. In a scurry, everyone jumped out of bed and frantically put on their orange PFDs (personal floatation devices). Within seconds, the whole staff and crew were present on deck to find out it was only a drill because the skipper of the day forgot to wake everyone up. (My apologies.) After breakfast, we immediately began to work on passage prep, preparing the boat for the day’s journey of twenty nautical miles from Tobago Cays to Mustique. As soon as we hoisted all the sails, coiled the lines, and inspected everything that needed to be inspected, the students threw on their PFDs and lathered up with sunblock, the last step before departing for the voyage. On our way out of Tobago Cays, Bret leads us through the coral patches from the crow’s nest! The rest of the passage was sunny and beautiful. After an exhausting day of sailing, we were awarded free time aboard the boat. Some students spent their free time soaking up the sun and splashing in the ocean, while others rushed to finish their papers that were due tonight for Nick’s Marine Biology course. (The topic for this paper was: How can we best reduce the impact of the invasive lionfish in the Bahamas and the Caribbean?) But thanks to Ben, Will, and Brett, who spent their free time cleaning the bottom of the boat on SCUBA, Ocean Star now has a nice, clean, beautiful hull! After everyone had showered and dinner was served, we all settled down for class. During our marine biology class, we got to inspect the molt of a spiny lobster! As soon as class was over, our scheduling committee met and planned our next week to come, revealing to us that we have a night out tomorrow and an exciting hike this week. So we all got to go to bed excited for the week to come!