Aloha All,

We are less than a day out from Tahiti. Less than 100 Nm last I looked. Hoping to see glimpses of the island by dawn tomorrow.

We got skunked again today. Not one fish so far this leg of the trip. We must have gotten a bite as when Clay brought in his handline yesterday the lure was gone. The leader chomped clean through. Either we are doing something way wrong or there are no fish between Raivavae and Tahiti. Come to think of it, there are very few birds out here too. Haven't had any sightings of malolo and none have been found on deck either. Therefore, I conclude there are no fish between Raivavae and Tahiti.

Hallucinations. Mine usually start about 3 days out with audio hallucinations. Especially when the engine is running. I swear I can hear a symphony playing. Either that or I hear a radio talk show. Can't make out any of the words or determine which classical music piece is playing. Probably a mixture of Tchaikovsky and Rush Limbaugh.

Which brings me to visual hallucinations. Those really depend on the level of fatigue I'm experiencing. Like the one I had toward the end of New Zealand to Raivavae leg. Another "keel zombie" episode! At first I just assumed it was one of the crew coming up on deck. But as soon as I looked in their direction I knew it was a keel zombie that had somehow made it into the boat. My worst fear. The trick is, don't make eye contact. That and remain statue still. Keel zombies will not attack if you follow those rules.

This explains the dude in the fluorescent orange Speedos. Keel zombies tend to wear whatever they can grab that floats by. This one obviously snagged himself some Speedos and put them on right over his boxer shorts. That's why I thought it was Clay at first. He's the only one on this boat sporting boxers. Go figure.

Everyone take care and stay well. All our love.

mark clay rob