We are on our way to Bangkok, by airplane!, today, March 2. We'll be there a week (or as Betsy so happily puts it "9 nites!") staying at the Banyan Tree hotel while Nat teaches a couple of Ariel programs and Betsy takes advantage of some well-earned and much-needed R&R. The AC and the pool, not [...]

to mention the luxurious large bed, will feel darn good! We've been nervous that the Red Shirts, ousted Prime Minister Thaksin's crew, would curtail our visit right after the Supreme Court ruling to divest him of most of his "unusual wealth"! Fortunately, they seem to be laying low for the moment so we expect to be able to land in BKK with no trouble....fingers crossed! When we return on the 11th, Chris and Teo von Baeyer, our good friends from Toronto, will be joining us for some respite from the cold and damp of the far north while we put the final touches on BAHATI in prep for our departure heading toward Sri Lanka and the Maldives, weather permitting, around the 20th. We are fortunate to be welcoming Christopher Blake, an able sailor from Auckland, aboard for a couple of passages. Chris has just completed his graduate studies in yacht design and is taking some tiime off to sail, dive, and kite surf on our route west and south. Nat sailed with Chris' dad, Tony, aboard the classic yacht THELMA the first summer we were in New Zealand and Chris comes from a long line of Kiwi sailors. He will be be the 33rd crew member we've been lucky enough to have join us since leaving Maine 3.5 years ago. What a blessing! Thanks Christpher! Unfortunately, Neil Thomas, who was planning to sail with us over the next few months has had to "take a rain-check" for the time being. We hope he can sign on again before too long! While we are visiting Bangkok the expert local woodworker, Male, and team, will be refinishing the cabin sole...a long-awaited and much-needed maintainence item. We have also ordered a new linear drive for the Autohelm system as the old one has been complaining a lot recently and we don't want to lose our good buddy, Bruce, as we cross the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, we were able to find the right part thru our good friends at Lusty & Blundell in Auckland and chris will bring it with him, we hope and trust, when he arrives on the 12th. We will also remove the heat exchanger from the trusty Yanmar, again!, in order to be sure the jury-rigged gaskets we picked-up from our Balinese mechanic friends are properly replaced and installed. Other basic maintainence items will be completed as well so we can make as secure a start on these next long legs as possible!

BAHATI crew members to date: Maine to NJ & Maryland: Bruce Brown & Tom O'Reilly Norfolk, Va to Bermuda: Bill Barton, Jeff Brummer, Ben Walker-Brummer, Bob Wagner Bermuda to St Maarten: Philip Worboys & Art Edelstein St Maarten to Auckland, NZ: Josh Warren-White St Lucia to [...]

Opua, NZ: Michael Callahan St Lucia to Antigua: Ben Fowler, Sarah Haskell, Mariah Warren Guadeloupe to Cartagena: Gareth Weis Panama to Malpela & return: Kirk "Kule" Jackman Panama Canal: Michal Rogers & Jerry Gould Balboa to Las Perlas: Sarah Spaulding Tonga to Opua & Opua to Tanna: Tim Barker Tonga to Opua: Hillary Gerardi Opua to Opua: Sandra Bisset & Wally Mallet Auckland to Opua: Nathaniel O'Brien-Merrill Auckland-Weiheke: Beth Coleman Opua to Tanna: Meghan DeWalt & Tim Barker Auckland to Cairns: Cameron Grillo Cairns to Bali: Georgina Greville Serengan, Bali to Lovina Beach: Jerry Knecht Serengan to Point Nongsa, Batam: Oliver Ghelen Point Nongsa to Puteri Harbor, Malaysia: Martin Lambert We are extremely grateful to these stalwart and courageous sailors who have willingly joined us to help-out on in this amazing adventure and we look forward to welcoming others as we slowly find our back to Maine again!