This is a photo of kids out on their billi-billi.

We gave up on the weather. Chuck really needs to return to Alaska. I looked around on-line and found a good deal on some plane tickets....so.....This is the new plan.
Chuck leaves for Alaska tomorrow. I will stay here and catch up on some boat chores. I am also hoping to catch up on some of my writing projects. We are also researching another change of plans which may very well include a return passage to New Zealand for cyclone season. I am working on the paperwork involved for Pearl's quarantine. The situation for pets is rapidly changing to the benefit of our furry family members. New Zealand just started a 10 day quarantine procedure for yachts arriving from the South Pacific. It isn't cheap, but it will be worth the effort, especially if our long term plans include Australia. There is not quarantine between those two countries. The passage will be interesting to say the least, but it may make the most sense for us to be able to spend time in Australia, where the quarantine would otherwise be much more involved.
As everyone knows, the piracy situation in the Indian Ocean has dramatically deteriorated. We were really looking forward to a westward passage, but have decided to cruise exclusively in the Pacific instead. We are looking at a leisurely voyage back to Alaska via Australia and Southeast Asia. Hopefully enough time will pass so that much of the Japanese debris from the tsunami has sunk before we travel from Japan to Alaska. We actually considered traveling back to North America from the Marshall Islands, but with the situation in Japan, we decided to postpone those plans.
The life of a cruiser....making plans and changing them as the natural world dictates.