It's a busy day here at home. I'm supposed to work tomorrow at West Marine, but for a few hours only. We're completing our packing efforts and allocating the remaining precious space to the items that still must make the return trip with us.

Actually, I'm writing this because we're so concerned and devastated about a fellow Alaskan cruising family that lost their exceptionally nice vessel, SV Morning Dove, on a submerged reef in the Tuamotus.

Why do we care? There are many reasons. We hate that anyone loses a boat on which love, blood and treasure have been lavished. We mourn the loss of someone's dream. This was a tried and true cruising boat, an Amel 46, well outfitted and well prepared. The structural integrity of the boat provided the extra time that the crew needed to successfully abandon ship with no injuries. We've cruised those very waters, and quite possibly sailed over the same location, and mercifully hit nothing. These are our neighbors, geographically speaking, who live in Chugiak. Bill actually met the male owner when the owner dropped by the Anchorage West Marine last year. All of these reasons, and a few more, mean that we can see ourselves in that same situation.

The thought of losing one's vessel on an uncharted reef fills all voyagers with dread. By the owner's account, he was on watch and neither radar nor his chart plotter provided any indication of danger. We've drilled down to the collision area with Google Earth and found no indication of a submerged reef. The crew of Morning Dove sent their position to a service named "YOTREPS", located in Australia, and their path among the Tuamotus is well documented and easy to follow. We have no idea what happened, and that's very troubling. The owner is a highly skilled and experienced aircraft pilot, both commercial and recreational. His vessel was well-prepared for the trip. He was monitoring conditions with a chart plotter and radar, and nothing was seen, no warning, until the boat when aground. We cannot imagine what happened. Was the reef uncharted? Possible. Was it a charting error? Was their GPS location in error? Were they actually where they thought that they were?

We have the deepest sympathy for our Morning Dove colleagues and wish them well. The latest YOTREPS report shows the vessel inside the reef at Apataki, and there is a carenage (boat yard) there. Perhaps Morning Dove will be a miracle of resurrection and our friends can be up and running next year. We hope so.

In the meantime, we have fair warning to be mindful as we sail among the "Dangerous Archipelago" and to trust in our instruments and eyes while there. Wish us luck.