Mermaids, donned in floral wreaths, and dolphins carrying their master, approached while an underwater orchestra played a majestic symphony. Yeah, and let me tell you about the horse we sacrificed. We never found a horse, per my brother's suggestion, but other gifts of "value" were forked over to the Trident Master, King Neptune. Today the good crew on Zen turned from mere Pollywogs, as sea lore goes, into experienced Shellbacks. The celebration included drinks, merriment, crowns, royal garb, tatoos and of course, sacrifices and offerings. You can see from the photo, our fearless captain embraced the centuries old folklore wholeheartedly. Other than our fun and games midday, not a whole heck of a lot is going on. We slowed down the boat so we could arrive in the anchorage during morning sunlight. Zen will pull into Academy Bay on Sunday morning, along with another boat named "Brick House". And you'll never guess their hailing port....Middletown, Rhode Island. What are the odds of that? We have not met them yet, but have chatted on the radio and should have tons to talk about for miles to come. Our friends on s/v Lightfoot arrived yesterday and are scoping out the tours ashore. They have 2 kids around the same ages as ours, they'll be the welcoming committee when we come into the harbor. The ocean is like glass tonight. You can see the reflection of the stars upon it. When sleeping off-watch, it can get pretty loud between the water rushing by or the engines spinning, but tonight, it's silent, even more tranquil than at anchor where the little shrimp munching near the hulls can get stereophonic. It is so calm, I just heard the breath of a dolphin swimming by the bows on his way to catch dinner. Moon isn't up yet, and it's pitch black, I sure hope it was a dolphin, or I am getting punchy out here. Gotta go tend the wheel. Going too slow for the autopilot. We are traveling with just the main sail at 1.8 knots, with wind of only 0.4 knots. That extra boost is a favorable current pushing Zen directly toward our destination. And what a spectacular destination it is! I can't even believe it!