Now we have anchored in American Samoa, another lush island with more banana trees amongst the palm trees the further west we sail. We are surrounded by natural mountains that again close up once you get into the basin anchorage. We had a good 3 day sail, with the wind in the right direction with the first day being mirror-smooth and then it was V lumpy with the swell that came in (note to self �- cook when it is smooth instead of lounging around reading and sunning oneself). However, once we have anchored and reset the interior of the boat I try and get the knot out of he who hums shoulder. I work hard on the pesky spot until I hear �'mercy�' then he can resume his humming. But that wasn�'t the focus for today. I wanted to tell you about knots of another kind. No not the speed Knot that equals the 1 minute of latitude when you are at the equator. It is the KNOT as in the �"Nautical knot book�"? Well they all start to look the same after the first 5 knot diagrams and I had wonder ed.... Who was entrepreneurial enough to make money from 100 variations of the one granny knot? Until... I learnt the finer details of how, when and where to use each one. On route, I like to learn some of knots from Pedro that were passed on to him from a �"Nautical Knot Master�" when he was a young boy. Now before you judge me!.... I left home with a few strong tie-ups up my sleeve, but some of them were flukes and others have been copy book, you just can�'t ask me to repeat them. Now I have a few more useful knots in my repertoire. When we pull in the sails and tie them down securely, I sometimes see a flash version of my dad�'s hands at work and think I clearly must have paid attention to his camping/rigging knots while I was hanging about as a kid. (I do wish I had my mumma�'s pretty nails to go with his skills). Not to be, no matter how much buffing and nail polish I apply. Back to the knots.... I have mastered the Bowline, although I must say he who hums had tried to teach me his left handed version for some time without success. The Square Knot �- tick! But the Tug Bowline is now my favourite, as it has a bit of trickery to it that makes me look the part. It is a complex flick over ... the twist up ... a swap and a thread through... all with the flurry of an Edward scissor hands manoeuvre and there it is! On this leg I also picked up the Monkey Grip, the Truckies Knot; and a knot that is visually to pretty to be called the Gun Holder. However the Monkey Grip, cute as it is, I am not sure where I wi ll use it, unless I start doing some exterior decorating. Perhaps that is why you can buy so many of them presented in frames. However with many more passages before we get home I will have a complete set of knots to my nautical skills list that will be textbook. But that Tug Bowline goes down as my speciality to date, and I am gonna practice that one well before we dock at the Bundaberg wharf. This flurry will follow just after I lasso me a cleat. Oh and Dad, you won�'t even need to catch a line if all goes to plan.