The photo above is of El Nido - a resort off the north east tip of Palawan which Elizabeth, Will (as an infant) and I visited back in late 1993 - getting there with a baby from Manila was quite an experience, including an aborted landing due to a buffalo on the volcanic sand air strip and torrential rains making the mainland roads pretty impassable... but that's another story!

I corresponded with Ivan today via Inmarsat SMS. He was doing about 5.4 knots with both genoa and spin - the former set with the whisker pole which took some setting up but is now working well. Winds are a little over 10 knots from NE, so pretty much in line with the forecast. They have also experienced some patchy lightning storms along the way in the last 24 hours. The crew are complaining of the heat, so I guess they wish they had some ice cold beer on board!

Ivan is taking some photos which he will be able to pass on once he has internet access at Muara.

Looking good for an late Friday/early Saturday landfall at Muara...