Each morning close to the Galapagos I put on my wool tights, wool shirt and foul weather top to protect me from the damp cold wind. Slowly the temperature rose as we headed into the tropics. As it warmed, I lost the tights then the wool shirt and more recently the foul weather top. I still wear layers but now for sun protection and pockets. Now I put on a black dress that hides the dirt, a biking hoodie that protects me from the sun with pockets in the back for sunglasses and a wool hoodie to protect me from the wind. Atop this I snap on my inflatable life vest complete with a crotch strap to keep me together with the vest. The inflatable life vest is also a harness so we can tether ourselves to the boat when on deck. Dressed, life vest and tether on, I am ready to go on watch. Karl stands many of his watches dashing up the companionway ladder to the steering station when things go pop, crash and other unwanted noises. I prefer to be in the cockpit.

The back (stern) of the boat, the Mabel Rose cockpit is the size of a hot tub for 8 people, fiberglass with wooden seats on either side. This is our living room, dining room and control center for steering the boat. The dining room features a table that folds away with 4 cupholders. One cupholder has an airhorn in case we need to get someone attention although mostly it sounds when we bump into it and make us jump. An opening in the cockpit/hot tub is the entry point for the food to come from the kitchen/galley. The hot tub is also where we control the sails and steer the boat. Next to the “kitchen” window are instruments measuring wind, depth speed and where we are going. At night these are the primary lights. For dinner in the dark we have a geometric solar light that hangs from the solar panels. Draped next to the instruments are the tethers connected to a metal wire on the floor of the hot tub. We reach for the tethers and clip ourselves to the life vests whenever we emerge on deck. The hot tub has a large steering wheel that reaches from one set of seats to the other. The steering wheel has a GPS display like the one in the center console of your car. A red compass tells us which way we are heading and is the other nighttime light. We think this is the light the squid, petrel and flying fish are attracted to. Around the edge of the hot tub, where you might put your beers if the tub were full of bubbling water are the sailing tools. Winches (mushroom shaped piece of metal used to help adjust the sails), sheets (ropes used to connect the sails back to the winches or people hands, travelers (more ropes and pulleys to adjust the sails), cleats and lots of pockets for the winch handles, lines and knives decorate the edge. Although the water is now in the 80s, we try not to fill the hot tub. Next to the steering wheel there are drains to allow rain water or water from waves return quickly to the ocean. For a little more fun this hot tub on a carnival ride that tips every 5 seconds or so seconds and has occasional sprays of water. Right now, we are rolling a lot as we are going slow to make sure we arrive in the daylight. It is not surprising that occasional things get spilled. At 4 am this is where I head to sail, watch the stars and wait for the sun to rise. We have moved far enough west that the sun rises at 8 AM ships time.

As we get closer to the Marquesas it is time to look at cleaning things up. We are not using with q-tips this time as this time the cleaning is for us not for an inspector. I have been seen recently with a water filled super soaker �" a high pressure kids' toy for shooting water - hosing off the deck from the remnants of flying fish and Hitch the Booby.

Our last egg breakfast this morning was Star gazy frittata. Star gazy pie was featured in one of our favorite children's book with a cat hero. At the end of the book the celebration for the sea going cat who has saved the village is pie with fish poking their head skyward. Karl and I each “caught” a flying fish this morning so our celebration was Flying Fish Star Gazy Frittata.

Slowly we are shifting from focusing on maps of the stars to maps of islands. More celebrations will come soon.