Hello All. I can understand why seafaring types become superstitious. After posting about our best day at sea, yesterday became our "least best" with sustained winds 18-20 kts and much hobbyhorsing I spoke about earlier. (still not too bad by all rights) Today is enough to cure any homesick Seattlite. Grey, rainy, and hazy albeit 80 degrees but light and variable winds and a much smoother ride.

By the way, when we are underway, I can post to the blog but cannot see it or read comments until we have internet access in port. This is all done through the slow and pricy sat phone modem so net surfing would make dialup seem blazingly fast. It is why I don't send photos unless they are of large Mahi Mahi.

Dave N just pointed out that we have reached our Southernmost point and are headed back North to Pohnpei and will continue North until Seattle. In addition, we are more than half way on this leg! We are going to pass a seamount which rises from 14,000 ft depth to 30 feet! An illustration of the difference in our interests, he spoke of wanting to dive on it, and I want to fish around it! Sadly for both of us we will pass in the middle of the night.

Profile of #3 "Dot Com"

Dorothy Nagle was enormously helpful during her two weeks on the boat providing organizational advice on commissioning the boat and using the seemingly endless storage spaces efficiently. She was an invaluable resource to find things in Hong Kong having lived there for almost 3 years before she and Dave N came stateside. She also made Shearwater the envy of the Hebe Haven dock by "blinging" our ladder rungs with a macrameŽ like pattern of heavy black cord with a repeating pattern of knots which looks great, is inherently non skid, and feels good under foot, especially bare foots. Dave and Aiden, unless you have duplicated her efforts in your vast amounts of spare time, eat your hearts out! Dorothy returned to the States after Rugby 7's and is living aboard their boat and caring for Rusty and Rascal, two adopted Tong Gau (Hong Kong street dogs) who live an enviable life, and helping daughter Kate with DJ, Dave and Dorothy's 1 y/o grandson. She has assumed the role of Shearwater passage information coordinator for which she is exceptionally overqualified having worked for 25 years as a 911 dispatcher. (previously known through the area as Dispatch Dorothy and/or Dot Com) She and Dave speak daily over the sat phone and she is our link to Lee the weather router and can get us vital information at all hours of day or night via the net. I mentioned she provided the tidal data for our exit from the Philippines and there are many other details she has sleuthed out, most recently the seasonal variation and location of the Equatorial Counter Current. I failed to mention that we ate much better when Dorothy was here. Her brownies have achieved legendary status and I am torn between using them as a lofty goal to strive towards versus not even bothering to try. Thank you and we all miss you Dorothy!