present position: 16deg 35.6' N 170deg 56.2' W COG 066 True, SOG 5.2kts

estimated 24hr position: 17deg 15.7'N 169deg 10.5' W

baro: 29.86, 24hr range 29.80-.90

wind: E 20kts, 24hr range 10-20kts

seas: 3meter, confused w/ wind chop

cloud cover: 60% cumulus, squall line to the north

summary: wind & seas picked up overnight, still doing over 5kts SOG, possibly due to movement of 400gal fuel forward from aft tank. 779 nm to Hawaii waypoint

Yesterday was great. See below 24h dist 140nm 113nm speed 5.83kts 4.71 Fuel 914g 988 Range 1737nm 1689nm to Hawaii 812 952 Reserve 926nm 745nm Reserve 487g 436g M.P.G. 1.9 1.71 6/23 6/22 Again thanks to Wade who has a lifetime of concern with these matters piloting 747's across the ocean. He wonders aloud sometimes why he is spending 14 weeks doing a crossing which took him 14 hours during his work years.

In making a long passage, one hopes to optimize all factors to get the most out of one's resources. Using the scientific method, one tries to identify variables and isolate each in an experimental fashion to arrive at a conclusion. As our improvement yesterday shows, there are multiple variables at play and are difficult to isolate. Weather was better with longer swell and diminished headwinds, measured set and drift were in our favor as the current had shifted in a NNE direction, we shifted all the fuel stored in the aft swimstep tanks to the empty midtanks with less "squat" of Shearwater, and finally we are lighter by the day at 7 lbs per gallon of diesel. One reason to keep such a detailed log is to try to determine the interplay of factors and optimize fuel/distance ratios.

Johnston Atoll is the only land mass in this long passage. Historically it was a military installation which disposed of chemical agents including nerve gas which tells you something about how isolated it is. It is still forbidden to stop there short of an emergency but is staffed now with rangers from a government agency closer to natural resources who are reported to be happy to see boaters if the need arises to seek cover.

Full moon last night rising over a clouded horizon. On watch the seascape lit by the moon is dramatically different then by sun. The water is jet black with the surface highlighted with silver. The moving pattern of interplaying wave trains is amplified and has the apperance of molten metal. That, combined with riding over swell after swell watching the hugh plane of the ocean surface to the horizon is mesmerizing.