We almost forgot it was the 4th of July yesterday. Until John mentioned it, and we both said �"Wow, yeah, I guess it is.�" And since we don�'t carry much in the way of explosive devices on Orcinius, that was our fourth of July this year. Hope everyone back home enjoyed a nice day and found some good fireworks to watch somewhere.

Moses and Malo cooked up a gourmet meal last night. They made a layered dish with eggplant, onions, garlic, ginger, and the last of our mahi mahi, topped with tomatoes and smothered in coconut cream. It was delish! Yes Bob, I will make sure Moses gives you the recipe. And I can show you pictures when we meet up in Hawaii.

We have spent the better part of the first 2 ½ days going just slightly east of north, patiently waiting for the winds to clock around so we can point to our destination without bashing too badly. Last night, around midnight on Moses�' and my watch, we were coming around the back side of a developing squall, and the wind suddenly backed around from the SE �- and we were in business! We have been on a direct course for Christmas Island ever since. The winds have really filled in since this morning �- about 14-18 knots, keeping our speed up to around 6-7 knots. We expect the winds to ease in the next few days, but as long as we can keep our nose pointed direct to Christmas Island, we will be in good shape.

Other than that �- a lazy day aboard Orcinius �- just the kind I like! We�'ve been doing a load of laundry a day �- today was my day to get my dirties washed. And John has a huge corned beef roast waiting to go on the barbie later today. Looks like we will be eating corned beef and cabbage for a few days to come.

All is well aboard Orcinius! All for now,

Lisa