from David C

Day 3
Time: 0048h UTC 16 April 2013
Position: Lat N 17 degrees 56.6 minutes
Long E 118 degrees 54.8 minutes
New course direct to Subic 158 degrees
Speed over ground 7.7 knots
Weather: Sunny and hot
Wind: SE 3 knots
Sea: calm
Crew: Happy

We have changed course directly to Subic headed just off the Capones Islands. That will lead directly into the entrance to Subic. ETA: 0600 UTC 17/4/2013 (Greenwich Mean Time or Zulu time) Enter UTC on any Apple product to see time difference.

First salt water shower!

Although we have a water maker happily producing 200 gallons of water/day, in the heat of a perfect 80+ degree mid day, it is best to hop down to the the swim platform with a bucket and some of Dave’s salt water soap. Since the exhaust outlet is well forward on the starboard side, the water off the transom is clean and sweet. One fills the bucket and hoists it up to the highest step and tips it over for a stream of refreshing salt water. The soap actually works to lather up and rinses off with saltwater as well. A bit of freshwater final rinse from the aft deck hose and air dry sitting on the foredeck. Would love to stop the boat and take a dip but we don’t want to risk losing this amazing weather window.

The South China Sea weather has a reputation for being hard to predict and has been described as volatile. In Dave’s 6 previous crossings he has seen pretty bad conditions, including being chased into Bolinao by a typhoon. So even though we are going 7 knots, we don’t want to dawdle!


This is Dave/Mike

After weeks (no, make that months!) of pushing to commission Shearwater and find and correct the glitches, we are well into this first passage and the crew is adopting a less frenetic pace.
In Hong Kong we were sprinting to "get out of Dodge" before typhoon season started in earnest (this week of our passage, it appears from the weather charts, is the change-over to SW monsoon).
And now we've gone into marathon-mode, a long drive in front of us, important to think of as one piece at a time, otherwise it all becomes overwhelming.

My own method for slowing down is the plug into my old (original) IPOD and listen to the music and voices of my (and Dorothy's) life -- John Hartford, Mason Williams, Kate Wolf, especially Kate Wolf. These all evoke the people, places, adventures and difficulties of our life. The other side of this nostalgia coin is that, as much as I miss Dorothy, kids, grandkids, dogs, friends, siblings and parents ("the whole catastrophe" to quote Zorba the Greek), it's necessary to stay focused here and now,
as my task is to do my part at bringing Shearwater into port safely (and hopefully harmoniously).

Lee, data above. looking like we're good for the rest of the run into Subic. There will be another email from us tomorrow announcing safe arrival. We'll call you a couple days later once we have some idea of our departure date from Subic.
Thanks for your assistance. Your looking after us adds to our confidence.



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