1.   Passage to Marquesas emails

June 29, 2008

Marlin Way

We are on our way to Tahiti.  It's a 2 night/3 day passage going down wind.  Really can't complain about that.  The temp is cool enough that Paul and I have long sleave shirts and pants on.  That is one thing I failed to mention is the incredible temperature around here.  At night we are usually dressed and with sheets on.  I sometimes have to close my window!!!!  We have meet a few new cruisers from France and England.  All of us have caught huge Marlins on our lines.  We almost lost everything today but when it jumped we lost it.  There is no way we would have been able to get that monster in.  The French couple got two Marlin and everything (lure and line).  So, we have decided to name this section Marlin way.  We should be in Tahiti tomorrow early morning.  That would be 6 hours later for you guys on the East coast.  So, while you are digesting your lunch, we will just be watching the sun rise and coming into port.  We were going to opt out of Tahiti since it's just a large industrial port and we really didn't need anything but then we got wonderful news that Alex and Kristin will be coming to visit in Bora Bora and now I want to get some good stuff!!!!!  YEAH! 

We have just learned that a friend of ours that we didn't think to bump into again is here in Papeete, Tahiti.  Not sure if you remember I mentioned the Australian family, Da Mojo, on the 47 ft Catana that we met in Bocas Del Toro, Panama...  We also heard they were cruising with another family from the US with kids the same age as ours and have the same exact boat...imagine that!  Hope to meet them for the kids sake.  They love to make new friends.

Hope all is going well with you...  Hey, by the way, what's in the news???  Who is the Democrat candidate?  It's MaCain on the republican side, right?  Anything else I should know?  Been so far away from the news...

June 25, 2008

The island of Tahanea, Tuamotu

This island has gotten more Wow's out of us than any other.  We arrived here about four nights ago and we spent the first three near the passe (entrance) of the atoll.  The wind was almost non existent which made the water like glass.  This is the clearest water I have ever seen.  We opted not to snorkel around here since we have had a heavy shark presence!!!!  But, we did go fishing in the passe.  We started in about 80 foot of water and could see our bait go all the way to the bottom and we could see the fish hitting the bait.   The fish here are huge and plentiful considering that there is about 30 boats that visit every year and a small group of copra growers that come for the short season.  Every time we caught a fish (which was every drop) we had to change locations since the reef sharks started to group in the area.  The second time we moved I spotted a big shark near the surface and almost choked...It was a VERY LARGE Tiger shark.  He was gracefully moving along as we circled him.  We were all, happily, enjoying him from the view of our dingy!  As we got in front of the passe (entrance) the tide was slowly taking us out and we caught grouper...after snapper...after grouper.  We even spotted two big tunas in 80 foot of water but they are the Dogtooth tuna.  A species that are usually found in passes, and deep lagoons.  They, unfortunately, didn't hit our baits.  But, I have to say, I couldn't imagine having one of those on my spinning rod trying to land it on the dingy! 

The winds kicked up dramatically the night before last and our glassy water and calm anchorage when to a very bumpy one.  The wind was around 20 knots from the  SE coming from the opposite side of the atoll so we had a good wind chop.  We heard from another boat that there was some beautiful beaches on the SE end of the atoll so by morning we were up and at it.  5 miles and 10 reef patches later we had beautiful beaches, calm water to anchor and no sharks!  We played on the beaches and couldn't get our selves to leave.  Every turn of the motu was something different.  One side was bright blue water with beaches while the other side was exposed reef with the tide water rushing in and felt like you were walking on the moon.  The effect was incredible.  Paul and I saw the endangered Tuamotu sandpiper.  Apparently, there are only about 100 left in existence and are able to live here since there are no rats on the islands.  We love it here so much that we are thinking about passing on visiting Tahiti and spending more time here but our plans change constantly so I will keep you posted. 

June 22, 2008

4 Black tip Salut

We arrived in Tahanea, Tuamotu this afternoon at high sun and were welcomed by incredible beauty.  The water is clear and bright blue.  We were all excited to reach this untouched piece of paradise.  No one lives here!!!!  I take that back, Sharks live here!  While I was dropping anchor in front I heard the yells from the kids, "Sharks".  Not one, Not two, NOT THREE but 4 black tip sharks wanted to stop in an say welcome to their piece of the reef.  It was so much fun to watch them swim around the boat and grab some great pictures.  I dipped my hand into the water with the camera but got a bit freaked out when they started coming towards my hand in different directions.  I got a couple good pictures and video.  We got the kayak, careful not to tip over, and headed to the beach.  The Hermit crabs here are the size of your hand.  We are in search for nice, yummy, coconut crabs to go with dinner but not tonight.  Hamburgers are on the menu.  Need a break from all the seafood. 

June 21, 2008

We are on the move again....

We have finally heaved our anchor that was tangled in a web of rocks below and set out to a new home.  Leaving was just as nerve racking as it was coming in.  The sun was in my face and I couldn't read the water.  There are reefs everywhere inside the atoll and you have to come into the pass at a certain direction.  Hitting ground is not a option around here or in my book!  When we got to the pass the water was rushing out of the atoll.  This is the only cut in the whole circular reef.  Water rushes in and out at a speed of 8 knots...yes, I said 8.  That is about how fast our boat goes under power!  We did just fine and I was ready to throw in a line just as we cleared and drink a beer.  Paul did mention something like sails first and it's only 8 am and I said, "Oh, yeah". 

We will be underway for about 28 hours, downwind.  Our current wind is about 10 knots so we are motor sailing to get in at a decent hour.  We need to time the tides in the atolls to be able to get in or out (as mentioned above).

Yesterday, we went fishing and Paul caught a very large Camouflage grouper to add to our collection in the bucket.  Maybe because it was a full moon but the sharks were out!  First, Seanna spotted a big black tip circling the dingy when we were getting in and then the first grouper we pulled in got eaten by a shark and I had a fish on at the same time so I was really pulling fast to get my big snapper in.  We also saw tons of Sharks prowling the shallows of the reefs.  Pierre, I wish you were here!!!!!  You would just love the friggen fishing around here.  I made a cornmeal crusted grouper for lunch yesterday that was to die for...  Today we caught a Tuna and I cooked that up for dinner.  Paul put me on fish probation in the kitchen...I guess fish everyday for lunch is okay but throwing it in for dinner was tops for him.  Seanna and Paul were both wishing for my traditional Cheeseburger underway.  I promised them both fresh baked rolls with juicy cheeseburgers for dinner tomorrow night.  The Tuna was darn good tonight so Paul didn't complain to much.  I made a Thai peanut sauce for the noodles and then I cut the tuna in squares added sesame oil and hoisen and threw them in a very hot pan for a few seconds.  The fish topped the noodles and put the sauce over the top.  I was going to add green peppers and chopped cabbage but they were both growing hair in the fridge so I had to make it simple.  I am down to my last carrot then all we have is canned.  Rough life, eh! 

June 17, 2008

Remora Bay

My favorite part of traveling like this is all the different cultures we have come across.  Having children and visiting less traveled spots have also given us a much warmer welcome.  Just yesterday, a local name Gilles, that we befriended here on the island of Rarioa, came to visit with his 2 friends on their unique style Kayaks (total atoll population about 75).  It is long and sleek with a little pontoon off the side for stability.  He jumped out of it and made me race the others.  I had such a blast.  He is about my age and both arms are covered with the local style tattoos.  He is into fitness and eating what comes from the land and the ocean...which means, fish, crab and coconuts.  Two days ago another local caught wind that I had a stalk of bananas on the boat and came over to present me with a beautiful black pearl about the size of a nickel.  All he wanted was 8 bananas!!!!!  Nuts!!!  He invited us to go visit his other island here on the atoll to go spear fishing and hunting for big coconut crabs.  Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and we had to pass but he came back after and gave us a huge surge grouper, two spotted unicorn fish and three large coconut crabs.  He free dives up to about 75 feet for the groupers and says he has to get the fish out quick before the sharks see him (he already lost 3 spear guns to the sharks in the past and doesn't want to lose anymore).  Even after all that he still gives some fish to us....they are so giving.  The fish here are much different than I am used to.  It's a lot of fun to go snorkeling to see the different species they have but the darn sharks still spook me.  We saw three sharks in a 20 minute snorkel off a reef right by the boat.  Makes you think what else it out there.

Today, we went and did some fishing on the dingy and caught two nice Ambon snappers and two camouflage groupers.  I guess you can guess what we had for lunch!  We will leave here when the wind blows us and plan to head to Tahanea, Tuamotu.  It is about 180 miles from here.  It is an uninhabited atoll that we heard was just spectacular.  Gilles jokes with us about the size of the coconut crabs that we will get there...he says it's the grandpa's.  Since no one lives on this atoll he said just be ready for really big fish and crabs.  YUM! 

The view here is just picture perfect.  We are in a lagoon about 10 miles long and 5 miles wide.  It is completely surrounded by a reef and has some patches of land with palm trees.  We are anchored in between two reefs in the lagoon and have a beach and palms just behind where the sun sets.  Every picture I take still make me sigh!  There are a about 40 atolls in the Tuamotu and not all have a pass to get into them and not even half are populated.  You are really on your own out here!  This atoll just started a Pearl farm 9 years ago and before that they never had a plane land on the island.  We have been here for a week and have not seen another boat.  Our friends, BeBe, went to an atoll that was an easier passage and easier to get into but they have not had the same experience we have.  Sometime you really must "pay your dues" to experience something incredible. 

P.S.  We nicknamed this place remora bay since we are loaded with Remoras under the boat...Where there are remoras there are sharks....  For those of you who asked me what a remora is...It's a shark sucker.  They are the fish that attach themselves to sharks.

June 13, 2008

Kura Ora

I guess I will be learning a new way to say hello in every set of islands we go to.  We finally made it to our destination and happy to be just relaxing.

Speaking French has been a big advantage to us really enjoying the people and the island.  Everyone speaks French and their local language.  Yesterday we went for a tour of the Pearl farm here.  The S. Pacific are known for the most expensive black pearls.  We watched the whole operation and was quite impressed.  I can now see why they are expensive.  I am not a huge pearl lover so it's not a must have for me but a local man who harvest his own gave me a couple as a gift.  It was really nice.  They are very giving people and don't ask for much but love to receive.  Funny thing is I traded for a stalk of bananas that were too big for just us and Paul said, "what are we going to do with all of those" when we were still in the Marquesas.  The locals here came up to the boat and you can see them eyeing them with watering mouths so I have been passing them out.  They are soooo excited.  They live off fish, coconuts, rice, flour for bread and that is all.  Not much variety but them seem content with that.  They can't grow much but cucumbers and melons since it's just sand and rock.  Speaking of cucumbers...we have never seen so many sea cucumbers in one place.  One the beach there are hundreds of them and Paul saw the biggest one he has ever seen (about 4 feet long and 1 foot thick). 

Paul has nicknamed this section of the atoll "Remora bay" because we are swarmed with Remoras.  My motto is...where there are remoras there are sharks, yikes.  The local here name Gilles told me the are used to humans on this side of the atoll but on the unpopulated end they are more curious.  They like to come up to you and bump you...OH great!!!  Thanks for the info...Now I AM NOT JUMPIN IN!!!!!!  AUUUGGGHHHHH.  Paul went snorkeling yesterday and right when he got into the water he popped back up and said, "Black tip".  I will really have to work against my fear cause the reef and tropical fish look really nice from up top. 

The wind has calmed down and we plan on getting some much deserved R&R after that rough passage.

June 11, 2008

Thank you all so much for the beautiful birthday wishes.  My birthday isn't one for the memory books, though!  It has been a rough and we are taking a beating out here.  It is a 350 mile passage to this set of islands.  To get to the nice ones that are not as populated you need to take a harder beat into the wind and waves.  We decided to go for it.  We have been double reefed on the main and triple reefed on the gib.  Even with that little sail out we can go up to 8 knots.  Tonight the wind has been steady at 28 to 30 but it is supposed to settle...  It did last night and we thought we would have a nice rest of our passage but that was just wishful thinking.  The kids have been real troopers.  We are looking forward to seeing land this morning.  The kids had a celebration...Yeah, one more sleep and we get to the beach.  I just look around and think of how much I need to clean up.  The window in the guest room was windward and just found out it was leaking.  The bed is saturated with salt water....Gee, I love sailing.  hehe. 

A congrats to you Nataly on your graduation.  I am so happy for you.  You can come celebrate your graduation out here in Tahiti!!! :). 

I will write you more when I get there. 

P.S. In case any of you want to google where we are going it's an island called Raroia.  You will probably get something back also on Kon Tiki.  The raft that a swedish man named Thor Heyerdahl sailed from Peru back in the 40's to prove migration.  He ran aground here and it was the end of his trip.  I have the book somewhere....I will try and find it and read it.

June 8, 2008

Ka O ha,

How many languages can you say hello????  Ka O'ha, I am spelling it the way it sounds.  We spent the past three nights on Oa Pou, Marquesas.  The passage to here was downwind with very steep waves about 8 to 10 feet.  We sailed very comfortably until we rounded the south side of the island then we had some strong wind gust from the mountains and then as we rounded the point to our anchorage we were on the nose with steep waves (luckily, it only lasted about 10 minutes).  The anchorage looked opened and exposed but as we rounded the bend we didn't care what the conditions were...the view was incredible.  Hard to describe but it is large mountains with large "tiki's" sticking up to the clouds.  They are very tall and steep points that shoot out of the mountain reaching up into points that touch the clouds and sometimes hidden by them.  We heard there were a few rock climbers that came out one year and reached the top on the steepest one.  Not the kind of thrill I am willing to look for but amazed that someone can.  Well, like I mentioned earlier, the anchorage was a bit rolly so we planned on spending our day on land and "scope it out".  Not even 2 minutes down the road and a local by the name of Holler-pronounced Ho'LEr (real name Hokaupoko) He is 28 and both arms are full on local tattoos and looks like a surfer.  He invites us to his home and we accept.  We climbed the mountain to his flat that over looks the bay.  Most locals here have a kitchen/dining area outside the house.  We sat and chit chatted about how beautiful the view was and other things when he just started cooking.  So, he's a cute surfer looking guy and he likes to cook, wow!  He even showed us his "Herb" garden and used some for lunch.  We got to his house at 10am and we didn't get back to the boat till 8pm.  We had such a great time. 

Maybe the boys had to much "Herb and beer" cause they made plans to go fishing the next morning at 6am.  Did I say it was windy and rough.  Oh well, I am staying on the boat with the kids so it's up to them.  We will be up at Holler's house again today. 

We are now underway to the Tuamotus islands about 300+ miles south of the Marquesas and it's a bit rough.  We are trying to get to there during daylight hours so we are only doing 6 knots.  As I was typing this last line a 40 knot gust of wind in front of a squall hit us.  Good thing we were already reefed in the main and had about handkerchief of gib out.  Sounds like this is a normal occurrence out here but it's a first for us.  I am happy we were prepared. 

June 1, 2008

You are all on my mind today and Grandma is in my heart.  I hope that everyone was able to say goodbye in their own way.  Today, the kids and I looked at pictures of Grandma and talked about her. 

We are still at Manta Bay (so we have named it) but it's actually something completely different.  Every morning the mantas are out if full force.  Today I swam with two bigger ones.  I tried to bring my camera but they were kinds shy today and it was murky.  We were only going to stay here two nights but can't get ourselves to lift the anchor.  Today we went out bottom fishing with the dingy and caught an 2 nice Peacock Groupers, 2 Red snappers, 1 Humpback snapper, and 1 yellow lip Emperor all in the matter of 1 hour.  And the fish were not small, my wrist hurts from pulling the rod up!!!  It was fun!  When we go fishing we always drift out since the wind is pretty strong lately.  On every drift, we caught a fish or two and then a big manta would swim by.  I asked Paul to pinch me to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  We are getting the kids back on a routine and discipline.  We have slacked in the past two months.  We have started school and will start Monday and do the week.  Merric is starting to buck a bit in school now and looses interest but everyday it's 10 minutes longer.  Seanna is a bit slow on the letters but blows Merric away in Math.  Paul was shocked today when I had him do a drill with the kids.  Seanna kept blurting out the correct answers while Merric was whining.  But, then when it comes to letter and reading Merric has always been stronger.  I will work on their strengths and weaknesses to make them great!  I have to learn not to get frustrated and just move on or stop for a break and then start with something else.  Merric has been stuttering like crazy and we are trying to get him to slow down.  Genevieve, if you can talk to your speech therapist to see if there are any exercises we can do.  I am doing great!  probably the best I have ever been.  I am really happy that we made the jump.  I was really getting tired of Panama and needed some new excitement.  Every set of islands we are going to are so different.  The Marquesas are high mountains with dramatic views, the tuamotu island are low and surrounded by reefs, then we get to bora bora and Tahiti and it's high mountains again but these are surrounded by reefs that circle the island.  Very cool.  I love being with my family and just us.  We have not even said hello to the boats in the anchorage cause we are all enjoying our time together.  Funny how we all feel the same.  Seanna literally jumped off the dingy by herself today to swim with the mantas and then we couldn't get her back in.  Merric and Paul say a 5 foot black tip shark...good thing it wasn't me but I better start getting used to them cause they are abundant out here.  No spear fishing for Paul!!!! Momma won't allow that!  Unless, I am just above him in the dingy at all times and he bring the fish up ASAP then we move locations.  Can't be to careful. 

I better stop rambling or this email will never get out.

May 30, 2008

We have been really enjoying out stay so far in the Marquesas.  Today was one for the memory books...

We are at a nice little beach with big surf.  Yesterday we took the kayak to the beach and didn't time it right...we ended up taking a nose dive right into the beach and flipped.  The kids thought that was fun!  I just wanted to make sure we didn't get hit by the kayak. We couldn't stop laughing.  Afterwards, Paul went into the bush behind the beach and came back with a few dozen limes, two grapefruits and a nice big coconut.  What a garden of Eden!

I woke up this morning to one big happy family and as I was enjoying my coffee outside I notice a few swirls in the water.  I said, "Paul, look at the fin".  I wasn't sure if it was a shark or a manta.  Of course, I was really hoping for Mantas cause my dream is to swim with them.  So, Paul, being the brave soul that he is got into the kayak and paddled over.  I watched as he carefully tried to snorkel and peek under to see what it was.  I am guessing if it was a big shark he wasn't interested in swimming with it but as he got further away and all of a sudden he jumped I was getting my gear ready.  After waiting for about 10 minutes he came back with a huge smile on his face.  He said there was 5 to 6 Mantas and they were swimming around and coming right for him before turning off.  Oh my god!!!! My dream come true.  He brought us to the place and I jumped in with my babies.  Wow! Wow! they started swimming around us and Seanna had a major death grip on me while Merric was just in awe.  I was speechless.  One of them flipped over and show us his belly just under our feet while most of them would come right for us.  We were right in the middle of the plankton so they would just circle us.  I was too happy to cry!  Just beautiful.  They had about a 6 foot wing span and were dark blackish gray on top and white on the undersides.  They stayed around for a few hours and I could have spent the whole day watching them. 

Just before lunch time I asked Paul if we could go fishing with the dingy and try to catch fish for lunch.  We headed out of the anchorage and saw a few birds circling.  Paul cast out a line with a hook and tuna for bait.  Not even 30 seconds later Paul got a hit and a Mahi Mahi flew out of the water.  WOW!  We started to head back into the anchorage to try and fish for snapper and an even larger Manta came by the dingy.  The wing span on this one was about 10 feet.  I am not making this up guys...I am just as shocked writing this...  We had Poisson Cru and Mahi on the grill for lunch.  Paul loved my Poisson Cru so much we went back out fishing at sunset and caught another large snapper for lunch tomorrow.  What we are catching is called a (or so my book states) Yellow lip Emperor.  If anyone wants to google it for me to see if it's edible before we eat too much of them please do. 

We are trying to decide if we are going to move tomorrow but we are in no rush.  We just got here and stopped moving.

May 27^, 2008

We are on a little island just off Hiva Oa and have been enjoying the beach and getting fresh limes and grapefruits out of the trees.  BeBe is still around and have went over to Fatu Hiva which is just beautiful.  We were boarded today by the customs and they went through a bunch of stuff.  Luckily, they didn't find our rum or we would have lost most of that!!!!! 

May 26, 2008

This is what we sailed 4000 miles for!  We arrived in Fatu Hiva at 7:30 am.  The scene was dramatic, steep, foggy and mystic.  We rounded the corner expecting to see a village but what we saw was more steep volcanic rock.  Three boats were anchored off the village which we couldn't see in the little slit of a valley they lived in.  Once we dropped the dingy and pulled behind a steep rock did we see the village.  Amazing....just like the people.  We quickly made friends with other boats and local families.  We found our best bargaining power came from our beer and rum.  We traded for beautiful Pareos, wood carvings and huge grapefruits.  This place is like the garden of Eden with fruit and flowers everywhere you turn.  The day we arrived they were having a celebration...how lucky were we!  They had the girls dressed up in their grass skirts, heads surrounded by wonderful flowers and the band played with hand made instruments.  They danced and sang for us for about an hour.  Click, Click goes the camera!!!!! 

Last night we had dinner at the family we befriended...Poisson Cru, boiled bananas, breadfruit, coconut milk chicken, rice and a wonderful lemon cake.  Just wonderful people!!!!!  We are on our way to Hiva Oa as I type...will fill you in on that later.

May 24, 2008

When you get this email we will have one more day left before we arrive in Fatu Hiva, Marquesas.  Yes, I am still out here (19 days)!  I know it seems like forever ago I said we were on our way.  The excitement is over but the anticipation has started.  I am ready to get there and stop the movement.  3823 miles done since we left panama and 160 left to go.  We have decided to slow down our pace at a whopping 4 knots so that we will arrive during daylight hours Friday morning.  We are now 4 hours ahead of Florida and when we reach the Marquesas we need to go back  another 1/2 hour.  It's the only place we know of that changes their time zone by half.  The time change is what me feel even further away.

Things here have been slow since we caught the 50 lb tuna.  Just today, Paul was allowed to put the lines in for Mahi or Wahoo and we had two strikes but no takers.  There was a sigh of relief and no one even jumped up to see what it might be.  We made an incredible Coquille St. Jacques with Tuna, clams, escargot, mushrooms and green beans.  It was awesome!!!  We are living large on the high seas and my freezer is still fully stocked.  We were laughing at the table setting cause we never pictured ourselves having lunches like this...white wine in a wine glass sitting on the table with full table setting, outside with the sails up.  It has been paradise and truly has been "pacific".  Oh, I also made an incredible balsamic roasted pepper sauce to go with our grilled Tuna yesterday...Pierre remind me to make you this one day!!!!

Some very sad news came my way yesterday that my grand mother passed away.  On that same day, just as I was sitting down for dinner, an amazing shooting star came down right in front of me.  It had a red tail behind it that lasted a few seconds.  It was still quite early in the night to see them and the moon was full so we didn't expect that.  We called it a sign from her saying goodbye.  I will miss her terribly....

Our current position is 9.51 S  136.06 W for any of you that are tracking us on Google earth.

May 16, 2008

The weirdest thing happened to me while I was in line at Starbucks this morning.  There was this older bearded guy in front of me ordering and picking up his cup of coffee when I looked beyond and the guy behind the counter look sooo familiar.  As the older guy when out the door I stepped up to place my order.  The man behind the counter looked at me with smiling eyes and tilted his head to the side.  Hum, maybe he knows me too.  Feeling the heat between us I started to get a little nervous and decided to break the tension and place my order.  "I'll have a double, grande, skim, caramel macchiato, extra hot, with whipped cream", I said in my sexy just woke up voice.  I never broke eye contact and completed my line but now he was looking at me like I lost my marbles.  Wait, that wasn't the expression I was working for...  He didn't say a word but started to back away from the coffee machine.  I said, "wait, I have money to pay for that".  Again, he had these eyes on me that said a million words and started to grab my favorite coffee cup.  What? What? I started to feel self consious, do I have a booger in my nose, is there sleep in my eyes, What?  The guy behind the counter said, "Wake up Michele, we are 3000 miles in the middle of nowhere."  He then placed a warm cup of strong, bitter coffee in my hand and said, "This is the closest thing to starbucks honey".

Things here are still the same.  We are offically 2/3 done.  We have less than 1000 miles to go.

Oh, and we caught two more Mahi Mahi yesterday….Yeah more fish on the menu. UGH! 

7.17.56S  124.01.60W

May 14, 2008

We are still chasing the sun and in search for the perfect sunset.  We have seen two green flashes but I have yet to have a sunset top the one I loved the most in the Bahamas.  Our days are just routine out here but I am starting to look forward to getting there.  SOOOOOOO much water out here.  We have spotted a two Japanese fishing boats out here with long lines.  Wow, talk about a long way to get tuna for sushi.  I remember watching a documentary on the over fishing of Tuna near their shore lines.  Well, if that is true they are now going over 6000 miles to fish. 

We have about 6 more days out here....  I really can't complain since the wind has been light and the ocean is almost flat.  Yesterday, I cleaned up a few compartments and wiped out a couple cabinets.  We have to keep an eye open for mold on the boat since the humidity gets into our clothes and things and creates a perfect home for mold.  So far, we have been doing great.  We run the air every few days to dry out the boat and sheets. 

I can officially say I am addicted to Sudoku.  Gerry taught me how to do it and everyday I try to complete one or more.  I am now on Medium!!!! 

The kids have been doing great using their imagination, doing school, playing together and watching movies down below.  I haven't given Merric any seasick medicine for the past 10 days.  I gave him one pill since we left the Galapagos and I am not sure if he was really sick or just tired since it was the evening.  I am so happy since that was the main thing keeping me up at night before we left.  I didn't want to have to drug up my son the whole way.  He has actually outdone me in being able to go down below in the bedroom to watch a movie when it's really rough.  AMAZING!  Seanna on the other had is our just pure entertainment and sass!  She runs the show here and that's the truth.  Man, I love my kids. 

Tonight is going to be an easy night with light winds and following seas.  The pacific is just great!  I am so happy we came.  I wrote in my personal journal the other day on how I used to fear the night watches and dread them.  Fear things I can not control like weather, whales, semi submerged containers ect...  But, I had to put it into perspective.  I didn't fear going on 1-95 everyday to Miami for work and there are more chances of a serious car accident than anything happening out here.  It's amazing how things change... I now look forward to them.  The day the last locks opened up at the panama canal was like my rebirth.  I don't want to be plagu