Aloha from the crew of VALIS! We are watching the sun set on another medium-adventure day here in the Pacific, and what a sunset it is. All day we have been seeing rainbows, because squalls are usually accompanied by rain. Twice today we have had mild deck-washers, which some of the crew used to their own advantage, personal-hygiene-wise. Between the mild squalls the skies ave been clear, the air warm, and the sun bright.

Today Steve put out the fishing line again, and we trolled for most of the day with no luck. Just as we were deciding on what to have for dinner, Steve and Paul reeled in a very nice Mahi-Mahi. We quickly anesthetized it with our spray-bottle of rum, and took a photo for posterity and bragging rights (33 inches). Steve skillfully divided the fish into steaks, which we had, along with beef steaks, for dinner (along with a three-bean and red cabbage salad). There is enough fish left for tacos at lunch tomorrow.

During last night’s watch we continued to play music in the cockpit. It was really a magical night, with clear skies filled with more stars than most people ever see. The Milky Way was magnificent, the shooting stars streaking across the sky. Later the moon rose, illuminating the patchy clouds with its glow. During my watch the music took a turn into some great keyboard-driven jazz, and as we sailed past a brightly fishing boat the evening was perfect.

We have just turned on the mast-top tri-color (navigation light), with Michael and John on watch. Steve is in the cockpit with them, his watch starting at 10:30PM. I come on watch at midnight, replacing John. At 1:20AM Alan spells Steve, and at 3:00AM Rich takes over for me. We stand three-hour watches, with two on watch at all times. Every 1-1/2 hours one person comes off watch ad another comes on, giving us a staggered watch system. Because Michael runs the fixed-schedule radio net, this counts as one watch, and this creats a schedule that shifts from day to day. The benefit of this is that nobody gets stuck standing the same watch every night, but it also means that we need to refer to a new watch schedule every day.

We now have 472 miles to go to the finish line — getting close!

-Paul