We are making good progress as we sail north on our way back home. As of 4:45PM PDT, we are at latitude 24 deg 08 min N, longitude 157 deg 10 min W, about 167 nautical miles north of Kaneohe. We are sailing north, at a  speed of 7-8 kts (this varies, of course). The winds are about 20 kts from the east, and the seas are about 6-8 ft. 

Some of our crew have had to adjust to the motion of the blue sea, but they are starting to get their sea legs. There hasn’t been a lot of gourmet cooking so far, the fare being stuff like saltine crackers, granola bars, and lots of liquid. 

Last night we had clear skies in between the squalls. The moon was with us for a while, and after it set the stars and planets shone brilliantly, mirroring the phosphorescent sea creatures in our wake. Several bright meteorites streaked overhead, and we are eagerly anticipating the upcoming Pleades (sp?) shower.

This afternoon we were visited by our friends from the “Skinny Dragons” Orion P-3 squadron, commanded by Jack Thomas. Earlier in the A.M. we emailed them our position, course and speed, and using this they located us about 150 miles north of Kaneohe. They made several low-level passes, then contacted us on our VHF radio. We turned on our radar to give them a chance to practice wirh what we presume to be some top-secret tracking apparatus. This was all very exciting! Thank You, Skinny Dragons.

The day progresses, the squalls disappear, the sun shines, the sea sparkles, and we sail for home.

-Paul