--First to Bluewater's admiral and crew: Judy has done a 

  --To crewmember George Howerton.  He fits right in, shoulders 

  --To the other Med Bound yachts and their crews: Moana Kuewa, 

 --To Pacific Asian Enterprises and especially to Jim Leishman, 

Noon Report June 25 2007 Position 38-23.1 N 29-23.7 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs) Monday, June 25, 2007 Course 092 deg M Speed 7.5 kts @ 2100 RPM Distance to go: 34 NM to Horta, Faial, Azores Distance made good past 24 hours: 164 NM (6.8 kts) Distance made good since Bermuda: 1784 NM Total fuel consumed (287 engine hours) 1215 gals, average 4.2 GPH (incl. genset), fuel remaining 265 gal. Conditions: Wind NE 11 kts, swells N 2-3, partly cloudy, visibility excellent Barometer 1035.2 mb and steady Sea water temp 69 deg F, air temp 72 deg F. ETA Horta: 1730 today Land-ho! The Azores are tall volcanic islands with steep drop-offs right offshore, and they remind us very much of Hawaii-tall, bold, green, with everything bigger than life. The channel between the islands of Faial, to port, and Pico, to starboard, is dead ahead on the horizon. Clouds and just a touch of haze obscure the islands, and we are not able to see the top of Pico's 7,700-foot peak, but the wide, deep channel is easy to pick out. The navigation waypoint we've been steering for since Bermuda coming up right on schedule; it's 32 miles due east of us. And we don't have to change course even a single degree! Our trip has been so pleasant and uneventful that I am humbled and almost embarrassed by the thought that we are following in the wake of thousands of others who have made this passage in conditions far more arduous. I'm sure the Med Bound fleet has had an easier, more comfortable trip than most yachts-with better weather to boot. Although I never reminded my crew, it's a rare eastbound passage to the Azores that doesn't see at least one gale. Yet over the last 1,800 miles we've never seen wind over 30 knots! When we left Bermuda on June 13, we expected a trip of 12 days. And here we are, 12 days later, making landfall right on schedule. That's something I very much like about passagemaking under power-it's a lot more orderly and predictable than passagemaking under sail. Looking ahead, 12 days seemed like an incredibly long passage. Looking back, it seems like nothing. Chris Samuelson, owner and skipper of the Nordhavn 57 Goleen, who crossed in his boat with the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally, e-mailed the Med Bound fleet earlier today with good wishes. "Today you will arrive at Horta and will have crossed the Atlantic Ocean on your own bottoms," said Chris. "Well done. The last leg to Gibraltar is still Atlantic but you are really in EU waters . . . Congratulations to your crew and to the other two crews and skippers." We look forward to joining up with Chris and his admiral, Sonaia, for some Med cruising next month. I don't want to get maudlin, but Chris is right: we have indeed crossed the major part of the Atlantic now, and Europe lies ahead. Crossing the Atlantic as skipper of my own yacht has been a goal of mine for many years, and it feels very good indeed to be on the cusp of fulfilling that. To be honest, Judy and I briefly considered shipping Bluewater to the Mediterranean on one of the dock ships-in the end, however, I was sure I'd never be satisfied if we didn't cross on our own bottom. I often reflect on the idea that in the final analysis, it's the things you DON"T do that most of us regret far more than the things we DO. The past 24 hours have been exactly as weather router Bob Jones predicted: flat, calm, and under the influence of very high pressure. A NE wind popped up overnight to provide a little surface chop, but our single stabilizer fin is handling that with aplomb and we're very comfortable aboard Bluewater. From all reports, it's very much the same aboard Moana Kuewa and Salty Dawg-comfortable, contented crews very much looking forward to landfall. David notes that Dani's nose is in the air and she can sense the land nearby. Katy, on the other hand, is far more interested in the lunch Judy is preparing for us and has no idea that, after 12 days at sea, she's mere hours away from finding a patch of grass. I've exchanged e-mails over the past 24 hours with Marco Quadros, our agent in Horta, and just spoke with him on the satellite phone. As much as we would like to have all three yachts together in the new marina, that's not going to happen. We have to recognize that this is the busiest time of the year for the marina at Horta with literally thousands of yachts visiting during May, June and July. The upshot is that Bluewater and Moana Kuewa will be berthed on the quay wall at the old marina, and Salty Dawg will be in the new marina, a 10-minute walk away. The quay (pronounced "key" by the way) is the same wall where the Delta 70 Zopilote laid when I joined Bruce and Joan Kessler in 1988 for my first Atlantic crossing. It's also where Judy and I visited with Steve and Karyn James aboard Threshhold when we were in the Azores for the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally in 2004. In a sense, this is like coming home! Before closing, let me do a few salutes: --First to Bluewater's admiral and crew: Judy has done a fantastic job of organizing, preparing and getting ready for this trip--the logistics were overwhelming. And she has put up with a cantankerous skipper and needy dog for over 1,000 miles to Bermuda and another 1,800 miles to the middle of the Atlantic. A skipper could not ask for a better mate and a husband could never have a better wife and partner! --To crewmember George Howerton. He fits right in, shoulders more than his share of the load, and is one terrific shipmate. It's good to go to sea with people you like, and we really like and admire George. --To the other Med Bound yachts and their crews: Moana Kuewa, with skipper Chris Bauman, mate Bernie Francis, and crewmembers Dave and Mary Ann Plumb; and Salty Dawg, with skipper David and admiral Lowie Bock and crewmembers Dennis and Esther Bruckel. You guys all made traveling together on a passage all it's cracked up to be! --To Pacific Asian Enterprises and especially to Jim Leishman, Amy Zahra and Jenny Stern: Our deepest thanks for all you've done to make Med Bound 2007 such a terrific and memorable event for those of us taking part. As I've said many times, we could not have done it without you. Lots to do to get ready for landfall so I'll quit here and get this off. We expect to be in Horta for about a week, and this will be our last report until we are ready to depart Horta. --Milt, Judy, George and Schipperke Katy -- Milt Baker Bluewater Nordhavn 47 #32 http://www.bluewaternav.com A compilation of reports from Med Bound 2007 may be viewed at <http://www.nordhavn.com>. Click on Med Bound 2007.

http://www.mhi.co.jp/enews/e_0983.html http://www.top-yachts.co.uk/index.cfm/superyachts/LuxuryYachts.AntiRollGyros http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti_rolling_gyro http://www.ferretti-yachts.com/boats_dealers/innovation/anti_rolling_gyro_sy stem.htm http://www.promaxmarine.com/ARG/index.htm Thorstein Midttun NORNA