After talking with John Ford, I have changed my plans about how to
post the record of our Pacific crossing on Flat Earth. Rather than
compressing 17 days of cruising into one dry summary full of
statistics, I and combining my daily email updates to our friends and
families into four or five posts for PUP.  This will give a much more
intimate account of the passage and a good look at what life aboard
our boat for 17 days was like.  My crew was my brother who is my co-
captain and engineer and his best friend and former business partner
from Orlando.  I hope that the group finds this format more enjoyable
than the dry summary I had originally planned.

6/6:

We are currently 50 miles North of Oahu.  We are also North of Kauii
and quite a bit to the East of it.  The ride is uncomfortable, but we
expected that.  Rick and Chris are asleep below in their bunks with
the airconditioning on.We expect a bad ride for at least the next
three days.

We are running at 1100 RPM which gives us our best fuel consumption.
We take whatever speed that gives us. 6 kts is an indicator that it is
rough.  Mechanically, Flat Earth is running like the well oiled
machine she is. Fuel contamination had been a problem in the past, but
not now.  I had Rick change the primary fuel filters only they had
been in there since the Marquesas last year.  When they are submerged
in fuel for that long, they can become soft and get torn.  The new
filters are running at a very low vacuum pressure which means no
contamination.  Rick's new design for the hydraulic pump is running
flawlessly.  With the old design, we would have had to change a belt
or tighten it at the least by now.  Belt dust, which is another
indicator of wear, has been greatly reduced.  The stuffing box, which
seals out water around the shaft from getting into the boat is working
properly now.  It is supposed to drip at a certain number of drips per
minute, but we have had trouble getting any drip out of it since Flat
Earth was new.  I purchased a new high tech stuffing material made by
the Gore Company of Goretex fame.  We also only use two layers of
stuffing instead of three and it is dripping just fine now.

I welcomed Chris  into the world of "Ground Hog Day".  "What?" he
asked.  "Ground Hog Day";  you know, just like the movie where Bill
Murray wakes up and every day is just like the last one.

22 28.5N  158 10.2W

wind 060/17 kts.  Although that is a little suspect.  We have taken
the anemometer apart twice in recent months because it didn't opeate.
It needs to be replaced.

Seas: 10' seas on the beam from the East to NE.  uncomfortable but
doable.

Heading 350    COG 340 to 345M  there must be current.  We had been
maintaining 010M with a COG of 000M but turned a little West so crew
could sleep better.

SOG: 5.8 to 6.0 kts.

It looks like our wx is dominated by a high to the NE of us at about
30N and 150W.  I would like to get through the winds and seas
generated from the East on the South side of this high and head
thropugh the high or up the back side of it if it stays in place.

6/7

Not much to report today.  Everything is normal and working well.
Well. OK, I'm not working too much!  We had our usual latches not
working and opening spontaneously as they dumped their contents out
onto the floor.  Chris got his first experience cleaning up messes as
the main door to the refrigerator came loose and deposited the
contents all over the galley.  After cleaning up the mess, he managed
to do what I had not been able to do last cruise in several attemps:
fix the latch so that it would stay shut.

The temperature has been very mild and pleasant.  I didn't even turn
the air conditioner on last night even though the generator was
running for the forward cabins.  The cool air is quite a relief in
comparison to the heat we experienced last year crossing the equator.
We watched our first DVD tonight, Iron Man, and I will setr up my
laptop for Rick and Chris to watc a DVD on their watches.  Since the
waves have smoothed out a little, I fixed out first full blown
dinner.  We had egg noodles and BBQ'd beef short ribs.  Even Rick had
a little.

We ar keeping an eye on some developing low pressure areas to the
north and west of us about 900 miles.  They will become gales.  I am
hoping that the high pressure centers in the area we are now located
will push them to the North East and out of our way.

11:30 PM 7 June

position:24 21.5N    157 01.2W

COG- 030M  spent several hours at6 040M but sea got a little worse so
I turned back to 030M

Speed-  6 kts  Wind - 070/16kts

Seas - smoothed out a little  to six foot waves at 24N as predicted.
After dark picked back up again.

6/8  11:49 PM HST

Great day today.  Almost a smooth ride ... very comfortable.  The
temperature is almost perfect, too.  We are at the end of the first
three days and Rick and I have YET to change our first belt or
filter.  Everything is running perfectly.

At the request of our weather router, we have maintainjed a more
Northerly course to inercept a point 29N 155W before we turn back to
the East.  Both Rick and Chris have been monitoring the weather faxes
with me and see no reason we can't turn East now.  I submitted the
"why question" to Susan Genette, our weather person.

Today was so smooth that Chris put out fishing lines today.  Within
the first hour he got a hit.  We stopped the boat and the fish
promptly got off the hook.  The fish followed the lure right up to
the boat and tried to hit the lure again.  Chris could see that it was
a nice sized Mahi.  Over the course of the next two hours, Chris got a
total of four hits, all with the same result: no fish for dinner.  He
saw one of the Mahi jump clear out of the water.  It was a beautiful
fish and may have neen the one that straightened Chris' hook out.  We
also got a hit from our first flying fish this evening.  I think that
he was aimiong for me.  He hist the side window in the pilot house
right where I was sitting.  I don't hold grudges, though.  Despite his
assasination attempt, I was able to grab him and toss him back in the
ocean alive.

We had lasagna for dinner along with baked cinnamon apples.  The DVD
player is becoming a nightly staple, all except for me because I'm on
watch.

More tomorrow,    Phil, Chris, and Rick

Course 010M headed for 29N 155W  speed - 6.5 kts

Position - 26 36.8N  155 57.5W

Wind 059/9.5 Kts.  Seas: 4 to 6 feet, very comfortable ride.

There were a few small showers around us earlier, but none hit us.

6/09  This is unbelievable and flotsome and jetsome!

Position:  29 06.5N    154 20.8W  COG - 060M  speed:  currently is
6.5 kts  (While we were headed North, I kicked up the rpm's by 200 and
we were able to make 7.8 to 8.0 knots.  I even saw as much as 8.2
knots.  When we turned the corner our speed dropped off and the
heading was not quite so favorable so I pulled engine speed back to
1100 RPM which is our most economical.)

Wind - 109M/10kts  Seas - 2 to 4 feet with almost no wind waves.  very
smooth.

There have been some very light (mist) showers in the area. We have
turned the corner and are heading to the next waypoint at 32N  140W.

Jean and Frank:  Rick says that you guys would not believe how the
trip is going so far.  I thought that the ride yesterday was good, but
today, it was absolutely SMO-O-OTH.  Rick just keeps shaking his head
and says, "This can't be happening.  It just doesn't work like
this!"    Chris says, "This is like boating on a lake."  I say, "Jean
and Frank should be here to enjoy this!"

The water is smooth and everything on the boat is working 100%.  We
haven't even had to restart the computer yet. Even the automatic
shutdown functions of the water maker are both working now ... Thanks
PJ, it must have had something to do with the bad LCD unit.    The
temperature is even perfect.  Normally, I am elated if I can keep both
doors to the pilot house open; however, at night it gets a little
chilly so I have to close one.  Day time temperatures have been 75F.

We have found the infamous refuse pile of the Pacific Ocean.  Anyone
who has PBS or National Geographic Channel knows that there is a huge
pile of floating flotsome and jetsome trapped by currents in the
middle of the Pacific.  It consists of non-biodegradable trash like
styrofoam, water bottles, and floats from fishing nets.  It is usually
trapped somewhere in the Pacific High pressure area.  Guess where we
are!  This stuff isn't exactly piled right on top of each other; but
every 10 minutes or so, we see another piece of trash floating by.
We've seen several styrofoam coolers, lots of water bottles  ... Chris
even saw "Wilson" from the movie "Castaway" float by.  Wilson was a
soccer ball for those of you who have not seen the movie.  We even saw
a piece of Samsonite luggage float by (That would be from another Tom
Hanks movie "Joe vs the Volcano").

We had steak fajitas tonight and will take advantage of the smooth
water tomorrow to charcoal broil steaks and baked potatoes.

We are now more than 500 miles North of Oahu and turned more to the
East on the recommendation of our weather router.  Currently, we are
headed toward 32N and 140W, a point some 760 NM in our future.  I'm
sure that there will be further course changes, but if we maintain
this heading, I could arrive in Park City in another three weeks (via
Monterey, Ca.). The smooth conditions are forecast to last through
Friday with tomorrow (Wednesday) being the best.  Then on Saturday, we
can expect a frontal passage and about 24 hours of not so comfortable
conditions (read as "normal").

Another thing that has Rick baffled is how well the boat is
working.  Usually something breaks or needs adjustment ... not
anymore, though!  Actually, I think that Rick is having separation
anxiety because the Flat Earth just doesn't need him anymore.  She may
be looking for a reason to dump him!  Is a "Dear Rick" letter in his
future?

More later....Phil Eslinger    Flat Earth N50

Subject: position report 6/10  11:30 PM HST

Position - 29 37.6N  151 54.3W    COG - 061M    SOG - 6.0 kts

Wind - 156M/10 kts  Seas- 7' from the East  Good ride, not as good as
yesterday. The waves on the nose create a slight pogo pitching moment.

Wind was as high as 14 kts today and in combination with the waves
have worked to slow our speed over the ground.  Right now our SOG is 6
kts and is the highest of the day.  Sometimes the speed over the
ground dropped to 5 kts.  We are running at 1100 RPM again to conserve
fuel.

Our NOAA wxfax shows the high as being stationary right on top of us,
at least for the next several days.

I"ve actually found something that doesn't work!  I was demo-ing some
of the equipment to Chris.  He had never heard of an automatic fog
horn so I turned it on ... or tried to.  The loud hailer, which is
essentially an outdoor loud speaker is inoperative.  It doesn't really
surprise me.  We have had no occassion to use it in the last 3 years
here in tropical waters.  The last time we used it was in the fog in
Puget Sound.  Since it is an essential piece of gear up there, we will
get it replaced as soon as we arrive.  We also had to perform a little
maintenance for the first time: we tightened the twin belts powering
the alternator and added a quart of oil to the engine. There has still
been no need to tighten the belts on Ricks new hydraulic design,
although I think he did it anyway when he was adjusting the belts on
the alternator.

No steak dinner tonight ... Everyone was either not hungry or not
motivated.  So we each scrounged for what was available, either
leftovers or sandwiches.  We are going to have so much food left over
when we arrive that I am inviting everyone on this list to attend an
arrival party when we get there!

With the weather so nice, Chris and I are catching up on our
reading and Rick is watching DVD's.  It took a little convincing for
Chris to understand that we really had a satellite TV system that is
able to track the satellite even when we are in heavy seas.  It didn't
help when he asked to see it and we explained that it only works
within 300 miles of the lower 48 states.  He thought we must be
pulling his leg, which we were a little.  It really only wortks within
299 miles of the coast.

Subject: update 6/11 an exciting day

Wx report for Susan Genett:

Position - 30 13.8N  148 58.4W    COG - 063m  SOG - 7.6 KTS

Wind - 140M at 2.5 kts      Seas - 1' to 2' from the SE  superb
ride.  The surface of the ocean is currently reflecting like glass.
These are the types of conditions that sail boaters hate and power
boaters love!  Right now our SOG is 7.6 kts.  I kicked the power up
to 1300 RPM and we have seen speeds over the ground as high as 8.5 kts
today.  There must be a current because I have never seen that kind of
speed from so little power.

I see a cyclone developing off the coast of Mexico and a gale
developing behind us to the West with winds over 40 kts and seas of
18'.  I was wondering if either of these could affect us.

Phil

Update report for friends and family:

One of the things that you don't want when you're either flying an
airplane or in a boat 800 miles from the closest land is to have an
exciting day.  Today, for us onboard Flat Earth, was an exciting day.
I'll let you be the judge as to whether this was a good thing or a bad
thing.

First of all the seas were spectacular.  They were just as smooth
today as they were two days ago on Tuesday.  The waves and the wind
have clocked around a little to the South so that we are not taking
them on the nose anymore.  The wind calmed down to 5 knots most of the
day so there were no wind waves.  As Chris put it, we're back on a
lake today. Gentle swells are no more than four feet.

I relieved Chris on watch at 8 AM and he announced that he was going
to put a line in the water since it was so smooth.  No sooner than the
lure hit the water, Chris was yelling, "Fish On!!"  So, I pulled the
throttles to idle and ran back to help.  As soon as I got there, he
said "Fish Off!"  so I ran back up to the helm, put power on the
engine and got us back on course.  As soon as the power came on ...
"Fish On!"  So I repeated the entire manuver ... FOUR times!    I
think I got my exercise 50' at a time.  Then he managed to hook a
very pretty little Mahi Mahi.  Mahi is the Hawaiian name; in
California, it's called Dorado; and on the East Coast, it's called
Dolphin.  The fish was about 2 feet long but only weighed about ten
pounds or less.    For the next hour, Chris made a bloody mess of my
cockpit as he cleaned the Mahi.  Tonight, Chris and I ate Mahi
fillets sauteed in butter with lemon, capers, and "secret
ingredients".  We had orzo and green beans for side dishes.  Rick had
a bacon wrapped steak fillet.  AND, no Jean,  I DIDN'T cook too much
orzo!.

Because it was so smooth, I pushed the power up again to make a little
time.  Rick went down to do an engine room check and came back up with
my FAVORITE phrase, "Phil, we've got a problem."  I tried to plead
that I didn't want to hear it, but Rick insisted.  Somewhere along the
way, we had developed a vibration in the shaft coming out of the
engine.  I had Rick run the engine at various RPM's while I went down
and looked at the shaft bouncing up and down.  Rick and Chris had
visions of being stranded at sea 800 miles from the nearest land.
Meanwhile, I had visions of $$$ flying out of my wallet in "boat
units" at a time. Anyone who has ever had a boat knows thgat a "boat
unit" is the most basic level of currency that you can spend when
anything goes wrong.  A 'boat unit' equals $1000.  I had visions of a
shaft failing, or a bent prop, or an engine that had come loose in its
mounts.

I panicked and began firing off all of our flares and smoke signals
from the stern of the boat and yelling for help.  I really fell into a
deep funk when Rick pointed out that we were too far out for anyone to
hear me and that the flares were useless in daytime.  About this time,
Chris pointed out that we were transiting the world's biggest garbage
dump .... "You don't suppose that something got wrapped around the
prop?"

"No," I said confidently. " It's impossible.  Anything wrapped around
the prop would bring us to an immediate stop."  Then I went to get my
dive gear ready.  Using my Spare Air emergency tank which provide me
with about ten minutes of air at the surface, I dove into the Pacific.
It was quite a bit colder that Hawaiian waters!  It is a little
daunting (to say the least) to face the huge 34" prop of Flat Earth
under water when you can hear the engine still running!  But, would
YOU want to shut the engine down 800 miles from land?  The boys were
getting a little worried when I didn't come back up right away.  But
when I did, I had a large section of fishing net (about 6' long by 4'
wide) that I had freed from the prop.  That big 300 HP diesel was
still turning with all that net wrapped around it.  Rick and Chris
were very relieved, as was my wallet.  We're back running at the
higher 1300 RPM and getting 8.5 KTS!  I don't think I've ever seen the
boat go that fast with only 1300 RPM.  Imagine that!  Without the net
wrapped around us, we run faster.

The reality about the fireworks was that in the middle of the day, we
took turns firing off old flares that had expired.  I got to go
swimming in water that was 18,570 feet deep.  Jim Frink, you can tell
your Dad that we were MORE than three miles from land!  Gay, guess
what?  Chris lost his reading glasses in 18,000 feet of water as he
was hauling the Mahi in!  There's a surprise!

We are currently under the protective wing of the "Pacific High" which
has gone stationary right over our heads.  This accounts for our good
weather.  Rick is gonna jinx us.  He keeps saying, "It doesn't get any
better than this."  Indeed, a few hundred miles behind us is a
tropical low that has become a gale with 40 kt winds and 18 foot
waves.  A thousand miles ahead of us is a tropical cyclone (Hurricane
for you Easterners) that is emerging from Central America amd headed
North.  For the time being. all is well and we are safe.  The weather
should stay like this for the next week.

Subject: update 06/12 9 PM HST

For Susan Genett (the weather router):

Position  - 30 50.3N  146 01.2W  COG - 065M  SOG - 7.1 KTS

Wind - 315M at 3 kts  Seas CALM!

I never thought that I'd be able to say that over 1000 miles from  

land in any direction in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!    These
conditiions have got to be a sailor's worst nightmare and nirvana for
a pwoer boater.  We stopped the boat anbd took a swim call today.
There are times that I've seen Flat Earth at anchor in a protected
anchorage that she move more sitting still than she did today.

Phil

For Friends and Family:

The amazing weather continues.  The seas have been so calm that we see
the moon at night and clouds during the day reflected on the glassy
surface of the ocean.  Last night at midnight, after I sent
yesterday's update, Rick was relieving me for the watch.  He noticed
the remarkable display of phosphoresence in the ocean.  We normally
see phosphoresence as it is churned up by the propeller.  It is caused
by a multitude of small little animals that fire off like a fire fly
when disturbed.  This time it was a little different; I assume because
of the glassy seas.  The green glow was coming off our bow wave and
extending back on either side of the boat for well over 100 yards.  He
got so excited by the display that he ran down and woke up Chris so
that he could see it, too.  "This is a once in a lifetime sight,
Chris!" Rick told him.

In all of this thousands of square miles of refuse trapped under the
Pacific High, there is one thing to be found of value.  Many primative
cultures (and probably some not so primative) make glass balls out of
discarded coke bottles and wine bottles to use as floats for their
fishing nets.  It was probably much more common in years past than
now.  I know you've seen these glass balls in many areas where a sea
scape decoration theme is prevelent.  Forty years ago, I found a bunch
of them in the Bahamas that had floated all the way across the
Atlantic Ocean from Portugal.  I gave them to a friend because I was
at the Naval Academy at the time and had no place to put them.  My
mother never forgave me for giving them away.  Today, we found our
first glass ball.  It was large, about the size of a basketball and
made out of deep green glass.  It took me an hour to clean it up.
EVerything from the sea was growing on it: sea grass, shellfish, and
crabs.  How do crabs get on a ball in the middle of an ocean thousands
of feet deep?  We spent the rest of the day scouring the ocean and
looking at every piece of debris for another ball, but as I said, they
are getting rare.

In the afternoon, the Captain determined that swim call was
approproiate in view of the glassy conditions.  I suggested to Chris
that we swim "ala Frank".  "What's that? " he asked.  "Why NUDE of
course, in honor of our most recent crew member."  However, Chris
nixed the idea because he wanted to be able to show the pictures to
his family.  When I realized that we were still using fins and masks,
even I realized how traumnatic such pictures in the nude would be.
The water was funny.  It was so calm that the top 12" of the water
was very warm.  But anytime you moved below that 12" barrier, you were
hit by a blast of cold water.  I swam quite a distance out from the
boat and estimate that visibility under water was about 200'.  OF
course, you couldn't tell that by looking straight down because
everything was blue .... all 18,752 feet of it.  Irony would have it
that just as I finished my shower and got warm again, we ran over a
large knot of rope and net just below the surface.  Back I went into
the water (THIS time "Ala Frank") to inspect the prop and the
stabilizers to see if they got fouled again.

Dinner for Chris and I was Rib Eye Steaks (Prime) grilled on an open
air grill on the back porch with honey coated carrots and cinnamon
apples.  Rick did his own thing as he doesn't care for rib eye.

Everything is going superbly.  The weather couldn't be better and the
boat could be working any better.  Is this the calm before the storm?

Phil, Chris, and Rick

Subject: update 6/13  weather lesson

Not much happened today aboard Flat Earth.  This is a good thing.  The
boat is running well and the weather is good. About the only thing out
of the ordinary that happened was that Chris caught a very large sea
bird on one of his fishing lines.  I think it was a frigate bird (it
had a very large wing span).  From past experience we have found that
trying to reel the bird in to free it from the hook usually results in
the bird drowning somewhere along the way.  Instead, Chris simply cut
the line lose and we hope that he can free himself from the lure.

I'm going to pass on my latest weather update from Susan Genett, my
weather router.  Please look at it and try to comprehend what she is
telling me.  Put yourself in my place and realize the decisions that I
have to make and the consequences of being WRONG.  Also, please
consider that Susan is not my only source of weather information.  I
do not always follow her suggestions to the letter, but I do give them
careful consideration.  One of her recommendations was that we delay
our departure from Hawaii for five days from last Saturday until
Wednesday.  I looked at all of the information at my disposal and
elected to depart anyway.  Fortunately, that turned out to be a good
decision.  Read Susan's weather update and then read my reply to her.
I have several days before I have to commit to one direction or the
other and safety is always my single largest consideration..
Tomorrow, I'll discuss all of the OTHER things that I am factoring
into my decisions

Begin forwarded message:

From: Susan Genett RealWeather forecast@realwx.com
Date: June 12, 2009 9:22:25 AM EDT
To: Phil Eslinger flatearth@stratosnet.com
Subject: Re: 6/12

Hi Phil -

Good to hear the routing has found the Pacific nirvana spot for you -
and might last another day or two.

Truly want to consider routing toward Coos Bay beyond 32N 140W WP.  It
looks like quite a bash
Tuesday-Friday, toward ports South.  Attached is outlook sent
yesterday to refresh.

Please advise of fuel range - is Coos Bay feasible?

Look forward to your next report -
Susan

Good Morning Phil -

a favoarable E'ward current is establishing to the South of a notable
E'ward sea fetch building to our NW-N, as the Low pressure system
intensifies 400-600nm to the NW, compressing the wind (and subsequent
sea) gradient along the N'ern edge of the Pacific High.
This current will stay situated within close proximity to our route
for the next 2-days toward 32N140W.

The developing gale storm to the NW-N and the loosely-defined tropical-
origin Low evolving about 850nm SW from Baja will
indirectly impact our wx.  I am more concerned about a coastal Low
developing offshore San Francisco and a secondary Low
to evolve SE'ward from the gale, near 35-40N135-140W over the next
24-48hrs -- and High pressure building over the Pacific NW"ern U.S.
The primary gale is forecast to become stalled West from 135W for
Monday to Wednesday, as the Pacific NW'ern U.S. High pressure
merges with the main E'ern Pacific High as the coastal CA Low slides
inland.  The impact of this vast High pressure dominance in the
E'ern Pacific will provide for a 20kt NW-N'ly windfield and building
SE'ward flowing fetch between Coos Bay, OR and San Francisco.

High pressure to prevail for points North, Juan de Fuca to Coos Bay
Monday-Thursday  - the gale to slide farther NW'ward over the Gulf of
Alaska,
with winds and seas to establish a SE-S'ly breeze and low, N-NE'ward
flowing swell for Thursday-Friday.

Essentially, track toward  WP 32N 140W keeps position within N'ern
fringe of Pacific High, providing a swift veering wind
to establish more SW-W'ly within next 12-24hrs and to prevail for next
48-72hrs. A transition between main Pacific High axis and
NW"ern U.S. High pressure between 130-140W will occur.  We'll have to
determine fuel range to points North, where lighter winds
and lower fetch will be prevalent through Thursday-Friday - or where
to hold slowly in manageable wx East from 140W until the
E'ern Pacific N'ly sub-gale gradient and 15-20ft S'ward flowing sea
fetch will impact waters offshore CA as far as 140W, primarily South
from 40N.
The tropical-origin Low holds potential to shift NW'ward toward NW'ern
MX and S'ern CA next week, potentially merging with the coastal
CA Low, WEd-Friday, and prolonging NW-N sug gale gradient winds
throughout the E'ern Pacific (south from 40N).

Position is in a good spot for now and toward WP 32N 140W, and then
have to calculate options toward landfall.

Best-
Susan

My reply to Susan:

Position - 31 29.2N  142 44.7W    COG - 063M    SOG - 6.0 Kts
Wind - 268M/3.5 kts  Waves - out of the West at 2 - 3 ft.

I only received your latest email at aboout 6 PM this evening ( about
midnight your time).  I have pulled the power back to 1100 RPM again
which is our most efficient cruise setting.  As a result, out speed
over the ground has been significantly reduced.  We saw speed of over
8 kts today while running at 1300 RPM.  At 1100 RPM, our speed has
dropped to 5.8 kts to 6.0 knots and will slow even further with
significant weather.  My fuel quantity system is somewhat primative:
I have sight gages on the two main tanks and nothing on the two aft
tanks.  We had not transferred the aft tanks into the main tank yet
and therefore do not have an accurate reading on exactly what we have
for fuel, although we have a pretty good guess..  We are in the
process of transferring this fuel into the main tanks but that will
not be complete for several more hours.  My initial answer is YES, I
can make Coos Bay, but I will give you a more definitive answer
tomorrow.  Keep me posted about that developing LOW.

Phil

Position 32 10.3N  139 35.6W  COG - 056M    SOG - 6.2 kts at 1100 RPM

Wind - 257M/5.0 kts      Seas -  west at 5' to 6'  but gentle swells
with minimal wind waves.

I have taken up a course of 053M which is coincidentally direct to San
Francisco.

Phil

Jean is on a trip to Maui that left this morning from SLC.  What that
probably means is that this update will be a little late getting
forwarded to the update list.  We think we saw her plane fly over us
about noon.  Given our postion and her departure time, the timing
would have been about right.  When I was flying that route, we would
often go "feet wet" ( a Navy term fro depating land over water)  over
San Francisco which is the closest point to the Hawaiian Islands.
Looking uo at her contrail, I realized that if it was indeed her, it
gave me an additional means of navigation.  In the airline, we used
VFR (visual flight rules) and IFR (instrument flight rules).  Now I
can also avail myself of IFC  .... (I Follow Contrails).

For those of you who had difficulty in understanding Susanm Genett's
weather briefing, don't feel lonely.  What she is trying to tell us is
probably the most often debated topic on the boat.  Jim Frink, any
time your science teacher background feels like interpretating her
gobblydegook, just step right in and don't hesitate to dinoflagellate
it!  Fortunately, we have other sources of weather information that
helps us interpret what Susan means.  About six to eight times a day,
we get weather faxes over a high frequency, very long range radio.
These faxes give us everything from sea states, current surface
analysis, winds, fronts, and forecast weather as much as 96 hours in
advance.

Right now I have asked for clarification from her because she is
sending conflicting signals about which weather LOW she is concerned
about.

Nothing much of interest today, unless you care about the fact that I
had to take my shower sump pump apart and reinstall it to get my
shower working.  I know that the rest of my crew members were glad
that I got my shower working again. In late afternoon we had a 500'
freighter cross our stern at 10 miles headed for Panama.  Chris and I
had beef stroganoff for dinner tonight. Well, it was sort of
stroganoff because SOMEBODY forgot to buy any mushrooms.  Rick did
his own thing again.  Chris has had no more luck fishing and none of
us have been able to locate any more glass balls.  Glass, in this
modern day world, seems to have given way to the ubiquitous plastic.
Anyone interested in using a beautiful, romantic black plastic float
ball to decorate their condo?  We can get plenty of them.

Phil, Chris, & Rick