Captain's Report, Day 1:

To whom it may concern,

Day 1 of our strange captivity. Although they continue to feed us, our captors must put something in our rations that upsets our balance and nauseates us. We feel listless and must purge ourselves regularly. They force us to wake at odd hours and manage inexplicable machinery. We are induced to "haul" on various ropes whose function we cannot even begin to understand. Is this some form of diabolical psychological torment. Why is our world in constant and inexplicable motion? What manner of strange and deviant creatures masquerade themselves as human? They appear to refer themselves as "Kroomen". I have never heard of such people before. They speak a strange, almost archaic language that causes them to burst out into song as we are driven about our labors. They seem to thrive on cold, hunger and lack of sleep. Our lethargy spurs them into greater demands on our fast dwindling mental resources. When will it end? Why are we here? These fiends are dragging us out into the frigid night to do heaven knows what. Will we survive? We must escape.

Good evening Shipmates,

N 37 30.6' W 123 31.5' Cs (Course): SW, Sp (Speed): @ 6.5 kts.
All courses will be in Magnetic Compass bearings

Ok, so it's not as bad as all that. The "Mal De Mer" (seasickness)has taken half the crew and everyone is powering through admirably. We have tolerably bouncy seas and they are perfect to shake the crew down and get the seasickness over with early. 3-5 foot swells coming from the South are just enough to be lively with being uncomfortable. Depending on your definition of comfort, of course.

So, after a delayed start, in which the crew worked very hard taking care of Everything and the trainees pitched in with a will, we are underway! We had beautiful weather as we gracefully departed San Francisco under the lovely Golden Gate bridge. Departure is an old tradition of logging your official exit from the strings of land and your course forward out on to the ocean. Pictures were taken and all hands rejoiced at leaving the cares and woes of land behind for a more simple and raw existence with life and the elements. "All men lead lives of quiet desperation." Thoreau could have been a sailor, Walden could have been the Pacific. We can get so caught up in the details and demands of life that we forget that life is to be lived now and not later. The hobbies, interests and people that we love and care about are what make us truly alive. Sometimes you have to leave those things that matter most only to return with fresh delight. How often have you left on a vacation to some new or exotic place, and upon returning, think to yourself "God, it's great to be home!" The Golden Gate bridge is a symbol of both. Adventure and return. Outward to the new and unknown. Inward to friends and home. We go outward, now.

We chugged along past the traffic lanes and Pilot stations as deep sea cargo ships and tugs with barges scurried to and fro at their frenzied never-ending pace in the world of commerce. Somehow Vessel Traffic Service mistook us for another Lynx in the bay area, and demanded that we "recycle our AIS system." I'd have been happy to, if they would have me told where to find the bin. I won't throw something like that in the trash or overboard. AIS is a vessel identification system; similar to IFF in planes. I patiently cleared up the misunderstanding and went on our merry way.

Once we left pilot waters we conducted Drill training: Man overboard, Fire and Abandon ship. Then we fitted everyone to their Mustang harnesses. Comfortable inflatable life vests that automatically inflate when submerged in water. Yes, a wave will set them off if it "gits ya". We have plenty of extra bits to restore them to good use. The kids are little listless, but, holding up. We haven't broken their spirits, yet.

We broke into watches at @2100: Michael, Emily, Signe, Charles; Jeremiah, Jim, Nathan; Tamara, Sam, Rebecca, Trevor. The Mates watch is first up.

I understand that a gray whale harbor porpoises were sighted outside the gate. A good omen to be sure.

We had South winds @ 15-22 kts. Yes, SOUTH winds. What will they think of next? Still good for us though, we set a course of SW and set plain sail; Main, Fore, Staysail, Jib, Jib Topsail, and Fore Topsail. Port tack with the propeller feathered to neutral (blades trimmed inline with the hull), we gathered way and bowled along at @ 6.5 to 7.0 kts. Lovely, just lovely. Now we are motoring along 6.5 kts. Wind dropped to 8-10 and if speed dips below 4 kts we just bounce around and wear the gear out. Strap it all in tight and take in the fore topsail. Course SW and on to Hilo and the trade winds.

I would like to thank you all for supporting us they way you do. The crew and myself work and live this way knowing that you all are out there waiting for us. The young adults know that you care and love them, otherwise they wouldn't be onboard now. They are probably silently cursing you for eternity right about now, but, that is part their growth. Builds character, so they say.

Good night everybody and A Hui Hou (until next time), Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 2

Day 2 of our imprisonment. I find it disturbing that some of our comrades are seem to have some kind of affinity with our captors. Today the assimilation and indoctrination has begun. After we were forced to clean up their filth in an exercise called "washdown", we were treated to another round of drills. I only thank God that no real drills, with actual bits, are involved. The fiendishly contrived scenarios demonstrated possible weaknesses to exploit later. They obviously fear "Man Overboard". Perhaps losing one of them would weaken them drastically, tipping the balance in our favor. I must ponder this. These "kroomen" also fear "Fire". I wonder if it is some primitive instinct to fear the light and heat. We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time laboring away in the dark an cold in "Watches". No doubt designed to separate us and so to cement the assimilation process. We had our first brain-washing lesson. "charting and navigation". We were introduced to a set of diabolical torture implements and seriously informed of our fate if we did not "Plot" our hopeless future properly. A thinly disguised threat to submit to their will. Although some are still sick, we continue to resist. Sadly, I feel that in time all will crack and give in. We must remember home and self. It is hard.

Good Evening Shipmates,

Today's Noon Report is brought to you by Uncle Billys Pine Tar. The purest pine tar available. "Smell like Uncle Billy". Yes, that is a real product, and, yes, that is their logo.

19 June 07, Position: N 36 27.3' W 124 27.4' Avg Cs: 220 M (magnetic)or SSW Avg Sp: 5.5 kts. Distance Traveled from Golden Gate: 133 nm (nautical miles). The difference between our DR posit and our Gps posit: Gps is 6 nm due south. DR Dead Reckoning, or using Cs, Sp, currents and understanding the effects of wind and error navigating the vessel to figure your position without any navigational instruments. Our course We are underway for 22h 57m, or 79,500 seconds, or 1325 minutes. Hilo is 1879 nm away on a Cs of 233 M. It will take us 14 d 23 h to get there at our current average Sp. The point on Earth directly opposite us is the "Isle Crozet" A few hundred miles SE from Madagascar.

Well, here we are, less than a full day out and it has been a full day. Drills and training and more drills and training. With some watches and cleaning thrown in for good measure. Idle hands do the Devils business. There'll be no devils business here I can tell you. Well, maybe a little. Our first drill of the day was a Man Overboard. While I engaged the kids and crew in "What do you do?" and "Where is that life ring?" Krunch snuck a fender out of the small boat, "Kitty", and tossed it over the side shouting "MAN OVERBOARD"! Everyone sat stock still for a moment before the Mate roared to get a move on! Then it was a mad scramble as if the last Xbox alive was for sale on Ebay. We had mixed results, but every one knew their job despite the unfamiliarity with a practice "live" session. It was a lot less abstract today. A few lessons were driven home. Some harsh. The difference between harsh lessons and ordinary ones was explained. Harsh lessons teach you not do THAT again. Some things are very important. Example: throw as much gear (life jackets, rings etc) as possible. Not just a wimpy jacket or two. It is cheaper to replace them in Hawaii than it is to replace a shipmate. Plus, they have the assurance that there is plenty of flotation for them. Also, there is a "bread crumb" trail to follow back to them. We recovered the MOB in 13 minutes with a shipboard pickup; I maneuvered the ship alongside.

Next, we did a fire drill. We discussed fire and its attendant gear, when I suddenly barked at Krunch "Why were you smoking and sleeping in your bunk?!" He immediately caught on and screamed "Fire in the galley!" and everyone ran to extinguish the non-existent fire in the galley. We normally train for a galley fire because it is the most likely source. He, and everyone followed, went into automatic mode. Michael caught on quick, he's good like that, and steered everyone back to the aft cabin where Krunch lives. AAAhhhh, so. The drill and training proceeded normally. A few folks were a little caught aback, especially Krunch, but, that is the point.

Michael did a class on charting and basic navigation. The students seemed to get into it. We then had a bead ceremony. Michael brought a bag of assorted beads and string. Everyone was given a tigers eye bead to start the voyage, and they picked a bead to represent their individual first day. I chose a nut shell with a chaotic white pattern over uniform ridges. To me that represented the chaos of preparation and departure over an ordered structure. And, a reminder that despite all the stresses and anxieties I was not allowed to pull myself into a shell. Ever. Tamara still has hers from schooner Tole Mour. The kids had some surprising stories explaining their beads. They are perking up.

The seasickness is wearing off and folks are beginning to eat again. Krunch is getting rid of leftovers so he can make room in the critically massed reefers (refrigerators). The food is "hot, a lot and on time", its tasty to boot.

We set the starboard course sail today. We ran out the studdingsail booms as well. Nice wind @10-15 kts off the starboard beam. Unfortunately, the wind died and it clouded over into a gray sky. No celestial nav for us today. I did pull out the sextants; mine and our shiny brand new one, courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Grant. I zeroed the error out of the instruments as well as I could. They are ready. So are we.

We saw a Mola Mola today; a gigantic sunfish. He was shaking his fin at the uncooperative sky. This evening, we saw the Moon, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus all in conjunction. Quite a sight. Very rare. In January, all of the planets, except Pluto were in conjunction. The planets all, essentially, line up in the same section of the sky. Spectacular. Even in the empty vast of the ocean there is surprise and beauty. Sometimes the beauty is in the surprise. Seeing a whale breach right next you is breathtaking and terrifying at the same time. Seeing a shooting star close to you is thrilling. A straight wake means that you are steering "small". Beauty is every where; small and large.

I am very happy to say that kids are pitching in with a will. Despite the seasickness, which is wearing off, they are paying attention and helping out with out too much prodding. Surprising, I know. We seem to have a special and dynamic group onboard. they help each other and get along well. They are steering and learning the "ropes". The crew is very impressed. One of them fell asleep at the breakfast table, propped up on hand and elbow, they didn't even budge an inch in the swell. Already becoming hardened sailors; able to sleep anywhere at any time. Someone did lose their bunk light, a nd so must work for their Watch Officer to get it back. Leaving your light drains electricity, is slothful and is a fire hazard. So, we come back to that "harsh lesson" thing. Amazing how the sea forces these things on us.

So, we just shut down the engine and are sailing SW on starboard tack; we are about to set the stbd course. Michaels watch is relieving Tamaras, and they are laughing and joking on deck. Always a good sign. Speaking of signs, I will sign off here.

Aloha, A Hui Hou, Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 3

Day 3 of our collective dismay. The weather here has taken deceitful turn for the better. The alien sun has broken the sullen cloud scape and created ideal conditions for these Kroomen to practice on us. The strongest of us finds it hard to resist their incessant demands. They seem to relish the carrot and stick principle. "Do this and we all live", they say. "Don't do that, or suffer the consequences." I fear for our sanity. Some of us have weakened to the point of actually enjoying the "grub" they continuously thrust at us. Always admonishing us to "Eat, eat, it's good for you." As if we didn't already glimpse their evil schemes. Or, at least I do. The rest are "drinking the kool-aid". The others are enjoying the "lessons" of these weird people. Is it Stockholm syndrome? Will I ever see Stockholm again? Even now I find a strange beauty in the tapestry of alien stars overhead. I am lulled by a steaming hot cup of some fragrant liquid. Will I recognize myself? Will anybody? Maybe the Sirens were real after all.

Good Evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: 34 18.7' N 126 25.1' W, Avg Sp: 7.0 kts Days run: 168.5 nm! Avg Cs: SWxS, we sailed 12 hrs and motor-sailed 12 hrs. We are 400 nm W of Los Angeles, 275 nm SW of San Francisco, Closest point of Land is Point Conception. The summer solstice was at 1333 local time at our longitude.

Well, some skills do get rusty with long disuse. I missed taking Local Apparent Noon with the sextant today, of all days. I stopped shooting to try and figure out why noon was taking so very long to happen. How could be 40+ minutes late? While I was doing that Noon Happened. Turns out ...you guessed it, that %$@#*&, er, pesky daylight savings time. So, my calculation was off by...right, one hour. I did manage to get a sun line out and advanced it to a good shot of Venus and Jupiter for a decent evening fix. The planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury were all visible to the naked eye tonight. The azure sky gave way to a deep cobalt blue that was so clear and bright that we were able to see a double green flash! When the sun just sets on a clear sharp horizon you get a brief green glint as the colors shift from the red/yellow part of the spectrum to the blue side. A lot of folks scoff at the notion, but, I have converted whole boatloads of passengers to the "Myth.

The sun just barely set when its tiny section of the sky glowed green and then! Another emerald green beacon lit up and lasted for a good 5 seconds or so. I have never seen that. Everyone was amazed, and Jeremiah was ecstatic that he finally saw the phenomenon. I think Nathan got a picture with that hand cannon he calls a camera. Wondrous events surround us.

All last night the students were amazed by the bio luminescence streaming by the hull. The tiny sea creatures, plankton, give off a tiny blue green glow when disturbed or killed. When thousands, possibly millions, are annoyed the effect is like sailing through stars and shouldering them out of our way. Brazenly shoving whole worlds aside as we bowl along to our next port. There is a metaphor in there. Best to leave that one for later.

It is interesting to note that in the vast Pacific Ocean we should sight a vessel off the port bow side and it is heading right-for-us. Not to worry though they will see us soon. Any time now. Ah, no need to see us; we are passing ahead of them anyway. Best not to rely on the other ship's watch. People scoff at the notion of sail training as a relevant method of education. A lot of people. However, even our 3 day old salts were all scrutinizing the inbound ship. We all discussed the situation. I doubt that anyone on that ship bothered to notice what we were doing out there.

Tamara tells some strange stories of the life and training of sailors on the big ships. I hear over and over again that tall ship sailors have the advantage over regular sailors in initiative, foresight, quality and quantity of skills, and seamanship. The closer you are to something the more in tune you become. The average hiker, no matter how avid, will not be as close to nature as the hunter who stalks game in the wild. The sea is no different.

We had class today, and covered boat checks and engine room 101. Jeremiah learned 'em somethin' fierce. Then Bosun, Sam, took them through setting and striking the critical sails. Jibs for MOB, and Topsail for squalls. Then we set the starboard stun's'l. The studdingsails are those that hang alongside the square sails. Our fore topsail yard overhangs the edge of the sail by @ 12 inches or and the stun's'l booms slide out along the course yard like a sort of bayonet. the sail gets hauled up to the end of the topsail yard and is "sheeted" home to the inner course yard and "tacked" out to the end of the boom. In effect we have spread the square footage of the topsail by @25%. These sails are rare, and the opportunity to use them for real effect, not for show, is rarer still. We gained a knot from it. We shut down the engine at the end of class and trimmed sail accordingly and we are sailing at a steady 6.5-7 kts SW on a starboard tack, quarter reach. I am sure the kids will tell you all about it ad nauseum.

They and the crew are all in good spirits now that sun broke through and we have fine weather and are making decent time. The bead ceremony was interesting. Lots of beads representing the effects of seasickness and the curative effects of the sun. Bio luminescence was a contender in the heavyweight division during the ceremony. Michael brought out his tom-tom. I fear for my scalp. Or, at least my beads. Breakthrough! Everyone ate today. Krunch made turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy today! Salad, leftover corn muffins and sautéed veggies made for a delicious meal. Even our most distraught young'n crept up to the table and devoured a plateful. Powerful juju that Krunch cooking.

Everyone happy and content. I can hear Michael joking and storytelling with his watch right now. The heavens are a tapestry of stars and planets. You never saw so many in your whole life. The universe is vast and almost incomprehensible. Just like human affairs. Our human affair at this time needs no explanation. We just enjoy and appreciate it. What else is there?

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 4

Day 4 of this interesting opportunity. We find ourselves beginning to understand the demands placed upon us. There is a place for everything and everyone. The Kroomen treat us as if we are vital to the operation of this vessel, rather than slaves to it. It is strange that we never noticed it before. What seemed a dastardly plot to carry us away into oblivion is now a coherent process of change. The details begin to sort themselves out and we are allowing ourselves to do the same. It is odd that we should ever have looked at this as anything less than a chance of a lifetime. Perhaps these Kroomen have something worthwhile after all.

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: 32 38.1' N 128 42.3 W, Avg Cs: SW1/2W, Avg Sp: 7.0 kts,
Days run: 168 nm, Depth: 2.5 nm (that's right, nautical miles).

Tonight, we are traveling under Main sail, Port and Starboard Courses, Fore topsail, Stbd Stun's'l, and Jib; on a starboard quarter reach. Wind is around 10 kts and we are making 4.5 to 5 kts. We seem to have struck the mother lode of ocean current. We believe that there may @ 1 knot current. There are more stars than ever were in all of creation, tonight.

Just before we decided to stop and sniff flowers, some wag thought it would be a good idea to send the small boat over to a large piece of styrofoam found floating off the starboard bow. Perhaps we could take one our little wooden boats from our education program and crew them with our little rubber duckies. Then, maybe some clever sailor would take a photo of them sailing past an ice berg. Only foolish and frivolous sailors would do such a thing. The pictures Emily took should turn out nice.

It was reported that the stability letters for the toy boats should be revisited. The piece of styrofoam was rescued from a lonely fate.

I have to say that we sniffed and snuffled and snorted but we never found any roses. It was not for lack of trying. You see an opportunity to have some fun, stretch yourself out and enjoy the finer things that life gives you. The ability to notice the opportunities to revel and enjoy the spur of the moment, rather than the spurious of the moment (of which there are too many), is what keeps us alive inside. Too often do we watch TV, waste time online, or work overtime as if the last dollar printed were going out to some undeserving soul. Stop and appreciate the world when it calls says I. I have this blasphemous feeling that my death bed memories will not be about TV or late night office hours. My crew and I intend to give these children memories of a lifetime; perhaps several lifetimes.

These young adults would not be here if it weren't for those very qualities. They are a fine, remarkable group of people. They adjust to the changing, yet fixed routine not with sullen looks, but with interest and will. Remarkable indeed.

Today's lessons were taught by Myself, Jim and Emily. I taught rope swing 101. Mr. Rich conducted a dynamic class on the evolution ships, rigging and ships routines. Pretty captivating. Emily, unfortunately, had to bat clean up with our Lynx Ed program. Although the kids were warm and drowsy after swim call, they asked pertinent questions and absorbed the information about America, Britain and the War of 1812. Go Emily!

I managed to sweat and fumble my way through two sun lines and a local apparent noon today. The fix was not all that could be desired, but, it was reasonably on our course line. For open ocean sailing, that's not bad. I shot Venus, Jupiter and the moon (all right, settle down). My fix was a rather large triangle @ 5 nm to a side, @ 24 nm to the NE. Again, I am not only in the right hemisphere, but, I am very close in terms of the open ocean. I began explaining the concept of Celestial Navigation and the sextant to our students. Trevor asked a very astute question that floored me. He got the concept of the running fix, quick. I have high hopes that they will all be able to take LAN and one sun line before the end of the voyage.

The bead ceremony involved a lot of blue and sparkly bits to denote the weather and everyone perking up in the presence of sun and blue water. One green bead to denote the green flash, of course (no flash tonight, cloudy horizon). Mine was a Delft pottery bead with what looked like wind arrows from weather reports, and Latitude & Longitude lines for my Cel Nav attempts. All in all a good day. Education, fun, rivolity, problem solving, stories, singing (Signe sang a traditional chantey called Mingulay Boat song). I understand some very creepy Ghost stories were told on the Mates night watch. I hear that Rebecca and Nathan told some good ones.

Thus endeth another day; another day of purgatory in a life that the crew must bear. We are stoic though.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

PS. Love and Best wishes to Laura, who has surgery soon. cbt

Captain's Report, Day 5

Day 5 of our incredible journey.  Somehow some way these strange people are affecting us in strange ways.  We seem to enjoy being cold and wet in the Stygian darkness.  Incredibly, stories told in the predawn hours are more significant in the sharing.  The labors to which we are challenged do not seem so onerous as at home.  The laughter is not feigned or exploited as we work overtime off watch.  The unpredictability of the weather and all its subsequent demands are natural somehow.  Why fight it?  Nature will have her way.  We can only deal with her, never bargain.  Home never seems to work out that way.  How much more change can we accept?  We can only follow this unknown path.  It is worthless to do anything else.

Good Evening Shipmates,

Noon Report:  23 June 07, GPS: 31 49.9 N  130 37.1 W, Avg Cs: 243.5 M, Avg Sp: 4.45 kts, Days run: 107 nm, U/W (underway) for 118 h 57 m, Hilo: 1498 nm.

We are: due west of Savannah, GA, due south of Juneau, AK, due east of Midway Is, due north of the Marquesas Is. Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Engineer-Jeremiah; If He Can't Fix It, It's Broken.

Gray cloudy day on the high seas.  The current weather fax surface analysis says we have 15-20 knots of breeze.  Maybe in their donut filled break room, but not here.  There's not much wind, but enough to justify sailing above 4 kts.  Decent breezes spring up when I consider taking in sail and firing up.  Fickle playful Mother Nature.  Keep Mommy happy.  That's good advice.   No celestial today.  No Sun, no Moon, no nuttin'.  Warm day but no real fire to it.  We were sailing under both Courses, Fore topsail and Stbd stun's'l.  We struck the Main sail earlier.  I contemplated setting the fisherman stun's'l.  What's that you say?  Can't find it in any text known to nautical science?  Fear not, it's a device of our own cunning.  This winter, in Oceanside, we lashed a pole to the luff (leading edge) of the Fisherman stay sail and set it as a stun's'l.  It worked like a charm, then the wind took its Union contracted coffee break.  I decided not to set it today as the horizon was filling up with rain clouds and fine showers.  We struck stun's'l and courses and reset the Main and Fore sails.  Just in case there any sharp winds in these rain patches.  Just as we struck and set.  The wind piped up to a perfect 13 kts and we reset the port course (wind shift). Yaaay!  Hold on, where did the wind go?  Oh well, take in the port course.  Fire up the engine and "once more 'round the pahk Jeeves.  Yew know how I luv tha pahk!"

Now we are making 8.1 kts and we seem to have escaped the showers and the wind altogether.

Classes today are Sam doing an impressive Life of a Sailor talk from our 1812 program.  Jim went into overdrive about the life, history and ranks of officers.  Clearly, they both love their subjects.  The kids were consulted on whether they would like to keep going and do our first lesson on Captain Cook.  They all said sure!  What's wrong with these teenagers?  Who raised them?

Unfortunately, the weather was looking dreary and possibly worrisome and we started the sail evolutions above.  Afterward, Emily took them around and did a line chase.  Picking out various lines of importance and what they do.  We will "line chase" tomorrow.  By that I mean that they will line up and run to whatever line we call out and see who gets there faster; they, of course, must be correct.  Merry fun.  Perhaps we might recalibrate the radar soon.

Today's bead ceremony was mellow.  Lots of, you guessed it, blue beads to denote: blue sky, blue water and swim call.  Michael pulled a clever one by knotting a small re-creation of the rope swing and putting a tiny bead on the end.  Much admired by all.  He's smart...almost--Too smart.  Mine was a nice blue bead with a yellow "equator" and red and blue longitude lines.  Reminded me of the celestial fixes that put us in the right hemisphere.

I have to tell you, that once again I am blessed with a rock star crew.   That includes the lads and lasses.  The personalities mesh so well and they are so supportive of each other.  A very high level of self awareness pervades this group.  When they do something right they high five each other, and if they don't they recognize it and motivate to not do that again.  People are trying hard.  Jeremiah chose a bead that would remind him to remember details.  How self motivated.  The cadets are asking questions and are seeking to understand things.  The crew are equally willing to teach them.  They are all relating.  Although the Aquaman versus other superheroes debate is wearing a little thin.  I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other, but everyone knows that Superman is, well, super.   Spidey's the average guy turned hero, Batman is cool, but, Superman would go Milli Vanilli on them.  They would sing a little, they would dance a little, and then they would never be heard from again.

While Emily was taking the young'uns around the lines, I made the comment to Michael that Emily is awesome.  He immediately replied, "Of course, she works for us."  I high fived him.  It is true that this ship and her people attract good caring sailors and benefactors.  How could she not?  These students are sailing one of the sleekest, fastest, prettiest, sweetest handling ships afloat.  And we are going to Hawaii.  They say that the world is your oyster.  Well, Lynx is an Oyster Perpetual Rolex and her Owner, Board, Staff, Supporters, Passengers, and Crew are the pearls.

Hope you all are having a great weekend.  Much thanks to Emily's Grandfather for his story and support, and thanks to Rebecca's Uncle for sharing his addiction with us.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 6

Day 6 of this intrepid voyage. We seem to be coming to an understanding with the Kroo. Things are much more simple now that there is more understanding of the complicated machinery. The ropes and lines make more sense. Everything has a place and it is easier to put them back properly than to hear about it later, not to mention having to find it. Stimulus/response. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Not unlike our own universe. Interesting how our worlds seem to have much in common when you strip away the strangeness.

Good morning Shipmates,

Another day at sea unlike any other day at sea. No two are ever the same, like snowflakes. How do they know that for sure? Have they studied every one? Was there some international conference? Like for the standard Meter? I hope it doesn't snow, at all.

We started motoring after a lot of "Am I bothering you?I'm not touching you.Am I bothering you?I'm not touching you.' nonsense with the wind. We made some good time m motor sailing; around 8 knots. Today, around noon, we powered down and set both courses and both stun's'ls. Yes, we set the Frankenstuns'l. The first attempt saw the wood spar that we lashed to the luff of the fisherman staysail break in half. We struck it and sent back up with the halyard tied to the tack (lower corner of the luff). So, we now have a very large, oversize triangular port stun's'l. We have @ 12-14 kts of breeze from the NE and we are sailing dead downwind. The Main is furled and we are sailing @ 7-7.5 kts. That port stun's'l is good for @ a knot. I dig these crazy sail combinations, man. With the propeller feathered and a good breeze we are schooning right along. Even with the foresail centered and strapped in tight, we do tend to rock and roll a bit. Not uncomfortable, mind you, but tippy none the less.

Today, being Sunday and all, Michael decided his watch should wear ties to mark the occasion. And nothing else. Ok, they still had to wear shoes. Kidding. There really is nothing like a tie to lend a certain air of formality and decorum to any occasion. Such as, say, Field Day. Field day is where we tear apart certain spaces on the vessel and deep clean. That way the grime and mung doesn't accumulate in all the little forgotten nooks and crannies. What is mung, you ask? It is the goo and yuck that resides in corners and behind furniture. It builds up over time because mops and sponges don't really get into corners and nooks well. As Captain Elliot Rappaport told me, "Mung is neither created nor destroyed." Aahh, the smell of lemon oil and Clorox cleanup in a confined tossing and turning space below decks. There is nothing more satisfying. Now that Lynx has had her bath, It was time for class. The venturesome voyages of Captain James Cook; as taught by Emily. Fascinating subject, this bit of history. Cook was so well respected by all nations that, even during the acrimonious war of 1812, Ben Franklin declared that all American vessels and harbors should treat his ship as a friendly nation. War waged by people with honor and sensibility usually prevail. Reasonable people can differentiate between friend and foe. Black and white is reserved for pre-sixties television.

It is interesting to note that if Cook had pressed south by a degree or two, he would have discovered Antarctica. A man of common birth and not much influence in the class ridden society of 18th century Britain had a hard time advancing his station. James Cook managed to elevate himself in the society of every nation.

We had a few intrepid sailors, Trevor and Nathan, go out on the head rig with Sam. They went out to furl the Jib. A gorgeous sunny day, blue sky, blue water, and white canvas spread out on the Fore mast. What more could you ask for? They were both suitably impressed by the sensation of the water rushing by at 7+ knots under their feet while all 118 tons of Lynx surged along with a "bone in her teeth". The head rig is the best place on the ship. You look ahead and there nothing but sky and water, and the limitless horizon. You glance behind and there is everything. The motion is inspiring and the feeling of power and grace surrounds you. Aloft on the yards is fine, unlimited 360 degree horizon, entire ship below you, nothing but sky above; it is godlike in a way. I'll take the tip of the jib boom, thank you.

We have not held the line chase, yet. Sail setting and striking, classes and field all combined make a full day. Tomorrow, we will surprise them with a "pop quiz" on lines (insert diabolical laughter here). The bead ceremony was unsurprising. Lots of beads denoting the end of gray skies and spectacular sunsets and sunrises. Shutting down the motor and sailing. Mine was a sort of round wooden bead that looked like it was turned on a lathe. It has a kind of Michelin man shape to it. Anyway, reminded me of the prop spinning and then not spinning any more. I don't tell you about the kids' beads because they are not my stories to tell. You will hear their tale when they return.

Krunch made a nice lunch for all hands, He and I stayed on deck and drove, of Caribbean jerk pork, rice and salad. Yummy. Our supper was a delightful spaghetti bolognese with corn muffins that were soft, warm and crumbly. Delicious.

Everyone continues to get along and play well together. The students continue to study navigation and now they are starting to tie knots. Perhaps we will introduce them to the handcuff game. Calm down, you put a yard length of line, with loops on each end, on the person. Sort of like long handcuffs. The other person's cuffs are led around the first person's. They are now interlocked. The trick is to get out of the puzzle with out taking them off or untying them. You can keep kids busy for hours with this game. Yes, there is a solution.

4 am, dark, overcast and bowling along at @ 5.5-6 knots. A nice swell gently rocking the ship as she speeds on her way. You're never too old to rock and roll.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

PS Laura, could you forward these to Melody and Michael? (?) hope you still have her email. if not, oh well. Hope you are well.

Captain's Report, Day 7

Day 7 of our journey. How exactly does one experience the same thing over and over and still not experience the same thing? 122 feet by 21 feet, day in day out, never ending routine with same odd people and yet there seems to be something different every day. You get to know someone only so much and then they do/say/act in a novel way. Even we are like that. Amazing how similar we in our differences. What is individuality if not taking all the fundamental similarities and presenting them in a unique way? How different are we all, really? Does acceptance mean subverting yourself to the group? Or, does acceptance come when you and your peers recognize that your similarities are so much greater than your differences? That who you are is important as an addition, not a distinction. Sure you can stand out. Sure you can be unique. But, we all are. Finding and assimilating your place in the scheme of things is hard. Living up to it is harder. Acceptance comes when you live up to who and what you are. People recognize that you are trying to meet and exceed expectations; yours, and theirs. This crew is trying to do that with us. How novel!

Good Evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: GPS: 28 22.1' N 134 44.0' W, Avg Cs: 230 M, Avg Sp: 6.5 kts, Days run: 155 nm, U/W: 145 hrs, Hilo: 1024 nm = 7 days @ 7.0 kts. We are on the same latitude as Tampa, FL, Midway Is, due S of Sitka, AK, and 1091 nm W of Baja hook.

Today's report brought to you by Michael: Humor is Serious Business. Sponsored by Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, "Lathers White!", since 1878. I have a bar of it in my hand, right now. What am I doing with tar soap at 2 am? It's 2 am, why bother asking? My friend Jose gave it to me for my birthday. He is mad for anything made with pine tar. He gave to me a nice rigging tool. He is getting married on a schooner in Massachusetts this summer. He should have gotten married on a schooner in Hawaii. Alas.

Another glorious day's run. All of it under: Staysail, Port Course, Foresail, Topsail, and Frankenstun's'l. That Frankenstun's'l worked very well. I say worked because we just took it in. The wind is now @ 14-16 knots. That's the edge of acceptability for a stun's'l. All you need is one gust of 18-20 and you break things. So, the angry mob of peasant sailors chased it out of the rig with pitchforks and torches. We are bowling along now at just less than 7 knots, sailing large (wind on the quarter). It is overcast and chilly, but the moon peeks out every now and then to check on us. Jeremiah's watch has the deck right now. I can hear them giggling. A good sign. We now have a new peak halyard. Yaay! The crew were taking bets on when the old one would part. Not a good sign. Perhaps I should beat them more? I managed to scarf the broken frankenstun's'l spar back together. It is straight and aligned as good as new. Only took cuts; one for each broken end. You cut an angled slice off each broken end, overlap the surfaces and epoxy the joint. That will be the spar for our much vaunted new stun's'l we want to build.

Today's lessons were: Michael taught Navigation 102 and Emily taught about the Polynesian navigators. It is interesting to see the fundamental differences in cultural values. Western Navigators always think, "Where am I?" The Polynesians thought, "Where is my destination?" Where you are is not as important as where you are going. Not "I" centered, but, direction centered.

They used every means at their disposal to understand how to determine the direction to their destination. Swell direction, cloud types, flights of birds, star trails, prevailing winds, etc, etc. Fascinating. You have to be in tune with your surroundings. Just like I, and the crew, we must be in tune with Lynx. Why is that pump running? Should that line be slack and flopping around? What is the lookout doing? You have to pay attention. Otherwise you get lost. The Pacific is not the place to get lost. No ma'am.

The bead ceremony was interesting. Students and crew all chose beads that reflected their watches and the lovely sailing weather. Various stories of how they enjoyed the night watch and the camaraderie. The weather has been grand for last 3 days. Mine was a not-so-pretty rectangular one with a mottled triangular corner patch. It reminded me of the frankenstun's'l and the crazy patchwork sail combinations I try. Michael, Jeremiah and Jim know very well that we have set some eccentric canvas in our time. Do you drive the ship, or does she drive you? The answer is Yes.

Michael once again commented that we have an excellent group of students. Trevor is quiet and will surprise you. Steadfast and continuous. Rebecca is a little reticent to show off her seamanship skills. She keeps it "low-pro". Signe is bouncy and into everything; always doing something. Charles is always trying create relations and analogies with everything he learns. Trying to assimilate it all. Nathan is just ecstatic and wants to learn everything. They all appear to get along very well. If there is any friction, it is minor or they just let it go. How fortunate we all are.

I informed the kids that in order for me to be inspired to teach them about celestial navigation and the sextant, they need to perform to minimum standards in navigation. Plot neatly and accurately on the chart. Gather all of the information for the rough log (a journal of all pertinent info for the watch, lat/long, weather, nav info, etc). They have to understand it as well. They are well on their way. I told them that a student that is interested and making an effort inspires the teacher just as much the teacher can inspire the student. I told them that I will not teach it individually. They have to perform together. If one is having an issue understanding, then speak up. Help your shipmate. Pull together. Everyone has to work together. You don't just leave someone behind. Your life depends on them. It is in your best interest to see that they know just as much as you.

The crew members are not just here because they want to go to Hawaii. They want to learn. From Lynx, me, themselves, and the voyage itself. Jeff and I want them because they are knowledgeable, talented and Want To Learn. Desire to learn is arguably the most healthy and demanded trait anyone can possess. Anybody who has no interest in learning is by definition, ignorant. Ignorance is bliss, so they say. Perhaps that is why a lot of people in this country are unhappy? I, me, mine; gimme, gimme, gimme. Are we teaching our children not to be curious? That education is spoon fed and not pursued? That somehow teachers are 100% responsible for a child's education? What about the parents? What About The Child? That's who is ultimately responsible. Today, everything is short attention span theater. 500 channels, video games, buy 'em everything, dress them like adults and treat them the same. I had a conversation with a teacher during an Ed program and she said that it's scary how incurious the children are. That is scary. What will happen to the "American Century"? Whose fault is it? What do we do? Where do we start?

We do it here, onboard. We start by making them responsible for themselves and each other. No man is an island, right? We are all shipmates on planet Earth. The sooner we realize that, the better we will be. Thus beginneth the lesson.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

PS. Jennifer, contact Cindy at the office to schedule your school for a sail, end of July.

Captain's Report, Day 8

Day 8 of our odyssey. We are finding it stimulating despite the abnormal sleep pattern. Somehow we manage to maintain spirits in the early, pre-dawn, hours. The training never seems to stop, but, it keeps us busy and the time passes. There is an endless stream of information. Knots, weather, rope, nomenclature, on top of all the cleaning and watch keeping. If we make ourselves too useful then they might threaten to keep us. I am not sure that would be bad thing.

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: GPS: 26 34.7 N 136 31.2 W, Days run: 146 nm, Avg Sp: 6.0 kts, Avg Cs: 209 M, Depth: 2000 Fathoms or 2 nm, U/W: 169 hours. We are 1124 nm from Hilo, and 266 nm NW of Lynx's position last year. Do you Know what that means? HALFWAY PARTY! Hula! Fancy dress (or your interpretation of it), Snacks, Margaritas, no, wait, that's Mexico. Sorry. Got a little excited there.

We are halfway there. 7 Days, and making excellent time. The halfway party is tomorrow. We will have fun and games. Line chase: they get to go aloft if they give a good showing. Knot tying. Lynx History: they get a "get out of lunch cleanup" if they do well. A Lynx poster to whoever does the best of all. Maybe a Samoan style tattoo for best costume. India ink and a sail needle will do wonders to their fair complexions don't you think? No? Oh well, it was just a thought. More on this breaking news story tomorrow.

Today's noon report is brought to you by: Jeremiah, "Tools are neat, I like tools". I have some uber-exciting news for all of you fans in the audience tonight. We are charging along at 8.2 kts! We are sailing large on port tack under Port stun's'l, Port course, Foresail, Topsail, and...wait for it; the Frankenstaysail! Yet another sail not found in the Oxford Companion of the Sea. We took our fisherman staysail, a four sided sail that is set flying like a kite, and turned it on its side. We hauled the peak (one corner) up to the Main topmast and tacked (hauled down) the clew (lower corner) to the weather side of the deck, by the port forward carronade if it were still on deck. We then hung a block (pulley) on the starboard Main shrouds and "sheeted" the remaining two corners aft. With me? I know Doug is. The ship's speed surged by a good knot. We have it set now in 15 knots and we are pulling 7-7.5 kts. We had to strike the stun's'l, the breeze is freshening. It does make the ship want to head into the wind a little more, but that's OK. It's really cool. We might re-name it the "Jack-of-all-trades sail". Love it.

Bosun and I are plotting to take the Jackyard and use it as a pole for a course stun's'l, under the port stun's'l. Weather permitting, of course. No pun intended. Maybe we might set it as a Main driver. Who can know what lurks in our feverish desire for more sail?

Today was a busy day. I did forget to mention that 2 days ago Signe caught a squid in her bucket. She was tossing buckets over the side for salt water to rinse down the decks. One of them contained a squid. Visions of Captain Nemo's monstrous battle not-with-standing, it immediately went on the hook. No luck though. HOWEVER! We caught a 6 lb Mahi Mahi! It was just big enough to keep. They are gorgeous, beautiful fish. The colors are strikingly vivid. A lovely dark blue back with golden yellow sides and blue spots.

Last year on our voyage back to the Mainland we were motoring in flat clam for days. For three frustrating days, three fat mahi were following alongside just out of reach. Wouldn't touch a hook, bait nothing. Three fat meals on the hoof, er, fin right THERE. A glimpse into being thirsty and surrounded by salt water. Well, we snatched their cousin right out of the sea and Krunch filleted him right there. Nathan tried valiantly to eat an eyeball but failed. Maybe next time? Trevor was so excited! Cooler heads prevailed. The fish will end up in a stew, not enough to steak or filet properly. Trevor is going to utilize the head somehow in his costume. I wore a flying fish hat last year. There really is nothing new, eh? The irony of all this: Emily, our one vegetarian, caught the beast. Much to the disappointment of our carnivores, the cry of "Fish On!" came during a lovely chicken curry dinner with rice and salad. Scrumptious. Krunch went on to make Cookies! The watches each have a plate.

For those of you that remember when we set the Frankenstun's'l and we broke the pole lashed to it. Well, I fixed it. I did a scarf joint. I cut a long shallow angle on each broken and epoxied them together. You can barely see the joint. First time I did that with something round. Lined up the grain and everything. Bos'n replaced the peak halyard on the Main sail.

Today's classes were: Marine weather fundamentals with me, and Elementary sail theory with Emily. I believe they actually learned something. It will help them tomorrow. The bead ceremony included lots of beads denoting the plotting and knot tying they are learning. Sunsets came in for the underdog for the third day in a row. Could be a contender. I made my bead out of a bit of the scarf joint. I glued the off cuts together and there is just enough of an epoxy line to see the joint. One side is polished from years of use. Kind of special.

A good analogy could be made about the joining together of the crew and students, into one "joint" effort. Glued together into an integral unit. Bound by the strength of... oh, you get the picture. They are becoming more like crew, now. They are taking more responsibility without being told. It helps that they are less awkward around the vessel. They are more familiar with the routine and her structure. No floggings, yet.

That's all for now. Busy day and another one tomorrow. I hope they are all good tonight, Santa is watching.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 9

Day 9 of this wild ride.  We certainly were let in for a treat today.  There was a celebration of our arrival at the halfway point.  There were festivities and games and competitions for prizes.  We were tested on our retention of all this strange knowledge they possess.  We were encouraged to don weird costume in some kind of rite of passage.  Gifts were handed out indiscriminately.  I could find no rhyme or reason for it all.  It all appeared to be extremely primitive.   Yet they, and we, gained a certain wild pleasure from it all.  A simple letting go and experiencing the thrill of life.   What sort of society do these people have at home?  Is it happy?  Why would they travel such distances and leave home and hearth behind?   I feel it calling me as well.  What is home anymore?

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon Report:  GPS: 24 48.6 N  138 03.9 W, Days run: 130.5 nm, Avg Sp: 5.4 kts, Avg Cs: 207 M, U/W: 217 hrs, Sailing: 144.5 hrs, sailing 3 days straight.   The half way point was 1700, yesterday.  The closest point of land is now Cape Kumukahi on the Big Island; 945 nm @ 238 M.  The depth is 2400 fm (fathoms) or 2.4 nm.  Las Vegas book has at 3 to 1 arriving in time.  6 days at 6.7 knots gets us there after lunch on the 3rd.   If Las Vegas bookies knew everything, then they would all be rich and retired where we're sailing.

Wow, this was a busy day and it sure was exciting.  Right now we are racing along doing @ 6.9 kts under Topsail, Starboard course (we gybed), Fore, Stbd stun's'l, and Frankenstaysail; on starboard tack.  We gybed the ship @ 1400.  That means we turned the ship's stern through the wind to put the wind on the other tack.  We are still sailing large, with wind on our starboard quarter.  We are making more westing then southing tonight.  I want to gain some ground toward Hawaii.  Tomorrow we may turn more south if we can.  We want to be on or a little south of Hawaii if possible.   The winds commie more easterly in those latitudes, but can swing to SE or even S unexpectedly.  We don't want to have to beat, sail upwind, our way there.   Better to be in a position to have the wind on the beam or quarter.  I love the frankenstaysail, it's more versatile than Congress, and more dependable.   Hard working and dependable, that's Lynx.

Speaking of hard work, today was devoted the intense and backbreaking labor of celebrating our Halfway Party.  So far we still have the same number we started with.  That's impressive.  The day started out like any other; floggings, cleaning, makeshift work, sleep, deprivation, the usual.  At noon we went to all hands and folks were invited to "dress appropriately".  Subject to interpretation an imagination.  They only had two rules: they could use any gear on the ship - 1) You could not alter any ship's gear permanently, 2) it had to be put back properly.  Credulity was definitely strained.

Michael: Bright clashing orange Aloha shirt and shorts with a green satin robe and fuschia sash and dive mask/snorkel.  The satin robe had hole cut for the head and when all four corners were spread out and the mask in place, he looked like swim call.  The crew undulated the green cloth to make it look like water and Michael was a diver.  Quite clever...almost, too clever.
Jeremiah:  He made helmet/face mask out of a plastic Folgers coffee can, wore a Sou'wester style cap on back ward, and wore all of our child life jackets on his arms and legs.  He resembled a sort of ex-con transformer/robot.
Tamara:  Red hair in sprouts all over her head, toga like shrouds and skirt with her stuffed octopus.  Simple yet, dashing.
Emily:  Wore a white brides maids dress (thrift shop find) with her knife belt and spike with her ratty deck shoes.  Very sleek.  Nothing like seeing a woman in evening dress hauling on lines.  shiver.
Jim: dressed as ever in his rough yet, elegant period sailors garb.  A stalwart of fashion.  Don't worry Jim, it will come back.  Hip huggers did.
Sam: Quite fetching in his dress shirt and tie.  As soon as I saw him I said, "That's really quite fetching.  Fetch me the baggywrinkle from the lazarette."
Nathan:  Black plastic robe with tank top, shorts, tie and one of those little hats that old gentlemen wear and play dominoes in the park.   He was armed with what looked like a howitzer, only it turned out to be some kind of photographic device.
Signe:  Stretched herself and came as a pirate lass. Alas, we were obliged to hang her.  More presents for us!
Rebecca:  Designed and wrought a lovely tiara/crown.  Daddy's little girl.  A blue robe and the royal koa wood paddle.  Nathan quaked at the sight of it.   He turns 18 July 3rd.  Rebecca claimed sovereignty over the birthday spanking.
Charles:  Cut a splendid figure in a thoroughly retro single piece black plastic Hefty bag with arms and head cut outs. He topped it all off with a daring straw hat and red belt.  Watch out Ladies!
Trevor: Admiral of the feet.  (I think he wears size, er, um, very large anyway) He wore the Lieutenants for-and-aft hat with gold braid and a blue toga.  Ladies love a man in uniform.
Krunch: Came as himself,  Lava lava (south seas skirt/wrap), tank top and a Guatemalan idol hanging on his forehead.
I came as Santa Claus wearing a red shirt with a hula girl on it saying "Aloha", lava lava, slippers(flip-flops), santa hat, flowers leis and shell necklace.  My face was covered with some furry rigging stuff called "baggywrinkle".  Made me look like a demented Santa with mange.  I had a huge burlap sack full of bags of very good chocolate and cookies.   Everybody got one.  Then we had tacos, beans and salad for lunch.  Oh yeah, everyone got a lei.  After lunch, we gybed ship.

We then did a couple of readings, Michael read from Ben Franklin stories, and I read an account of a circus breaking loose on a tramp steamer in a storm.   We then did bead ceremony.  Lots of beads denoting the mahi we caught and the gore of cleaning it.  Trevor picked a bead that reminded him of his thoughts and the effects of the last couple days.  Mine was a red ball of fluff with a little white puff ball.  We'll always have Christmas in June together.

We then went on to Lynx history/trivia.  Charles and Nathan stole the show, with Charles edging out Nathan for the big win.  He won a get-out-of-chores pass for one watch.  We then went on to the line chase and, again, Charles and Nathan took it.  They will get Lynx posters.  The crew was then sent to shift their bunk linen.  We carry two sets of linens so we may have fresh sheets.  We wound down and partook of Neptune's largesse in the form of some lovely mahi sautéed in butter and lemon. Yummy.  We had cous cous, salad, and roast brisket.  It's a burden.

We toast a wonderful voyage and our fantastic shipmates.  I reminded everyone that we will never be here again.  So, remember well.  Milestones are important and you have to take a moment to properly place them in your memory and in context of your life.  We are journeying not to a destination, but a state of mind.   We have to all achieve together.  We must all grow together.  Sailing is very similar to the modern age.  Most of the work has been done.  We have the tools.   We have the knowledge.  Now we have to make it all work for us.  Just like the ship.  We don't need to re-invent sailing.   We just need to utilize the knowledge we have to make her go.  She will go no matter what.   We have to understand how to make her go where we want to, not where she does.  I think we are too caught up in events and not directing events with foresight.   We elect people to lead and think and see the big picture and translate it into the future.  They fail miserably.  That is my job also.   What would happen if I didn't check the weather, our position, course, the sails etc etc.  Disaster.  I have to be prepared for that too.   I am responsible and accountable.   Our leaders are not.  Pity.

So, with a sip of champagne all around and the rest over the side as thanks to Neptune for his bounty and favor, we call it a day and set the watch.   Jeremiahs watch is up first. Another long good day in a string of many.  I hope there are many more to come, for us, as well as all of you.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

PS. Thanks Woody, I appreciate that. cbt

Chief Mate's Report, Day 10

Day 10
Sailing, as before.
Four days without the engine is cool.
Today we continued to take advantage of the north easterly winds, sailing large. That is, with the wind on our starboard quarter, cruising practically dead downwind like the great clipper ships of yore. This afternoon's classes included Polynesian history before captain Cook (Emily) and an intro to Celestial Navigation with fundamentals in sextant use (Christopher).

Noon Report:
GPS Position - 24 degrees 11.0 minutes north x 140 degrees 26.9 minutes west.
That put us 855 nautical miles from Hilo.
We were also 3375 miles west of the Bahamas and 5213 miles east of Taiwan, 2129 miles due south of Yakutat Bay, Alaska.
No matter where you go, there you are. Our taffrail log, which drags in the water behind us, spinning a counter mounted on the stern of the LYNX indicated that our distance traveled thru the water is 1317 miles. Let's look at that another way: The LYNX displaces 114 tons of sea water, which works out to be 28,500 gallons. There are 73.3 LYNXes per mile. All together LYNX has pushed aside over 2 billion gallons to get us this far. To give you all another perspective, a billion hours ago humans learned to walk on two legs. A billion minutes ago Christ was teaching in Jerusalem. A billion Coca-Colas ago was yesterday. LYNX has sailed about twenty-two billion (22,015,244,520) Cokes since leaving San Francisco.

The students remain cheerful and dutiful, often helping each other out even when they're off watch. Many teenagers would have figured out how to slack off by now but not this team. I admire them. They even laughed at both of Christopher's jokes. When I grow up I wanna be just like 'em.

Natural Wonders
The water out here is purple. Yes, purple. Or at least a very dark indigo owing to its depth and the constant overcast skies we've been blessed with. It has been cloudy every day. The weather gods are merciful to provide us with this gaseous parasol, setting it aside for sunny moments like when all the sextants were pointed at the horizon today. The full moon peeked thru the clouds in dramatic fashion tonight also. Charles, Signe, Emily and I practically gasped at the glimmer that shone over the water and our sails in silhouette.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all despite the 22 billion soda pops under our keel since last we met.

Michael

Captain's Report, Day 11

Day 11, On course. We have more autonomy and more responsibility. We are given less supervision and feel more integral to the life of the ship. How novel it all to have strangers trust you with their lives, so deeply. It is no wonder that this voyage began as an ordeal. That there was so much pressure to learn and perform. We needed to be "brought up with a round turn", to use the vernacular. Sailing at night with one of us as lookout or steering is quite a leap of faith on their part. And quite a trust on ours. We find that talk is giving way from "they" to "we". On both of our accounts. It's not often you can take pride in being included in "we" because you earned it. Revel in it.

Good evening Shipmates,

Today's Noon Report brought to you by Jeremiah: I love Our Fresh Water Pump!

Words of inspiration from our Chief Mate, Michael, last night. Anyway, they laughed at all THREE of my jokes. So there. It seems that only his watch was blessed with the dazzling beauty of the full moon last night. The old man in the moon left quite an impression.

We had an interesting day today. We are sailing under the same sail combination as over the last few days, with one exception. Michael and Sam put their cunning little heads together and inverted the "frankenstaysail" so it now sets on the main mast with the luff (leading edge) as its head, the clew is now its tack, the tack wraps around the starboard shrouds and is now the clew. It looks great and sails well. I like it.

No longer shall it be the leisure suit in our sail locker, (no offense Doug). I love my job.

Today's bead ceremony included beads about: the moon, reflections on the last few days, boredom (Sam couldn't sleep last night), Cel Nav (I made a little aluminum foil sextant) and voyages past. A fairly introspective session.

Speaking of introspective, our classes today were: the crew, meaning all of us, laid out the story of how they arrived here. Why did they come on this voyage. How did they start sailing, etc., etc. Krunch took the prize, though. He opened a few eyes I can tell you. It was a nice session and the students were very sincere and satisfied with their choice to embark. They all expressed happiness with the voyage so far. I am not surprised; we have a special group of people. I am honored to be their leader.

Sometimes I seem superfluous. They all know what to do and they do it. Simple. A rare thing. Tamara tells crazy stories of dealing with people in the various maritime industry unions. It's amazing anything gets done.

We are cruising along at @ 6 kts right now and we're slanting in to the Big Island. Sure is nice to be here.

Captain's Report, Day 12

Day 12, incredible journey. We are approaching our destination and yet we still have so much farther to go. This is such a giant step for us. We finally seem to belong. Our induction into the machinery of being "Kroo" is subtle and surprising at the same time. We didn't have to subvert our personalities to accomplish this. We didn't have to abandon our "uniqueness". We simply had to subdue these qualities until they contributed to the whole rather than distract from it. We have had to learn what the boundaries and expectations are and fit ourselves to them. What role will our personality play in enhancing the group? Man is infinitely adaptable. So is our definition of self. By learning this, we can stand on our own two feet and be self sufficient; alone or with others. This lesson, more than anything, will stand us in good stead.

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: We interrupt this report with a news flash! We just took in the stun's'l, with the wind rising 20 knots and the stun's'l boom working hard, it was decided to reduce sail. The ship was flying along @ 8.5 knots. Of course, the wind dropped back down 14 knots straight away. We now return to your regularly scheduled Noon Report. GPS: 21 34.7 N 144 14.0 W, Avg Cs: 234 M, Avg Sp: 5.6, Days run: 135 nm, Depth: 2.75 nm, U/W: 216 hrs-82% sailing. Hilo is 600 nm away. Local Apparent noon was 1236 and Mercury was directly overhead, invisible of course. We are 1980 nm from Seattle, 12,600 nm from Lake Michigan (by waterway), 1545 nm from Lafayette, CA, and 1290 nm from Temecula, CA. These are the home towns of Tamara's watch. The full moon is tonight.

Well, we are having a rollicking good sail. For the last 12 hours Lynx has turned a good 7+ knots. She is sailing herself like a dream. You get the sails set and trimmed just right and she hardly needs a hand at the wheel. Still on port tack, quartering breeze; P/S courses, Topsail, Staysail, and Frankenstaysail. All working hard to get us to Hilo on time. Hopefully, we will arrive on the afternoon of the 3rd. Morning would be ideal. A good clean and scrub, ourselves and Lynx! Haul the guns up out of the bilge and remount them. Set working sail. And blast Hilo for Grand Arrival.

But, never mind all that. We are here right now. A right mellow day, overcast and sunny at the same time. We are feeling the warmth of the tropics now, but it is not oppressive yet. We are getting some work done. I have started on varnishing projects and we accomplished some repair work. Sam is working hard on various and sundry jobs. We have a lot of painting to do. The tropical weather is conducive to painting and varnishing. The wood dries fast and soaks up the finish. The coats of finish dry rapidly. We plan to do a lot of maintenance.

Emily found a flying fish in the scuppers this morning, and it ended up on the hook right quick. Jeremiah is drying the wings in the engine room. We saw whole squadrons of flying fish this afternoon. That usually means some kind of predator is chasing them, mostly mahi mahi. With so much food on the wing, he ignored our hook. Sad. Today's classes were: Hawaiian Myths and Legends-Emily, Whaling History and Blacksmithing-Jim. The kids seemed to enjoy the lessons. Jim has a way of teaching and entertaining as well. Quite something.

Today's bead ceremony involved a lot of spiritual and emotional themes. Everyone is in good spirits and appreciating Lynx and her shipmates. I chose a bright orange bead to remind me that I am entering my chosen home waters. I love Hawaii. I wish to retire here. The bead represents the tropical sun. I can't wait to smell the plumeria.

The Watch Officers are happy with the skills of the student crew. They have taken to the lessons and applied them well. They are integral members of their watches and go to the right lines and sails more often than not. The chores get done and everyone "talks story" and laughs. Laughter is a regular component of daily life onboard Lynx. I wouldn't have it any other way. This job is too grand and wonderful not to approach it with a sense of fun and adventure. The shear joy of living and sailing these fine ships, and getting paid for it(!), keeps you focused on the serious and necessary side of maritime life. Indeed, the hard practical components are key to loving what we do. The sense of accomplishment in completing the safety checklist for the month, inspecting the rig, satisfying USCG requirements (trying to), all the work and training is immense.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher
PS. Lolo is "crazy" in Hawaiian. cbt

Captain's Report, Day 13

Day 13 Summer voyage. Who will recognize us when we arrive? An Experience like this is bound to leave a lasting impression. Will it be noticeable? Will I even notice? I hope that these changes will benefit me longer than I remember them. Life gets in the way and muddles memories and time wears away the edges of effect. Some lessons outlast even their memory. I hope this is true of us. Perhaps we will help to change the world? A worthy goal.

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon report: GPS: 20 00.8 N 146 43.7 W, Avg Cs: 236 M, Avg Sp: 6.74 kts, Days run: 169.5 nm(!), Depth: 2.56 nm, U/W: 230 hours, Hilo: 467 nm. Distance traveled: 1983 nm through the water, average wave height: 4.2 feet. Valdez, AK is 2453 nm due North, Guadalajara, Mex. is 2321 due East.

Catalog of wildlife seen: Albatross, frigate bird, squid, mahi mahi, flying fish, pilot whales, dolphins, and Jeremiah. We have eaten 624 lbs of food. Have used 1027.5 gallons of water. That's 4 lbs of food per person per day, and 6.5 gals(!) per person per day. If this were 1812, we would have provisioned this voyage @: 156 lbs of bread, 50 gals of water and 38 lbs of beef or pork. Now that's a diet craze we should start. Lynx Summer 1812 Diet Plan. Lean, mean and hard in just 14 days!

Today's Noon report brought you by Signe and Charles: No infobit left unearthed.

Hoooowheeeee! We are in thick of things now, I tell you. Wind around 20 kts and speed around 8 to 10 kts. We gybed around to starboard tack after dinner. We struck the Stun's'l and Frankenstaysail and came around to the new tack. We had dipped below the latitude for Hilo and wanted to turn and run straight for it. Well, we did. The wind rose and we had 9.4 kts for @ 10 minutes.

The average speed so far is @ 8.1 kts. Michael's 8-12 watch was turning in some long 10 knot stretches. Exhilarating. We are currently under: P/S courses, Topsail, and Frankenstaysail. Good hard working canvas. The seas are pretty rolly, @6-9 feet, occasional 10/11 footer. You burn calories even while you sleep. There's that diet plan, again. Fine day of sailing.

All the hands did well gybing ship in the evening dusk. Striking and resetting sail went without mishap (the frankenstaysail twisted itself, it happens) and everyone knew where to go and what to do. They should be proud of themselves.

We did field in the saloon and the galley, today. The crew deep cleaned everything. I could feel the ship say "AAAhhhh".

Tomorrow we will begin cleaning and prepping the gun carriages for our thunderous grand arrival in Hilo.

I am hoping that we will have some decent sun for a Local Apparent Noon sight. The sky has been hazy and overcast for the last 4 days. We shall see. We will try to do a sun line during a break in the clouds if possible, at least.

Today's bead ceremony, yet again, contained a lot of joy and enthusiasm. The sailing is wonderful and the days are fun and busy so people are reflecting that in their choices. Mine was a little ceramic on with little plumeria like flower on the "equator" and what appears to be the symbol for a cold front. The source for all this wind perhaps?

Everyone is in great spirits and there seems to be no sign of stress. Keep people informed, fed, busy and happy sez I. What a concept. All of the Officers are impressed how well the crew is doing. Even the Mate. That's something.

Michael came up with a little tune, titled "Fifty ways to set your Staysail".

And so my friend it seems you need some salty care
On how to use odd canvas to help you catch the air.
After all, your schooner's very fine. I’ve got the helm, now heed these words of mine:
There must be 50 ways to set a staysail.
There must be 50 ways to set a staysail.
Haul on the tack, Jack.
Ease off the sheet, Pete.
Sweat up the clew, Sue.
Just listen to me.
Here comes a gust, Gus.
You won't have to furl much.
That's well now belay, Ray.
We're runnin' free.
Well, before you go be sure to stow below
Tons of cloth and cordage until she can't take mo'
And don't forget those sails and awnings in the lazarette.
For when it starts to blow you'll have but few regrets.
There must be 50 ways to set a staysail.
Haul on the tack, Jack.
Ease off the sheet, Pete.
Sweat up the clew, Sue.
Just listen to me.
Here comes a gust, Gus.
You won't have to furl much.
That's well now belay, Ray.
We're runnin' free.
And though this tall ship life is often misportrayed
By handsome movie pirates whose lines are unbelayed.
I'll tell you shipmate, if you sail to Hawaii
Make sure the Frankenstaysail is brought along with ye...

I will leave you with those words of wisdom.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 14

Day 14, our final day.  We labored intensely to prepare for arrival.  There was much to be done and yet we still found time for excitement and education.  The days are never routine in the undying routine of sea travel.  How we have so meshed our sleeping, eating and work patterns to the ship's cycle.  Who would have thought that we could learn and work so many hours a day and not be exhausted or irritated.  Is it a mental process or adaptation?  Probably both.  We could hardly have behaved otherwise.  The eyes of the Kroo and our peers were upon us with gentle, but, firm pressure.  Not to belong or submit to the group, but, to find your place and live up to the needs of your ship and shipmates.  Face up to your responsibilities and commit to doing your best.  That is really what life and society expect.  That's not hard, easy to dodge, but, not hard.

Good evening Shipmates,

Noon Report: GPS: 19 56.4 N  149 44.1 W, Avg Cs: 256.5 M, Avg Sp: 8.2 kts, Days run 198.5, Depth: 2.9 nm, U/W: 13 d 4 h, Hilo: 298 nm.  We Sailed 7 days and 16.5 hours straight.  Jeremiah says, "Noon reports make me feel all fuzzy inside."

Speaking of our Engineer, we had to fire up the engine at 0400 early this morning.  Sad but true.  We have a schedule that we are just not able to keep.  We expect our arrival in Hilo tomorrow, June 3rd, @ 2100.  That is a half day late.  Lynx is valiantly pushing 9-9.5 knots under motor and sail.  We have great wind, just not great enough.  Interestingly, no one seems to be put out by it (except, perhaps, our shore side Shipmates).  The crew is happily going about the business of sailing, watch standing, eating, cleaning, "larnin'", and preparing for arrival.  Good spirits everywhere you turn.  I couldn't be happier with my Shipmates. 

We spent the day rust-busting the metal work on the gun carriages.  Hooo boy, were they rusty.  Not any more.  We will prime and paint them first thing in the morning.  Then, we will re-mount the guns tomorrow.  Here we come with black powder and a clear conscience.  A good wash down on deck late tomorrow and we are in business.  The crew that will depart in Hilo will begin packing this evening.  Sad.  Can't we keep them, Mommy?  We promise to feed them and water them and walk them!

Some of the more intrepid folks went aloft today, Trevor and Nathan.  They enjoyed it.  Hopefully, we will strongarm, er, encourage the rest to at least attempt the cruel and forbidding ascent.  We have a busy day ahead of us.

Tamara taught a Navigation Rules class today.  She explained about the various light patterns that different ships of all shapes and sizes show at night.  We are approaching fishing waters and expect to see more vessels as we get closer to the islands.

Today's bead ceremony involved a lot of wistfulness about the engine.  Apparently, the bright moon kept the watches company last night.  There were some reminiscences about that.  A very upbeat and contented demeanor, despite the motor.  We have quite an outstanding group of people.  My bead has what looks like wagon wheels all over it.  They could represent the Prop spinning, but, they remind me that the clock is ticking and I am up against it.  Alas time runs everything.

People are always trying to save time.  What a novel and absurd concept.  Try to make time.  Our schedules get so busy that we forget that we are masters of our time.  Not the other way around.  Everybody knows the age old concept of missing your child's childhood.  You wake up one day and realize how much you missed.  Don't wake up and realize it.  Know it now.  The time is now.  There will always be a crisis at work.  Work is always demanding everything "RIGHT NOW".  Of course.  Not everything needs to be done right now.  10,000 things to do today, 10,000 tomorrow; do 20,000 today, still 10,000 to do tomorrow.  I know it is much more complex than that, but, taking time takes effort.  Work can take your life away.  Keep it and enjoy it.  We had family trips all the time.  We were constantly doing something.  Family holidays, barbecues, trips to the beach, etc, etc.  Dad worked, and worked hard.   Everyone in my family worked and traveled overseas.  Someone was always gone.  They lived everywhere.  We still managed, and still do, to get everyone together for family time.  We still vacation together.  Everyone is busy.  But some things are more important than our schedules. Although the irony in Lynx's case is palpable, isn't it?  Sure we have to hurry, and we will be late.  The point is these kids took the time out of their summer and lives to do something like this.  They all wanted to do it.  Their parents are meeting them in Hawaii.  Rebecca and her Dad are flying out to Boston to check out colleges.  Time is only your master in the end.  Time is going give me a beating here soon, though.  I promise to behave.

Another beautiful day on a lovely ship with a fantastic crew sailing to Paradise.  Or something very like it. 

Time to say

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher.

Captain's Report, Day 15

Day 15. We have arrived. We're not so sure that we're ready for this. The temptation to keep going is astonishing. What do we do now? Step back into our lives and move on? Cling to the past? How do we relate to the people we left behind? Are they ready for the change in ourselves? Are we? Will our friends and family accept who we are now or treat us as the person who left 14 days ago? How will we treat ourselves? Are we ready to live up to the change we created? This voyage has created more questions than it answered. Perhaps when you stop asking questions and trying to answer them, you've given up. We're not ready to do that. We hope you aren't, either.

Good evening Shipmates,

Sadly, there is no Noon Report available today. It was cancelled because we are now at anchor in Hilo Bay, in 29 feet of water. We arrived at midnight on July 3rd. Michael's and Tamara's watches shifted the anchor and set it. It is almost preternaturally quiet. No creaking or swish of water as the hull rushes through the water. No giggling crew on watch or wind sighing through the rigging. We motored for the last two days, hard. We are here now. The scent of Hawaii is intoxicating. Plumeria, ti trees, malia, rich soil, and running water is exhilarating and soothing. I can't even describe how content I am at being back in the Aina (Hawaiian for "The Land"). What am I doing living in LA? Oh well, we do what we must.

Speaking of that, our schedule is: breakfast at 0730, start remounting the guns and hardware, empty the on deck fuel bladders, and standby for further instructions on where to dock. The dock situation "catch as catch can". There really is a limited number of harbors here. We will most likely send the 'Young Crew" ashore sometime after breakfast. I suppose that they will scamper off with Woody and have grand adventures ashore. They all leave July 6th /7th.

We had a very busy day today. We painted the metal gun carriage hardware with primer and paint. We struck and furled sail. Hauled out mooring lines. Scrubbed the decks and paintwork. Attempted to do Local Apparent Noon. We hit the right hemisphere at least. Everyone had fun with the sextants. The sun was even cooperative. Quite a day.

Well, the log shows that we traveled 2491.6 nm. Not an inconsiderable sum, I should think. Everyone is tired but happy. We had a lovely dinner of roast lamb, mashed potatoes, gravy and salad. For dessert, we sang the birthday dirge for Nathan, he is 18; that koa wood paddle came in handy. We then had fresh baked apple crisp. We still fit our clothes, amazingly enough. After dinner we had our last Pow-wow together. Sure, we will talk in the morning, but that will all be hectic as the "real" world comes crashing in on us. We talked about what we are all taking away from this experience. What it all means to each individual. How to hold on to some of it as the lessons and memories fade. How to deal with the people back home. How to deal with yourself. We sailed a long way, just to have this filed under "been there, done that". The paid crew paid the unpaid crew compliments and vows of friendship forever.

We told them that we were blessed with the opportunity to sail with such fine people. And we meant it.

Our bead ceremony was, again, very introspective for some folks. Some beads represented the crew and all the similarities and differences in the colors and patterns. A few reminded us of the lunar rainbow early this morning. Jeremiah’s watch were treated a rare spectacle. The bright moon had cast a large rainbow right in front of Lynx. The colors were vibrant and ghastly at the same time.. The hues are all pale and sort of deathly. It is a beautiful and eerie spectacle. I saw one 20 years ago in the South Pacific. Mine was a complete halo around the moon. I was very fortunate to be awake writing the evening report, when Miah called me on deck. People were very impressed.

I asked the young crew to write a little something for this evening's report. I give you: Nathan, Charles, Signe, Rebecca, and Trevor:

Two weeks, where did they go? How much have I changed in those 2 weeks? I sit here at the computer and even the typing seems so alien and unusual. This one line has really come to summarize my feeling on the trip. "I didn't realize just what I was getting into until I walked up and saw the LYNX at Jack London Square, I didn't realize what we were doing until the half way party, and I didn't realize what we had done until I saw the lights of Hilo on the horizon. This has been amazing. Nathan Pablo

Over these last days of our voyage I've been thinking about what is it that I'm going to take away from this trip. Everyone can agree that it's the experience of a lifetime, but what will we take with us into our communities and into our lives. I found two answers; first the small habits such as a better ability to take orders, keep your personal space clean, and always pick up after your self. Secondly and more importantly a perspective on the interactions and relationships that make up our community. This crew is a perfect example of how a community should work, a group of people from different backgrounds who have different skills coming together to work as a unit with one thing in common, a love of sailing and of the sea. I know that as I move into the future I will take these lessons and examples with me, to help us create a more perfect society. Charles Giannini

It still hasn't sunk in what we have just done. I understand that we have sailed across the Pacific Ocean in a wooden boat, but it really hasn't seemed like it. I don't think I will completely realize what we have done until I fly home, over the vast ocean that we just sailed across for two weeks. Where did that time go? It just seemed like one big day. One big day away from my family. But these people are my family too. It has been a blast, an adventure, and an incredible experience. I wouldn't want summer to be any other way. Signe Larsen

This voyage has been an eye opening experience for me, and an adventure that I will never forget. It was a spur of the moment decision to take part in this voyage and I never thought that I would do something as big as sailing across the Pacific Ocean. This decision revealed that I should take experiences like this and other opportunities as they come up because as I look back, I almost didn't go and I would have missed this amazing trip. It's hard to believe that in a day or so I will be flying over the very ocean I just sailed through to get to Hawaii. I'm sure when that moment comes I will come to fully appreciate and realize what I have just accomplished. I want to thank the crew that was absolutely wonderful and my shipmates that I spent two weeks with. I wouldn't have wanted a better group of people to share this experience with. Becky Ware

Two weeks just doesn’t seem like enough time to fully capture the serenity of the sea. While out there I thought a lot more than usual, actually used my head. It was a good chance to live life, not just get by doing the same redundant activities daily. As my trip comes to a close I regret that I have to go home, back to the real world and fall back into the rut we call daily life. But that’s ok because I don’t believe this is the end of a voyage aboard the Lynx. It is merely a beginning to what’s ahead of me and it has given me a different approach to life. Trevor Rawlings

The Young Crew was hustled away to the beach to recline in beach side chairs and sip exotic fruit drinks (virgin ones). They are probably frolicking in the surf, right now, while we sweat and toil away at remounting the guns. Such is life.

We have endeavored to impress upon the young crew that the ship is a microcosm of "real" life. Everything is here in miniature and directly in front of you. Think for yourself, ask if you don't know or are unsure, think ahead, clean up after yourself, help each other, share, leave things a little better than you found them, etc, etc. Lynx is a floating community. Treat the community well and every one benefits. The choices you make affect everyone. Make wise decisions. Live by them. We are, essentially, the embodiment of that classic of modern literature, "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten". We hope that these young adults will leave here and become fine citizens, not only of America, but of the world. That is as fine a legacy as anyone could wish for.

So, this is our final communiqué until the return voyage. I hope you enjoyed the chronicles of Lynx's Cruize of Opportunity, Summer 2007. We certainly enjoyed living them.

Aloha from Hilo Bay, A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 1

Aloha Shipmates,

Position: 24 52.35' N 158 03.71' W, SOG: 8.0 kts, COG: 355 T, Distance run since 2400 Monday, 203 nm. Starboard tack with Jib, Staysail, Foresail, single reefed Main, and reefed Topsail. Winds E'rly @ 25-30 knots, Seas ENE'rly @ 5-8 ft. Sky is a riot of stars; some leftover Perseid meteors.

Well, we had rough last day in Kaneohe. We had to change out a shipmate and had to scramble at the last minute to ensure that we had all bases covered before departure. No stores in the Pacific wastes. We finally got underway from the Marine Corps base, where they treated us very well (sad to leave), set sail at the last turn in Kaneohe channel. As soon as we reached the entrance the seas were 6-8 ft and the wind howling out the ENE. We set our course for North and made 7.5-8 kts no problem. The seas prevent us speeding up.

The passengers and crew are holding up well, despite the throes of the dreaded Mal-De-Mer, seasickness. Everyone is standing their watch in some manner of alertness. All are willing, most are able, some are prostrate. It happens. The mood is good and a sense of humor prevails. One of our passengers has the most wonderful, teen/college movie sound effect when puking! If you have heard it, you know who I am talking about.

The ship is sailing along with a regular 20-25 degree list and is lively without being uncomfortable. Sometimes we get thrown about, but it's not bad. The fo'c's'l is not much fun, though; most crew snooze on deck, on the aft cabin top.

Hurricane Flossie is predicted to keep heading west and pass south of the Hawaiian Islands. We are making almost 200 nm days north, so we will be well away if she decides to head northward. I expect the winds to moderate as we approach the Pacific High. We shall see.

Hawaii treated us so well this year. Hilo, Lahaina and Kaneohe Yacht Clubs as well as Kaneohe Marine Corps Base were absolute angels. I can't thank them enough for all their hospitality and support. The Ohana was wonderful. Much mahalo and aloha to you all. Well, that's about all my stomach can stand for now.

Aloha everybody and A Hui Hou.
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 2

Aloha Shipmates,

Noon Position: 25 43.0' N 158 12.9' W, COG: 338 M, 000 T, SOG: 7.0 kts, Winds: 10-15 kts ENE'ly-gusty/fluky, Seas: NE'ly 4-6ft. Sailing with: Main, Fore, Staysail, Jib, Jib Topsail, Topsail, and Main Topmast Staysail close-hauled on starboard tack.

The weather has moderated to tolerable conditions and the more vulnerable of the crew have started to perk up and eat hearty. Sara has prepared the perfectly tasty yet bland meals for those who need sustenance and no flavor to savor later. Roast pork and rice, turkey sandwiches and the like. The weather is warm and sunny and the sky is blue with a palette of cloud types. The sky is an impressive display of celestial creation. The Perseid meteors are dissipating but we still get an occasional streaking burst of flame.

I set up a communication schedule with S/V Anna Katerita for midnight GMT everyday on 4B, 6B and 8B (4.149, 6.227, 8.297 hz) single side band. Mom, Bud might be able to hear it on his ham radio. 4B on the hour, and switch up to 6B after ten minutes if nothing heard or weak, and then 8B at 20 after. Yesterday, 6B was loud and clear. We met them at Kaneohe Marine base while they were waiting for their main sails to return from repair. Nice folks who raced in the Trans Pac race and got me into Base Weather Ops for Flossie updates. They head back to San Diego on Friday.

Our winds look good for sailing north. The Pacific high still looks weak and may move SE slowly. I think we may be able to ride the winds through the high and motor sail to the NW'rlies, where we can sail close hauled directly to Astoria. That is the theory. Practice is different.

Today we will practice some drills and some ship routine training. Now that I have everyones attention we should be able to drill in earnest. The watches have been conducting "what if" scenarios to have the crew open to emergency situations.

The trip so far is good, if a little squally and rainy at times, but everyone is in good spirits. So, with that,

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher
PS: Sorry this is so late in coming, Sailmail is very busy today. Trans Paccers all sailing home?

Captain's Report, Day 3

Aloha Shipmates,

Noon Report: Todays report is brought to you by First Mate Michael Kellick. 28 05.25 N 158 10.6 W, COG: 350 M, SOG: 8.2 kts, Wind: NE'rly @ 12 kts, Sails: Main, Fore, Staysail, Jib, and Jib topsail. We are 2300 nm west of Baja Bight, 1683 nm South of Chiguik Bay and 1576 nm North of Christmas island. We are on the same latitude as Cape Canaveral and 86 nm south of the latitude of Houston, Tx (Captains home). Since departure we have traveled over 400 nm in 61 hours for an avg speed of 6.7 knots. We've caught 3 mahi mahi, seen 22 squalls and coughed up slightly more than we've eaten. It's an adventure.

Today we spent two hours discussing drills and the attendant equipment. We discussed Man Overboard, Fire and Abandon Ship. Tomorrow we will conduct some "live" drils to practice the theoretical knowledge. Everyone is in good spirits. We had a wonderful pork stew with lentils and salad for lunch and spaghetti with a chicken tomato sauce for supper. Some folks are still suffering from the lingering effects of seasickness, but they are eating.

Our plan is to motor through the pacific high and pick the Westerlies just north of 35 N latitude. We can motor up and over to the winds traveling around the high or we can motor through. the current winds are about the same, but this tactic cuts off a lot of distance. All reports seem to indicate that the high will squash down towards us and the westerlies will follow.

That's all for now. Laura, I hope you are feeling better every day.

Aloha and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 4

Aloha Shipmates,

Noon Report: Brought to you by Jeremiah "The Great White Hunter" Gempler. Position: 30 41.3 N 157 22.4 W, COG: 016 T, SOG: 6.8 kts, Distance Run: 162 nm, Distance traveled: 563 nm in 65 hours for avg Sp of 6.6 kts. Wind: NE @10-12 kts, Swell: ENE 3-5 ft, Mostly cloudy. Motor-sailing on starboard tack under Main, Fore, Topsail, and Staysail @1080 rpm (best speed for fuel economy) for @ 7-8 knots. We are 3501 nm West of Mobile, Alabama. 1798 nm from Columbia River bar.

We drilled in MOB and Fire, today. The MOB drill was a real eye opener. Michael tossed a little weighted red net float overboard and people went into action. I came up on deck and ordered the helm hard to starboard and tacked the ship. We hove to (all sails aback on the wrong side) and proceeded with the evolution. We immediately lost sight of "Oscar" (the "O" code signal flag that means MOB, hence Oscar). The crew readied the small boat, "Kitty", and the search was on. Interestingly enough, Kerry came up from the nav table, his station is to plot the rescue, to ask why the MOB function on the GPS was not acting like it should. He looked out over the port quarter and saw Oscar one boat length away. We were looking to starboard, where Oscar was last seen. We had drifted much faster than we anticipated. Needless to say, the wind proceeded to jump up to 20 knots. Great. Kitty quickly reached Oscar and returned.

Lessons learned: 1)Know your equipment. The MOB button needs to be held down for 5 seconds. That was my fault, I didn't hold it down long enough. 2)Throw extra gear overboard. People didn't want to toss life jackets and such for a drill. Throw it anyway, it's what we do for the real thing. 3)Communication is a two street. I didn't give any orders for launching the boat. I didn't order anything. We were hove to in a decent breeze with out Oscar in sight and no clear direction to look. I wanted to survey my situation first. Just like in First Aid, stop, look and listen before jumping in. The crew, in the absence of orders, created their own. They know that they can ask for clarification if it seems I am distracted. We do it daily; "Standing by Braces." "Oh, right, Let go and haul!" They know this. Of course, I should also tell them what's on my mind or yell stand by. That is why we drill, to find these issues. 4)Just because you don't have an order, don't just do something that would normally require an order. The boat was launched without orders. We could have been in bad swell set just then. I may have needed the Topsail stuck first, etc, etc. As it was, it was safer for them to complete the launching, than to stop them mid lift. The Station Bill (list of assigned emergency duties) clearly states "Ready the boat", not launch it. 5)The aloft lookout could only see in certain directions; sails were in the way. Again, we were looking to wrong side. 6) MOB requires a 360 degree watch if Oscar disappears. 7) We count off according to our number on the Station Bill. A) Yell your number. B) the count doesn't stop because you don't hear the previous number. We need to know if everyone is present. If someone doesn't count off, we know who's missing. If the count stops, all we know is that we can't count. 8)A red float on gray water during the day is hard to find. Imagine a head and shoulders at dusk.

We recovered Oscar in 9 minutes. Seems incredible, given all the above? It all happens that fast. Mistakes can be made. Problems arise. We drill to find and overcome them. I have say that was the best drill I have experienced in along time. That's how we learn. All of our adrenalin was pumping, and mine sky-rocketed when Oscar was discovered to WINDWARD of us! Chilling. I think the crew learned more from this drill than any other. i think you need to have drill go wrong every now and then to remind us that emergencies don't always happen in the most ideal circumstances.

Our fire drill was pretty straightforward. Fire in the galley, put it out, reflash. Put it out again. What now? We shot a burst of CO2 every minute to keep it out and sent two crew through the Fo'c's'l to secure the stove fuel and throw a wet blanket over the source of the fire. With a running stove, the grease fire (that was the source) would continue to reflash. CO2 doesn't linger, and dry chemical is corrosive, and water is destructive. We could control the fire and keep someone observed and safe to access it.

Good training. Still heading East of north and working through the high. All reports seem to hold to the model of the high squashing south and good winds just above. The winds to the west are the same as what we have here, Moderate. Though maybe more favorable, the distance is much longer.

Everyone in good spirits, and maybe start Celestial Nav classes tomorrow, if the sky starts to clear. Moon rise is pretty spectacular and Orion in his eternal struggle with Taurus ascends in the early hours, just before twilight. Summer is aging and Autumn not far off. Some of you will still feel the heat of summer as we arrive in Astoria for the beginning of Fall. Lynx will experience river life in Autumn. Good work if you can you find it.

Aloha, and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 5

Aloha Shipmates,

Todays Noon report will be sparse due to technical difficulties (explained later). Position: 33 23.9' N 156 14.2' W, COG: 025 T, SOG: 6.3 KTS, DMG: 167 nm, CMG: 021 T, Distance: 711 nm.

Today was definitely a full day. We caught a 9-12 lb mahi mahi as soon as the lure hit the water! Miah sliced him up and sautéed him in butter and lemon seasoning for supper. Deeelicious! The mahi is a gorgeous fish when you jerk it out of its element. Brilliant blues, yellows and greens with dark blue spots that quickly fade as death approaches; as if shrinking from the end. The blood that covered Jeremiah didn't fade from the paint work, however. We found it everywhere. We removed the main sail to sew up one of the seams. We also painted the gaff and attempted to tar its rigging. The gaff is A) a long wooden spar that raises the head of the main sail, or B) what happened next. One of our intrepid passengers proved their worth in entertainment value when they slipped with a full can of rigging tar and hurled it everywhere. To whit: the binnacle, the wheel box, the wheel, the deck, the gallows, the strongback, the boom, the bulwarks, and, of course, me. I was kneeling down, sanding the side of the wheelbox, when I felt myself being spattered by some warm, dark viscous fluid and dimly aware of some nearby commotion. I thought to myself, "Please, don't let that be blood". I reluctantly glanced up and was rewarded with a mouthful of tar and the glorious sight of X hanging from the gaff, every finger and toe dug in for dear life, gripping the half-empty tar can, with this outraged look of intense perplexity as to which plan of action would lead to: 1) less or no personal pain 2) less or no loss of personal dignity (too late) and 3) not further inflaming the Tar Wars crisis. All of which were equally important and equally out of the question in their precarious, yet absurdly indignant, position. X was quickly relieved of tar and posture, and we sprung into action. We managed to clean up 95% of the mess. The deck stains were scrubbed nicely, and will fade in a month or two. Everything else succumbed to the influence of WD40. Crisis averted.

As soon as the Main sail was repaired, we had swim call. We stopped lynx in position 33 46.4 N 155 51.0 W and tossed everyone over the side. We were blessed with a lovely clear azure sky and crystalline aqua Mare (Latin for sea). The air was balmy and the water was cool and calm. Paradise, without cocktails.

Not long after we set course and speed, Miah sighted a glass net float and an albatross. This albatross, or goony bird, was probably perfectly smug about finding his very own little floating fish taco stand in the middle of the North Pacific gyre when along comes some strange contraption, snorting smoke and filled with bellowing creatures, hurtling straight towards him. We were glaringly treated to a contemptuous look as he waddled and flapped off into the distance. Sure enough, it was a glass net float, and a large one at that. This pretty green sphere is roughly the size of a soccer ball and apparently a newcomer to the ocean currents, as it had only a small amount of growth. I was told by not a few Captains, "Get your own ship and you can keep it". It's in my bunk, right now. It's my first one. Maybe I'll name it.

Not to be outdone, Sara served a delicious roast with lentils, mashed taters, fresh string beans, and lemonade.

Wait, there's more. The sunset was as striking a one as I've ever seen. Blue sky, calm blue water and all the colors that the sunset can display were arrayed like a peacocks feathers. All hands were called to witness the glory of the only true home humanity will ever have.

It gets better. When I was called for my 15 minute notice to call S/V Anna Katerita in the HF radio, Kerry told to me come up and see for myself. A flat calm, unending stars 360 degrees, no clouds, no horizon, a crescent yellow moonset, and an explosion of bioluminescence under the bow. The straw colored reflection of the low hanging moon, viewed from forward with the port red sidelight illuminating the anchor stock and watching the glow of our wake trail off into a limitless distance surrounded by the breadth of creation is a sight that we are truly blessed to behold. I may be poor, but I am blessed.

My apologies to you for not having last nights report in your mailbox this morning. Sailmail was busy 24/7 and some of the stations were uncommunicable due to noise and interference. I tried to get a message out on the Sat nav system, but the darn thing kept giving me "link failure". Needless to say, "link failure", or any reference to any issue similar, is not in the manual. Which is written for Windows 98, incidentally. Hopefully, better luck tonight.

Aloha, and A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 6

Aloha Shipmates,

Noon Report: 35 21.0 N 154 15.5 W, COG: 042 T, SOG: 6.5 KTS, DMG: 156 nm, Distance: 867 nm. Winds: W'rly @ 7 kts, Waves: negligible. We are: 1500 nm from the Columbia River bar, on the same latitude as Morro Bay, CA, same longitude as Kodiak, AK, same latitude as Yokohama, Japan. Todays report brought to you by The Mate-Michael "give'em a taste of the ropes end" Kellick.

We seem to have blundered into the edge of the westerlies. The sky is overcast and the sea is rippling with hope of better winds up yonder. I hoped to shut down this evening and set a cloud of sail. I was right. We are sailing under: Main, Fore, Staysail, Jib, Jib topsail, Topsail, and Port Course, on a port tack. The wind is hovering @ 9 kts and coming from the NW. We make @ 4-5.5 knots as the capricious wind dictates. Sure is nice to move in blessed silence. Earlier in the trip, we had 10-13 knots from the NE, but the swell and chop coupled with the squalls prevented us from doing more than 5-7 knots. As we traveled north the wind gradually died away, hence the motoring up into and through the pacific high. Sailing from here on out, I tells ya.

We started with a nice breakfast of tomato fritattas and cantaloupe. Lunch was leftover surprise/eat it or toss it day. Dinner was a scrumptious baked ham with glaze, broccoli and, yes, homemade Mac and cheese. Sara was way ahead of me when I asked if she could whip up a banana cream pie. She even had 'Nilla wafers. Unfortunately, the ships motion prevented the pie from congealing. So, we initiated a scorched earth policy on the banana cream soup. The bowls were licked so clean, we didn't bother washing them.

I conducted a class on the Pacific high, pacific weather in general and our present course through it. Afterwards I read a few bits of comic prose from 'A Sailors Life' by Jan de Hartog. I highly recommend it to anyone. Its a funny, tongue-in-cheek primer on shipping out as an apprentice in the age of the "scruffy steamer". Then we did a pinrail chase. Emily took the new folks around and showed them where the various lines are belayed and their purpose. Right then it was time to set just about everything. So, we did.

Sunset was gorgeous. My on deck shower was not as pleasant. Things are fine out here. Everyone appears to be enjoying the trip. God knows what lurks and smolders beneath their inscrutable faces. May I never have to find out.

Aloha, A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 7

Aloha Shipmates, Noon Report: 36 42.67 N 152 45.69 W, COG: 025 T, SOG: 4.5 kts, DMG: 110 nm, Distance traveled: 954 nm, Wind: Non-existent, Swell: 2-4 WNW. We are: 1471 nm abeam of Monterey, CA, 1372 nm from Columbia River bar and 12 days of travel if we maintained our average of 4.5 knots.

I have an announcement. Cedar, one of our guest crew, states, in no uncertain terms and without hesitation or equivocation, Loves His Mother. He wanted to pass that message along. I love my Mommy, too. Hi, Mom, from all of us.

Well, here we are, motoring along in the complete vacuum of wind that is the North Pacific. From @ 170 W to 135 W and 32 N to 40 N is one broad swath of calm. The entire north pacific is living up to its name, and I am wallowing in hubris. 'Sailing from here on out.' sez I. Mental note to self: don't count your chickens before they save nine. Or something very like it. We will head North a little further, 020 T, to get closer to the wind line that's roughly on the same latitude as Astoria. At least we don't have to turn back like our friends on Anna Katerita. Their repaired mainsail de-laminated on them 350 nm out from Kaneohe. I told them it could be worse, they could be turning back to Panama.

We have gray skies with multiple cloud types, muggy air, and no wind. Just our luck. We got some sail repair done on the jib, but otherwise the on and off drizzle and humidity render painting a moot point. We took an afternoon off from 1400 muster, everyone is feeling the tiring effects of the watch system; 4 hours on 8 off. Seems like paradise, but we split the evening watch, 4-8, into two 2 hour watches, called dog watches. This way someone doesn't have the 4-8 am and pm watches everyday for weeks. Then there are meals and afternoon muster, etc, etc. So, I figured today was as good a day as any. Tomorrow we will begin Cel Nav classes. I tuned up the sextants today. We will start with principles of Cel Nav, and parts of the sextant.

We had pork chops with brown rice and salad for supper, delicious.

We do have some stars this evening, but not very many. Calm and muggy is the order. Everyone is in good spirits. Some of us watched 'Count of Monte Cristo', the new one. Quite good. A humble day. I hope all of yours are bright and shiny.

Aloha, A Hui Hou
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 8

Aloha Shipmates, Noon Report: position 39 05.3 N 151 28.5 W, COG: 022 T, SOG: 6.7 KTS, DMG: 160 NM, Distance traveled: 1114 nm, Wind: negligible, Swell: WxN @2-4 ft. We are: 1278 nm from Astoria (8 days @ 6.7 kts), 1228 nm S of Homer, AK, and 3092 nm W of Pascagoula, MS. What's so special about Pascagoula? Kerry, our Third Mate, was born there. So? Today is his Birthday! Happy Birthday, Kerry. We gave him a big group hug and a special dinner of pork roast, potatoes and carrots. Then we sent him back to work. Best not to let his idle hands do the devil's business.

Speaking of the devil's business, he had a hand in our routine today. Carmen smelled something burning and we when into General Quarters (emergency stations). It turns out that one of the belts on the, get this, engine driven fire pump (our primary pump BTW), started smoking as it wore away. The irony is palpable isn't it? Jeremiah discovered that the belt would vibrate and smack the belt guard. Over time it wore itself and chunks started fly off; hence, the friction and smoke. Not a little unnerving. The "drill" when well. Everyone responded quickly and brought fire extinguisher with them. Nothing like a good adrenalin rush, eh? All's well that end's well. Miah replaced the belt and tweaked the guard to give a bit more clearance.

We shut down and set: Main, Fore, Staysail, Topsail, and Port course. The wind is @ 8-10 kts from SW. We can just hold 3.5-4 kts. We emptied the extra on deck fuel into the ships tanks this morning. We have plenty, as the generators barely sip from their tanks. Another bit of irony.

Cel Nav class was interesting. I am still learning how to teach it. There is just as much of an art to instruction as practice. The concepts require a lot of nomenclature and understanding celestial movement, time and geographic navigation. All of these things are not hard in and of themselves. The complexity comes from all them being dumped on you at once. They can make your head spin. There are two schools of thought: Just do the shooting and the worksheet and understand it later, or, understand it first and learn to calculate it. I preferred the latter. Most people prefer to "just do it" and let understanding come later. I agree. As you perform the calculations (addition and subtraction, no trig) you gradually come to wonder what each section means. So, you look it up. The light bulb goes "ding", etc, etc. I tried to keep the theory as basic as possible. Those big plastic "Quick reference" cards for navigation info (nav for dummies cards) are handy to have. The Cel Nav one is the best, most concise explanation of the art and science, ever. Everything you need is on that card. Whoever created it is a genius, or fed up. I followed the lecture with a breakdown and demonstration of the sextant. We had a nice bright sun and clear horizon. We had wandered through some fog earlier. everyone had a chance to "find" the sun. A good class, all in all, if a little tedious with my "style".

We prepped the port and starboard aft bulwarks, today. They are the inner side of the hull planking above the deck level. We will paint it tomorrow.

A good, long and exciting day. As long as our days are not interesting in the Chinese sense of the word, we'll be all right.

Aloha, A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 9

Noon Report: 40 22.6 N 151 11.9 W, COG: 010 T, SOG: 3.3 kts, DMG: 79 nm, Distance traveled: 1196 nm, Wind: WxS @8 kts, Swell: WxN @2-5 ft. We are 1225 nm from the Columbia River bar, at present speed we would be there in 15 days (half day late. We are on the same latitude as Cape Mendocino and the Statue of Liberty, and the same longitude as Homer, AK.

How the mighty do fall. What was that I said? "Sailing from here on." Alas, it is not to be. We have the same situation as last summer, only we are in a better position, I think. The pacific high has spread out over most of the central north pacific. It has graciously extended an amoeba like appendage up towards Astoria. We are now, 9 days later, smack dab, once again, in the exact middle of the high. The only consolation is that had we gone around the high (the normal route) we would be in the same dead zone, having had the same wind (or lack) and would be 500+ miles to the west. This evening, the wind dropped to 4 knots and we fired up the engine. No wind, practically flat calm, and a sullen sky with light fog are not calculated to make a sailor happy. Now, there are those of you who probably felt your blood pressure rise at the thought of our being a half day late. That's if we made 3.3 kts for the next 15 days. We are now making @6.5 kts and that means we arrive in 7 days. Feel better? I do. I hope we run into some wind or the high shifts, if not in our favor, then enough to allow some breeze. We don't carry enough fuel to motor across the pacific. So, we supplement sailing with motoring. We are good with fuel, right now, if I use it wisely. We are running the cat (our engine is a Caterpillar 3306, 6 cylinder) at @1050 rpms. That is the best Speed/Fuel use setting. We seem to have a bit of current helping us along with an extra half knot.

Tomorrow is a momentous occasion. You guessed it. The Halfway Party!

We will dance and sing and rejoice and then we'll attend the party.

Sara made a lovely turkey roast with broccoli and carrots for supper.

We got the port side quarterdeck bulwarks primed and painted yesterday. Today we will prime and paint the starboard side. The paint work is slowly but surely yielding to the steady onslaught of the crew.

Homework assignment: all of you start blowing to the west. Enlist your friends and neighbors. Those of you in Southern California, start a new exercise fad based on explosive exhalation to the westward. It could be described as a radical offshoot of yoga based on subversive scientific principles. People will flock to it. Once it becomes a class at Ballys Gym, the fad is over.

Now, get to work.

Aloha, A Hui Hou,
Christopher

Captain's Report, Day 10

Aloha Shipmates,

Noon Report: Position: 41 19.3 N 148 42.2 W, COG: 062 T, SOG: 6.8 kts, DMG: 132 nm, Distance traveled: 1280 nm, Wind: negligible, Swell: WxN @2-4 ft. We are: 1085 nm from Astoria, at the same latitude as the Black Sea and Marthas Vineyard, and the same longitude as Anchorage, AK and Papeete, French Polynesia.

We had a successful Halfway Party. Folks dressed with a sense of occasion. Some formal wear, some nice casual and some whimsical were on display. I am not sure how Michael maintained his modesty with the VERY short skirt that he wore. Sam wore a tie. Emily wore a dress! Sara wore pseudo rockabilly clothing. Jim wore shorts and striped wool stockings. Jeremiah wore his Utili-kilt, and nothing else. Kerry wore a Hawaiian shirt. I wore my red hula girl bowling shirt with sarong and fake leis. Maurice wore his wool/ear flap frostbite weather cap and wife beater shirt, oh and shorts. Tim wore nice casual wear. Leslie had a lazy Sunday clothing with a ribbon in her hair. Carmen had her urban casual gear. Cedar wore khaki pants, white t-shirt and a blue baseball cap. He looked like "the Beaver". Everyone enjoyed a delightful piece of Sara’s scrumptious rum cake. We sang some chanties and I read my ubiquitous story of the tramp steamer that carries a hold full of circus animals into the teeth of a raging storm. The animals get loose and the orang-utang reverses the throttle. It's hilarious.

Dinner was roast lamb with mashed onion potatoes and carrots with peas. . A good day, with everyone laughing and talking story with each other.

The weather is still sullen and chill. A little fog every now and again to keep us on our toes. No wind and none in sight for a few days. Windless all over the