Thursday, November 17

6 p.m. Somewhere around 30 miles and 181 degrees off of Bermuda. Coordinates are 31 44.354N 064 40.494W. Seas at 7 - 9 feet. Winds SE 10-15. Water temperature is 75 F. Air temperature is 76.6 F. Last night was a full moon, and tonight clouds are distant. Our boat speed runs between 5 and 6 knots.

We left St. George's Harbor around 10 a.m. after a busy morning. Donna went to try to retreive the new Simrad chartplotter/radar from DHL at the airport. It was only after desperately declaring that her ship was leaving at 10 a.m. that the package was found. However, it could not be given directly to her. It had to be sent by truck to the Yacht Reporting Center in St. George for delivery at 9:30. Donna took the bus back, and waited for it to arrive at 10 a.m. on the dot. The new unit did not work - just like the old unit. The problem was traced to a fuse in the radar unit. Luckily, the new system had the same fuse for a different application, so a fuse was found to repair the chartplotter. It is up and running.

The bilge pump is up and running too. All of the time. We determined that after it emptied the bilge, it fills it up again and the cycle continues. We closed the through hull fitting, and will pump the bilge manually once or twice a day.

While Donna secured the redundant chartplotter, the rest of the crew waited in a long line of boats to fuel. 22 gallons of diesel fuel ran $130. Cars on the island are small and get 60 mpg. It probably won't be long before Americans join the rest of the world in paying large sums for fuel.

We set up 1.5 hour watches again. Because the autopilot has died, the next 800 miles or so to our destination will be steered by hand. Admiral Mike will be proud of us.

Those prone to seasickness on board purchased large quantities of a new motion sickness drug available in Bermuda. It is named Stugeron or something like that. It appears to work miracles, because all of us are fully functioning. Eating seems appealing.

Bernie was given our 2005 West Marine catalog, which was a much more welcome tip than any money would have been. He is a sweet man, and really helped make our overstay in Bermuda bearable with weather tips and information.

We are close hauled. The wind is supposed to turn NE tomorrow and we will be on a comfortable reach, at least for a few days. Sailing like this is what it is supposed to be about.

Welcome III