The Start of the Last Leg

Afternoon, Friday Aug 20, 2004 (Matthew Lowry’s Birthday) N 28o 32’ W 158o 28’ 470 Miles north of Oahu, Enroute to the West Coast We left Oahu within an hour after our new crew member, Peter (Pedro) Hunter, arrived from Los Angeles. No sooner had we shown him to his “quarters” and given him a…

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Cultural Re-entry

Monday Aug 16, 2004 (Late Entry: Leaving) N 21o 17.020’ W 157o 50.586’ Ala Kei Marina, Honolulu “Although she feels as if in a play, she is anyway” – a line from the Beatles’ Penny Lane (I believe) The first twenty four back in the US, the people seemed so familiar that I felt nearly…

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Arrival in Hawaii

Wednesday Aug 4, 2004 N 21o 17.020’ W 157o 50.586’ Ala Kei Marina, Honolulu I’ve read more than once that the sighting of birds is a sign that land is near. No doubt this is true if you know your birds. But, just seeing birds in general does not mean land is close, for we…

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100 miles from Honolulu

Tuesday Aug 3, 2004 N 19o 44.5’ W 157o 40’ We continued to pound our way north over the weekend. Sailing close haul into the wind, Lillian would either power her way though the waves or rise out of the water, like a whale, and then fall back into the sea with a resounding 15…

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Pounding along

Thursday July 29, 2004 Pounding our way north N    10o 20’ W 155o 40’ Five days have pasted since departing Kiritimati (Christmas Island) and we are currently making steady, if not smooth, progress towards Hawaii, with 550 nautical miles to go. The winds are strong with choppy seas. When sitting at the helm, it feels…

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Leaving Kiribati

Saturday July 24, 2004 Enroute to Hawaii!! N 02o 22’ W 157o 14’ At noon today, we weighted anchor and left behind the atoll of Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the nation of Kiribati. Setting out on a long passage has become nearly routine, except that this time our next destination is the United States, more…

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Kiritimati (Christmas) Island, Kiribati

Information on the Republic of Kiribati from the www.cia.gov information website Name: conventional short form: Kiribati  ( pronounced keer-ree-bahss )         former: Gilbert Islands It was discovered by Captain Cook on Christmas Eve, 1777 Background: The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of…

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Penrhyn, Northern Cooks

Penrhyn, Northern Cooks S 09o 00’ W 157o 53’ We arrived in Penrhyn atoll the afternoon of Wednesday, July 14th. Penrhyn is the northern most of the Cook Islands, 1800 miles away from the capital island of Rarotonga. The Cooks are a “self-governing demoncratic commonwealth affiliated with New Zealand” (Ref. Charlies Charts). Similar to many…

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