[password]minerva
[position]07°06.21'N 171°22.34'E
[status] We were fortunate to arrive in the Marshall Islands just in time to briefly cross paths again with our good friend Jeff Hartjoy, who we first met along with his delightful wife Debbie in the Marshalls in 2004. We picked up a signed copy of his new book "No Turning Back" which tells the story of his trip of his 2015 adventure making him the oldest American to circumnavigate solo, nonstop and unassisted via the Five Great Capes.

We completed our check in to the Marshall Islands on Monday (Sunday in the States as we have crossed the date line again) and have already managed to do oil changes on both the main engine and generator, clean the bottom, replace the spinnaker halyard that met its end on the trip, service the watermaker, refuel by jerry jug ($5.90 per gallon), do 5 loads of laundry, visit telecom to get set up for Internet access, and put in our requests for permissions to visit various outer islands. We've still got some more chores to do - restitch the genoa cover, refill propane tanks, fix a small oil leak on the engine, and rebuild a primary winch - but we're feeling pretty accomplished. Today we meet with the Mayor of Wotje atoll to see if we are respectable enough to be granted permission to visit the atoll.

Last night we had a great time meeting up with the Mieco Beach Yacht Club members at the usual Tuesday night dinner out at a local restaurant. There is a very large and active cruising community here this year so it looks to be a very social holiday season. Dryer trade wind conditions have returned to the islands making for wonderful sleeping with fresh breezes! Life is good.
[speed] 0.0
[heading] 080T
[weather] Wind NE 15-20k. Sunny skies with an occasional short shower.
12/18/2018 8:25 PM UTC
[END]