Position: 06 degrees, 49 minutes south; 147 degrees, 59 minutes west

Just another stunning day. Could use a touch more wind, but we’re rolling along at 5 to 6 knots with 10 or so knots of wind so can’t really complain. Hardly any clouds all last night, today and now this evening. Ann and I just spent half an hour sitting on the cabin looking out over the ocean watching the full moon rise. Just beautiful.

So…JHam, your comment yesterday comparing food selection on Charisma with that of “sailors of yore” was classic! We were in hysterics rolling on the cabin floor. Further to that, I guess the British Royal Navy would frown on tonight’s proposed fare: Smoked salmon on a toasted crouton with cream cheese, beetroot chutney and home grown sprouts.

I should ask the yacht Arnementia what real British sailors would say about this. Is it hard tack, spotted dick and a glass of port to toast the queen or does Jon (an exemplar of the Royal Yacht Squadron if there ever was one) secretly yearn for cream puffs, French cheese and a glass of chardonnay whilst on passage? What say you?

On to other business. It’s now 0400 on my watch. Could tonight actually be perfection? If not, it’s actually about as close as you can get. It’s a balmy and very comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit right now. There’s a stunning full moon illuminating our path – so no lights required to move around. The sea is softly whispering to me as Charisma effortlessly slides due north through the night. There’s just enough, and not too much, wind to push us gently along at a comfortable pace. Pinch me!

And, a surprise meeting at around 1300 today at 07 degrees south and 148 degrees west. We sighted another sailboat! Over a period of a couple hours we caught up with them and they eventually closed the final mile with us by sailing over to say “hello”. In the middle of the south pacific. Cool. Keely and Nate on the Hans Christian 33, “Insouciance” from Canada were on board. They are bound from Bora Bora to Hawaii. Whereas we’re looking to cross the equator between 147 and 148 west, they are headed more east to around 142, so after chatting a bit across the water, they “sheeted back in” and our paths diverged. What a nice surprise.

Is that another boat on the horizon?

Turned out to be a nice Canadian couple on the Hans Christian 33

Position: 08 degrees, 37 minutes south; 140 degrees, 29 minutes west 120 mile day

As my mind was wandering last night, as it does on a six hour watch during the dark hours of 0200 to 0800, I got to thinking about what the difference between being “out here” versus “back there”. Other than the obvious physical differences of being in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, the real difference is the fact that we’re pretty much disconnected from everything. It’s lovely. So, if you want to experience what it’s like to be out here, you can! Turn off your Google, shut down the TV, radio, cell phone and email. Disconnect the internets. Can you do that for a few hours? Get rid of all that stuff and let your mind wander. It’s wonderful. You will find yourself actually thinking instead of just processing.

So, after my watch ended and I got my mid-morning nap, I came upon deck to find the wind had eased down to about 8 knots, the seas flattened and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. You could look around 360 degrees and see the same horizon where blue sky met blue water and a dark blue line. On the one hand total isolation. On the other, total freedom. Hmmm. And not to get too philosophical, I should mention that we both also took baths today. Warm weather, not too bumpy – we didn’t even need to heat the water. Heavenly!

We also had a pleasant encounter out of the blue (so to speak) when our friends the dolphins came to play. A couple dozen came by for 10 minutes or so and danced around the boat. Ann danced for them as well. She and they seem to enjoy that.

And now the moon has risen in full glory. The reflection on the water is like a special path direct to Charisma. The moonlight is so bright it makes our headlamps unnecessary. (Of course we look very cool wearing them so we wear them but have no need to turn them on.)

Well that’s our story for this July First. Ann has announced that we will have a celebration aboard Charisma on the 4th. Stay tuned to find out what it is. Also, we have a bottle of champagne (from our friends back in NZ, Mary and Dave on Kismet) going into the fridge for the equator crossing in about 8 degrees (a degrees equals 60 nautical miles).

And…why not, we’ll put a note in it and toss it over the side.