Sailing Log: Singapore to Jakarta

Feb. 16

No land in sight all day, but clear skies.  During the night shift we encountered unfavorable winds causing us to furl the genoa, turn the engine on, and tighten the fore sail to mid ship.  The entire sky was covered by clouds, but they were thin enough to emit a light glow from the moon, illuminating the entire ocean.  While at the helm, you had to try to keep the compass as steady as possible, which is difficult, especially with the constant rocking of the boat and the fluctuating waves.

Feb. 17

Again, no land in sight.  While at helm in the early afternoon, I saw 5 dolphins of the port bow.  I immediately stood up, pointing and shouting, but everyone on the bow darted their heads in my direction, missing the sole breach.  A few minutes later, while everyone was on deck scanning the sea for dolphins, we spotted land on the horizon.  At first there was one mountain, followed by two more, off of the starboard bow, then another off of the port bow.  We were nearing a passage between two islands off of the coast of Sumatra, which would provide us with a strong current, shooting us out in line with Jakarta.

Still no luck catching an fish, or having any bites.  In the early afternoon, we had a nibble, which Dhany reeled in until we saw a long, slender fish following our squid bait.  It put up no fight, just trailed our bait as it moved closer to the stern of Mir.  Dhany said he felt it bite the bait a couple of times while he was reeling, but all of a sudden the fish was gone.  It took two of our hooks with it; Dhany thinks it may have been a Barracuda judging by its shape and the missing hooks.

Today I had to wear long sleeves and a hat due to a mild sunburn on my arms and face.  The tops of my knees were very red, and I had to wrap a towel around them while I was at helm in the sun.  The day shifts seem to last longer, most likely a result of being out in the sun and being awake over a longer period of time.  The nights are very peaceful, when the engine is off, and beautiful to sit under the stars in the cool breeze.  The 4 hour shift goes quite quickly.

Evening was upon us and I was enjoying the sunset at the stern with some music, when suddenly we had a fish on!!  I began fighting the fish while we were travelling at 6.5 knots and “Come on Eileen” was gently playing in my headphones.  The lure was dragging very far behind the ship and the fish took quite a bit when it struck, so it took me a while to reel it in close enough to see the fish; also the boat was still moving at a good speed, amplifying the fish’s fight.  I saw it break the surface of the water a few times, but as it got closer, it felt like the fish had gotten off.  At 25 feet, I thought the fish had gotten off, and laser and dhany were confirmed.  We picked up our speed, and dhany decided to pull the bait in to check it was still there and remove the sea weed.  At 15 feet, Dhany screamed ‘I saw a tail’.  The fish decided to play dead and be dragged in with its mouth open.  Dhany filleted the fish (locally known as Tengery), refrigerating large fillets for later, and slicing two heaping plates of FRESH sashimi.  It was an amazing appetizer for Gaie’s spaghetti Bolognese, and our full moon celebration consisting of Vodka cocktails and howling.

Feb. 18

Slept on deck before my night shift.  Not much wind, making the shift very easy and quiet.  Beautiful evening!

I woke up early, there was a great breeze blowing onto my bunk; it was the first time I didn’t wake up covering in sweat.  Everyone was either in the navigation room or on deck, we were in a nice force 4 wind, large waves all around.  Suddenly, the wind picked up to a gale force 6, ‘All Hands on Deck!!”; forcing us to quickly turn the engine on, move to head to wind, and furl the genou as quickly as possible.  After we had all followed the safety line aft, we realized that the starboard top mast diamond shroud had broken.  The top of the mast was flexing back and forth, so to be on the safe side, we all shuffled back to the front of the ship to store the fore sail.  Because the rigging is so old, there was the fear that the mast might break.  During the motoring, we experienced a strong current, making it difficult to maintain a straight course.  The peaceful voyage was over, now we were dependent on our engine, Northern Lights.

With out sails up, napping on deck was more difficult, I ended up finding a place where just my face was in the shade…it had to do.  Our course brought us near an oil rig, Dhany said ‘look we are near Jakarta!’.  We had been making good time, and the current was assisting us, our ETA into Jakarta was 1 PM, but at our current speed we would be there by 10 AM.  There was a constant communication with Jakarta; many political problems.  We had been told we could not arrive until Sunday (Feb. 20) at 6 AM.  This was bad news as well as good news.  It meant we were able to turn our engine off for dinner and all FINALLY take a breath!  We rode the currents and enjoyed a peaceful evening with fresh fish, a nice sunset behind the oil rig, and fortune cookies.  Mine was “reward yourself for a job well done”.  We finished the evening with a tale about Nyi Roro Kidul, the local goddess of the Sea, presented her with a gift and enjoyed the peace of the evening at sea.  This was the night of the true full moon!! 

We were still moving 2 knots on the current, but we turned our engine back on in order to maintain our heading; now 80 miles from Jakarta.  As we neared there were more birds and tons of insects in the air; damsel flies, beetles, bees, and moths.

23 is a Magic Number

On February 14, we were finally prepared to depart on our voyage.  At 9:30 AM we sat down for a safety meeting followed immediately by a launch meeting.  We were eager to learn the times of our shifts, I was placed at 10-2, overlapping Laser and Dhany for the first 2 hours and Carol for the second half.  My shift coordinated with two groups of onboard activities, Lunch and clean up/food management.  Before learning the 5 Emergency Calls, we were informed that the general consensus in the marina was that we were mad to embark on the voyage with such an inexperienced crew!  The 4^th safety call is the Man Overboard emergency, which we learned is almost impossible to recover the helpless crew; In rough seas, only 1 time in 10 does the boat ever get back in contact with the MOB.  In the case of an Abandon Ship emergency, Satyavan and I are responsible for launching the emergency life raft, then I am in charge of the Medical supplies.  Our voyage would take us through the world’s largest port straight, with one of the busiest shipping lanes, then into the open South China Sea, where we would only sea fishing boats, get accustomed to searching for other boat’s lights at night, and pass safely through pirate waters.

Launching Mir first involved turning her 180˚, which was left up to me and Jasmina to swing the bow; it is not easy to gain momentum trying to pull an 80 ton ship through the water.  We cleared the all of the boats in Raffles Marina and received a bon voyage from the boat boys and many of the other captains.  Due to unfavorable tides, it took us nearly 4 and half hours to chug (averaging 2.5 knots) around to the southern side of Singapore where we found our fueling barge (Victory Petroleum).  Refueled, we continued heading east to the Singapore Straight, around Batam.  Once clear of Batam, we adjusted our course to SE, where we had more room to navigate the busy shipping lane; Some cargo ships went flying past us at speeds around 20 knots, its pretty incredible to see these massive vessels travelling so fast, and in such a great quantity.

I began my first shift at 11:30 PM.  The night was booked with keeping out of large container ship’s paths, all of which are indicated by a lower light on their bow, a higher light on their stern, and a red (port) and green (starboard) light showing their tack.  At midnight, I was wished happy birthday by Dhany and Laser, who shortly after retired allowing Carol to become my on duty Mate.  The night was peaceful, seeing the glow cities from the shores on either side, the constant hum of the engine, and the traffic of the shipping lanes.  I awoke to the smell of fried salami, and was given a hearty plate for breakfast.  At 10 AM when my shift began, our first duty was to set the sails.  We had finally made it out of the busy lanes, and were heading in a favorable direction for the Northeasternly wind.  We set up 2 fishing rigs off of the stern of the ship, but no luck all day.  The day was full of napping, manning the helm, and enjoying the beautiful color of the ocean (it is the most amazing shade of blue).    As the sun set and it became completely dark, we said farewell to the last signs of land.  We had a great dinner feast; T-bone steaks, mashed potatoes, home made apple sauce, and veggies.  Afterwards, Laser and Dhany made a banana crepe cake 23 layers high filled with raw coconut palm sugar; it was superb!!  At 11:30 PM I started my shift by manning the helm.  It was a beautiful night, with no light pollution from land, only several fishing ships off in the distance.  We were under full power of sail, allowing the only noise to be the crashing of waves in every direction.  The night shift can get a bit cool, but it is a welcome relief to the HOT days and the constant high humidity.  Carol saw a few dolphins, unfortunately I was below and missed them, but towards the end of my shift I was laying on the stern and I saw the first shooting star!  I was at the helm for 2.5 hours during my shift, singing and enjoying the serenity of the sea.  With the bright light of the moon illuminating the path we had already travelled, I set the Southern Cross over the main starboard backstay and rode the Northeasternly wind on a port tack to the equator.  The only light in sight was the brilliance of the waxing moon, the twinkle of the stars, and three fishing ships (1 North, 1 South, and 1 West).  At 4:50 we crossed the Equator, marking my first steps into the Southern Hemisphere.

When the sun rose back into the sky, there was no land in sight in any direction.  The only thing we saw all day was a tug boat pulling a barge of coal.  For the next day and half, we would be completely alone on the peaceful sea, kept vigilant by Mir’s forceful rocking.

Bon Voyage

We have delayed our departure thanks to problems with the Indonesian government and research visas, but we are finally ready to set sail!  On Friday night we had a party aboard Mir to say goodbye to friends, and really to cut loose and have fun after a long few weeks of work and a before the unknown adventure ahead of us.  There were many people from all over the world; professional racers from Australia, a genetic engineer from India, recent students from the local universities, many of the usual marina riffraff.  As the evening was in full swing, and the beer and wine punch was flowing, the wind began to blow; inspiring Yves to take a sail.  A group of us boarded his fully stocked yacht, and under the helm of the Australian racers, we sailed through Malaysian waters for nearly 2 hours.  It was my first time sailing in Asia, a beautiful evening, steady winds, and a very fun crew.  I spoke with some students from SMU (Singapore Management University, NOT in Texas), one of the girls was on the race team and is joining Mir in June to sail from Singapore to Anambas.  I also saw my first giant asian bat! It flew along side of us for a while, up by he head of our main sail. After a beautiful night cruise, we docked along side Mir and I entered the galley to find a circle of fire dancers.  There were 5 women and Satyavan rhythmically moving with small candles in a dark room.  One of the girls was teaching a traditional fire dance, but I think the music took over after a while.  There were also spectators seated on the couches on the perimeter of the room, pounding a conga drum from Papua New Guinea, playing a melodica, shaking jars filled with rice and beans, tapping on freenotes, and playing some other instruments acquired on their travels.  Hours later, the atmosphere was transformed into a relaxed jam session with a guitar and singing, and any other instrument that felt the urge to chime in.  I fell asleep leaning against the fridge listening to many classic rock songs; Wish You Were Here, The Joker, and Brown Eyed Girl, among others.  Around 4:30, everyone suddenly cleared out, and I was able to blow out the candles and make my way to my bunk.

The next morning I woke up at 9 AM with the sun in my face, drenched in sweat.  The past two days have been very rigorous making all of the final preparations, getting our documents ready and getting the boat ship-shape.  I am ready to finally leave the marina, done with intensive work (at least until Jakarta), get some air circulating through the ship (it gets quite hot and humid below deck in the bosun locker, dive locker, and engine room, especially since the humidity hovers between upper 60 % and low 90%), and leave the luxury of the club behind; no more swimming pool, hot tub, flushing toilet, fresh shower, or AC.

This is the first time I will cross the equator, I’m told to expect a visit from Neptune, and the first time I sail on the open ocean for more than a few hours.  I am excited to begin working 4 hours on 8 hours off, sailing around the clock, only seeing land in the distance for the next week!

The Final Stretch

This week has been busy, we have been crossing many things off our list, and tasks are becoming more manageable, thanks to incoming sponsorships and all 8 members of our crew. 

I have been compiling my own list; every task requiring wood work, tools, and electrical work has been added to my list.  Monday I spent the majority of the day working with Danny, he is very experienced in the areas that I have been working and has proven to be very helpful.  Not only does he know how to operate a screw gun and a hand saw, but he has been teaching me tricks and providing me with company and a fresh eye on several of my tasks.  He has a great personality, very humorous, and tons of stories.  I have learned a great deal about his experiences and some of the adventures he has encountered in his life.  Danny is a father of 5, he has 1 grandchild, he has spent the majority of his life in Australia (and is currently a resident) working for pharmaceutical companies and airlines, his wife lives in Jakarta (she is visiting us tomorrow), and they own an island in Anambas.  That night he showed me pictures of his children, his beautiful island, and the amazing house he built with local materials aided only by local fishermen. 

Tuesday, the captain’s life was put in my hands.  We were removing the cable backstays from the front mast, and I was in charge of the old, spotty winch.  I had never been part of a rigging crew, neither had Danny, so we were carefully directed by Laser, who I hoisted 80 ft off of the ship’s deck, and Gaie, who was our eyes and ears on the deck.  It is a very physical activity to make sure that the winch is moving smoothly, to be sure that Laser is being raised and lowered at a safe speed, and to obey every command at a split second.  The rigging crew is faced with many challenges, unsafe conditions (like when the stay broke in pirate waters on their sail from Malta and they had to fix it on the open sea), and countless hazardous consequences.  Luckily our first attempt was very successful, removing 4 cables from 2 different heights, and only dropping a hat from 65 feet.  In the early evening, Orla arrived and we had a big meal with a the entire crew and a couple of friends.

On Wednesday, I decided to complete a few tasks that had been on my list for a while, along with some new, related jobs.  The big three tasks that I decided to complete, all faced me with opposition.  I installed a central light in the foxhole, only to discover that the light did not work, I broke two screws attaching the overboard system in the only place is could be attached and still function, and I numerous peg mounts split while I was trying to make a new book shelf ship-shape.  I found myself trying to get involved with ANY other project simply to escape my failing efforts.  It was my first frustrating day.  I ended the day after clean up had begun, but I was determined to finish at least one task properly; I installed the overboard system inside the life ring!

This morning I started where I had left off by installing the book shelf peg.  As soon as I got it tacked into place, the piece broke…but it still serves it purpose, so moving on finally.  The big event of the day was when 6 months of food arrived and had to be stored appropriately.  The truck arrived at 4 pm, three pallets were unloaded and delivered to the ship (a bit over 7 thousand dollars worth of food), and we formed a chain gang to quickly move the food out of the intense heat of the afternoon.  After our entire galley had been filled with boxes, we had to quickly unpack all of the meat and fresh fruits and vegetables.  I was told to get the hand saw so I could saw through some of the large tenderloins (one was 4 ft long and the other was 3 ft) and the 9 lb salamis.  All of the meat and butter was packaged and frozen, and the fresh produce was sorted and organized.  Half of the galley is still full of neatly stacked boxes full of canned vegetables, fruits, coconut milk, packages of pasta, containers of milk, sacks of rice, beans, sugar, and flower, boxes of spices, crates of sauces and ground coffee; so much food, but it will last a crew of 6 to 12 over 6 months!

Gardens, Jungles, and Three Scales of the Dragon

Danny arrived late last night, so we all gathered on deck and welcomed him aboard over a cup of ginger tea.  Danny is an Indonesian who has spent the majority of his life in Australia, and he joins us as crew number 7.  Orla is the last crew member, due to arrive on Tuesday, she is Irish.

This morning, Gaie, Laser and I woke up at 6:45, and prepared for a morning canopy walk with our guests from yesterday.  Yves arrived early as well, and we tiredly headed off to the Horticulture Park.  We were led on a tour of the glass houses, filled with native flowers and butterflies, ultimately being raised for the future Singapore gardens and island canopy loop.  The four of us quickly found ourselves in the company of two professors, a famous Chinese artist’s daughter, the leading heart surgeon in Singapore, an advisor to the US department of Defense, and an elected member of the Singapore Parliament. Our entourage began our walk over the Alexandra Arch, through the Forest Walk canopy, across the Henderson Waves, and up Mt Faber.  It was full of beautiful scenery from the natural jungles, an elevated view of the city and harbor, and many stimulating conversations; each person was quick-witted, very excitable, and full of energy.  The Member of Parliament and the surgeon turned back before our ascent of Mt. Faber, but along the way people kept stopping and shaking her hand; I found out one of the other parties was her brother-in-law, but the rest were supporters.  The walk ended after a somewhat steep descent to the coast where we found ourselves passing through a shopping mall to reach the shore across from Sentosa Island (a man made island full of themeparks, casinos, resorts, and prime multi-million dollar properties).  We were taken to a food court full of local cuisine.  I tried Laksa, a local prawn and noodle dish, and was force fed all kinds of local foods and treats by the three Chinese and Singapore women sitting around me.  All very good, and very filling; a pancake type dish filled with chicken and egg and topped with curry, deep fried dough, dough filled with sweet beans, and sweet bread with cinnamon centers.  After filling a bag with leftover, because I am the young one of the group and still growing I can afford to eat, we headed back to the marina filled with local cuisine and joy over the new acquaintances we had just met.  Yves invited some of them out on his boat in the coming weeks and we will be meeting some of them again in Bali!

When we got back to the ship, I had time to change my shoes and fill up my water bottle before I headed off to the Botanic Gardens with the remaining crew.  After an hour and half on various buses, I had gotten to know Danny much better, and we all were eager to finally reach the gardens!  We stopped at a cart outside the gardens and each tried a local ice cream sandwich; a solid brick of ice cream wrapped in a slice of multi-colored bread.  The Garden was huge and full of many brilliant colors and aromas; one flower smelled just like a ripe peach, it made my mouth water!  We came upon a large park in the middle, and all I could think about was what a beautiful place to toss a Frisbee! We had to stop for some coffee and chips, French fries in the USA (I was corrected by Satyvan today that being from Brasil, he is American too and ‘United Staters’ spell Brasil wrong, it doesn’e have a ‘zed’), but continued to enjoy the park before the long trek back to the marina.  I was fortunate enough to fall asleep for 30 min on the bus ride back to Jurong Point (the bus transfer point). 

The past two days’ activities reminded me of life in Denver and at Kenyon, full of fun friendly people enjoying the beauty of nature; whether it is getting on the river early to fly fish, lounging in the quad, hiking around the BFEC, playing Frisbee, or simply socializing in a comfortable setting.  I felt a little home sick on the ride back being reminded of all the friends and family back in the States and how truly out of touch I am.  Technology really doesn’t reach the isolated journey I am about to embark on.

We arrived back to Mir, to find the deck covered in soot and the galley heated up like a sweat lodge.  Sunday night dinner also consisted of testing out the diesel stove top and oven; which we discovered makes a 90 degree day with 66% humidity unbearable.  We sat on deck to enjoy two roasted chicken and potatoes and red wine, courtesy of Yves who also joined us.  This Sunday dinner was full of toasts and the speeches at the end were all about our excitement for the New Year (year of the Rabbit) and the happiness brought about by the assembled crew.  The evening ended by Yves inviting us to go wakeboarding courtesy of a local company that Biosphere Society Singapore sponsors; a very generous offer and a good, fun break in the busy work week finalizing our preparation for the voyage!

Mir is now planning to be ready to set sail by the end of Friday, a party onboard with lots of drinks, friends, and dancing on Friday night, a day of rest and last visits to Singapore on Saturday, and an early departure for Jakarta on Sunday!  I can’t wait to set sail, see a new culture, and experience a new adventure.  I hope everyone is well and has a wonderful start to the year of the Golden Rabbit!

Big USA in a little Asian Culture

This morning we got to sleep in, but I was woken up by the sun reflecting off of the dock through my porthole right onto my face.  I needed to get up early to prepare for my sales pitch over lunch, and mentally prepare for Saturday morning ‘acting class’.  The entire crew followed Laser up to the dance studio in the yacht club.  Warm up began by frolicking around the room in a circle to feel the presence of the space we would be moving in.  There was running, skipping, hopping, jumping, stomping, backwards-running, and of course, high knees and karaoke.  Afterwards we found our own space in a circle and began by kicking our feet out without allowing the rest of our body to move.  Next we moved one limb at a time repetitively in each direction, again keeping the rest of the body still and relaxed.  We then came to a full body exercise that didn’t stop until we turned made the noise of donkeys as we pushed through our body’s resistance.  Beginning with hip circles, then adding arm circles, and then wrist circles, and then finger circles, and then head, face, tongue and toe circles.  For 15 minutes we had every joint and small muscles stimulated by circular motion.  For brief periods we would slow down and other brief periods we would speed up.  After we had broken our body’s resistance and began grunting and moaning like ‘donkeys’, we froze in place and felt the energy radiating off of our bodies.  Moving around the room and interacting with others we could feel their energies.  After the energy had subsided, we reformed the circle and began releasing our true voice.  Your true voice comes from your sex organ and resonates through all of your internal organs until it escapes through your mouth.  It has its own power and energy.  We again interacted with others, feeling their true voice and responding with ours, followed by its reverberation off of a wall.  The final exercise was a voice exercise.  Moving around the room and speaking how ever felt right to you individually, we made the sounds of the vowels, one at time.  The ‘class’ was ended by lying down and playing the entire thing over in our heads, ‘going to the movies’, and individual stretching.

Saturday morning clean up followed acting class, and I was reminded how beautiful Mir truly is; she really does clean up nicely!  I also got to swab the deck again, which is actually quite fun and makes you feel like you are in an old pirate movie.  Our two guests arrived a bit early, so I didn’t have time to shower, but luckily the humidity and heat of my bunk removed all of the wrinkles in my shirt and shorts!  The meeting went on for 3 hours, and the guy is very talkative and excitable.  There were a lot of great connections made and hopefully some future business.

I finally made it into Singapore!  I visited the Chinese Gardens and the Japanese Gardens.  They were rather crowded and the main garden, the Bonsai Garden, was closed for renovations.  The Garden of Abundance made it worth the trip, however.  In this garden are 100 yr old pomegranate trees and statues of the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac.  11 of them were scattered around the garden in open spaces, while the Dragon was located in a jungle area at the top of a waterfall and pool.  Clearly the BEST symbol!  The pagodas were nice, as well as the wild life; I saw a fishing bird catching fish!  The surprising thing was there were more Indians than Asians, I even took shelter from the rain under a pagoda with a group of 8 Indians who were eating peanuts and sharing a carton of milk.  As I was leaving the Gardens, a caught a young girl following me with her camera phone, and as I passed I heard the ‘click’.  Everywhere I go it seems, Asians are in awe of me!

I made my way back to Jurong Point for dinner, and passed up the thai and malay version of Friendly’s to experience a street dinner under $5.  The first place I found offered 5 different soups, each containing a different pig’s internal organ.  After browsing many menus and being stared at by a large Caucasian guy, I found myself seated at a table with two other single men all enjoying a different dish and from a different culture.  Back inside the mall, I found a cheap asian movie store, in hopes of finding a Totoro dvd for Leskosky (sorry, no luck).  At the market, I picked up some energy food, Snickers and apples, and ran into the Caucasian guy in one of the aisles.  Again he was staring at me and as I entered the aisle he asked me if I was from Norway.  I found out he was from Russia and also a seaman, in port for repairs.  Also he had ‘never met a USA’ and didn’t know the English words coral reef, ocean, fish, or sea animals.  I felt honored to be the first American Egor had met and after his limited English had been surpassed he shook my hand, smiled, and said ‘have good shopping, good bye’.  Waiting in line for a cab, the little Asian guy standing in front of me stared up at me for 10 minutes.  I tried to engage in a conversation, but I all I got in return were ‘wide’ eyes and an open mouth as he shuffled backwards each time the line moved up.  It sure is a little man’s world out there! 

Not Your Typical Days

This week has been full of work and very tiring.  Sativan arrived on Monday night, very nice and very funny guy.  He is Brazilian, has a degree in psychology, practiced eco-psychology (which I am eager to learn more about), and now is a yoga instructor who has been travelling through India for the past 10 months.  The rest of the crew arrives next week, I believe two women, not sure where they are from (I was wrong about Laser, he is a Belgian).  This week has brought us sunshine with occasional showers, so we have been very productive.  We have cleaned out the storage in the dive locker (in the stern hold), we have removed the 36 ft, solid wood boom, and replaced it with the mizzen rig, and crossed off about 1/3 of the items on the 2 and half page list.  My list, however, keeps getting longer.  There are many little jobs for the ‘chippey’ to do!

Out of the Ordinary Experiences:

On Monday I made myself a PB&J (chunky with cherry jam) during an afternoon break.  This might not seem to strange, but I have not eaten peanut butter since my early childhood…it was actually quite good.  Monday night was our first night that the sky wasn’t completely overcast, and I had my first glimpse at the colors of a sunset.  The rest of the week has been similar, haven’t had the opportunity to catch the actual sun setting, just the pink glow on the clouds of the horizon.  Tuesday, spent a brief period of time outside and got a nice tank top burn, enjoyed the pool for the first time (rather cold, but the water falls feel amazing!), and showered with a gecko.  Dinner rotation had me signed up for Wednesday, so I prepared bangers and mash for the first time in my culinary career.  Thursday morning was probably the best.  On my way back from brushing my teeth, I spotted a bright orange seahorse clinging to some coral on one of the docks.  It was beautiful, and my first WILD seahorse sighting.  This was followed by a rather leisurely morning consisting of cutting foam for mattresses and acting as the bon voyage party for Michel and Simon on L’attitude.  It was a great way to start the New Year, year of the Golden Rabbit!  The past few nights, the stars have been out, and it has been very peaceful sitting on deck in the cool sea breezes swaying with the tides aboard Mir.   

Last night we watched a few slide shows on all the work the crew put into Mir during the 9 months it was in Malta.  It was a huge transformation, seeing her completely empty on the inside with a huge hole in her stern, to the reconstruction and raising of the two masts, and finally the voyage to Singapore.  I learned that Mir was built in 1910 as well as some of her history with previous owners.  All the steel located above the water line is the original steel from 1910!  She is VERY old!  We then watched a 5 minute video on Biosphere 2, an incredible project, and learned how a company bought them out, had them arrested and tried to destroy all of their efforts for financial gains.  There are some great documentaries out there on the project.

Today, I found out that I had a meeting set up with one of my dad’s associates to discuss one of his projects with a potential investor, as well as introduce them to Gaie, Laser, Mir, and the Biosphere Foundation.  I knew I was set up to make some introductions on behalf of my father, but now, tonight, I have to prepare for an oral presentation on a very extensive project looking for funding in the hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars, but no pressure.  The man is supposed to be very nice and VERY talkative.  After lunch and a tour of the ship, he has offered to take us into town to show us the TRUE Chinese New Year Celebration.

I am still planning on enjoying the SUNNY weekend off to take in the Chinese gardens, the bird park, and the botanical gardens.  Carol has also asked me to take her sailing on a smaller boat, since she hasn’t been on anything shorter than 83 ft.  I am definitely excited to experience what Singapore has to offer!!