Pacific Odyssey - Leg 5

It´s been a beautiful sunny and breezy day: tonight the temperature is comfortable as the breeze is quite strong, we should have a great sail tomorrow. 10 trainees and crew left early for scuba diving:  Jordan, Elske, Amanda, Rachael, Joel, Chase, Sara r., Sean, Scott, and Sarah b. the day was spent doing laundry with the island women, snorkeling off the dock, showering, reading, writing, hearing from home, and preparing for sea. it was a good day. Jose watched the boat with Karen, and re-leathered the jaws of the main throat. A gigantic fuel tanker came in with a crew of 19. We chatted with two of their Korean crew: they are very friendly and funny. They were playing soccer on the dock with their crew and the ball had to be retrieved several times from the ocean, about 12ft below them.  The deck is littered with bedding and several trainees have already fallen asleep.  Noah and Jacob found rain-proof sleeping spots in the furls of the main and fore sails. We have a beautifully clear night with just a sliver of a moon, but that doesn´t necessarily mean anything in terms of a night without rain: things can change quickly.  We are leaving at noon tomorrow for Guam, 6 degrees latitude north of us, about 530nm. We are looking forward to the passage and arriving in Guam, one of our final destinations in Micronesia. Guam is part of the Mariana Islands and we will be crossing over the Mariana trench, the deepest part of the ocean, on our way there. Until tomorrow, good night, Bonice.