Pacific Odyssey - Leg 5

We woke up to another clear day.  Again, during the middle of the day it was slightly warmer and pleasant to be on deck, albeit in jackets and scarves.  We´ve had some wonderful motor sailing today with a following wind. The 2 courses were set at 1000hrs and we have been sailing an average 8.3kts all day.  At this speed we could be entering the inland sea within a few days.  The sea is a fuzzy green-grey color: the waves surge under the stern of the ship, lifting us up and then continuing their course under us and forward towards the bow.  The motion is side-to-side with the ship taking on water through the scuppers regularly.  We feel as if we are now officially heading home as we have gone the furthest west we will be going on this offshore, so far west, it´s called east.   Karen read ´Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes´ this morning to a large group of crew and trainees.  it is the true story of a young girl affected by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and how she dealt with her sickness.  Karen taught us how to make the ´peace crane,´ a symbol of hope for Sadako and now also for many people around the world.  at the peace memorial in Hiroshima there is a statue of Sadako and her golden crane: we hope to visit it when we´re there.  Noah has been folding cranes all day: it is quite a complicated piece of origami.  by supper time he was able to do it without the help of anyone.  he´s very proud and on his way to making 1000 cranes.  we still have trainees and crew who are suffering with colds.  They are taking the time to sleep during this passage.  the stove in the galley and after cabin stay on 24hrs a day and the boat is quite cozy below: we are surprised though how quickly the air cools off and how cold it is on deck in the evening and night.  After 1530hrs most people stay below unless they are needed for watch: we keep reminding each other that from here on, it should only get warmer.  until tomorrow, good night, Bonice.