Sunday, June 14, 2009, by Bob

Sunday, June 14, 2009, by Bob
2:06 a.m.

Wind: from the northwest at 20 knots
Waves: medium big
Water temperature: 78.9°F
Air temperature: 69.6°F
Sky clear, except for half a moon.

We are 200 miles north of Isla Socorro, and should arrive there Monday morning. Isla Socorro is an island about 300 miles off the
coast of Mexico, southwest of the tip of the Baja Peninsula. It's a nature preserve. We have no good reason to go there, which is
the best reason.

We have man overboard beacons on the boat. They are small plastic things about 2 inches square. If you carry one with you when you
fall off the boat, it sets off an alarm and marks your position on the GPS. That way, if Mike falls off I can snooze for a while
before I get up and go looking for him -- his position will be marked on the GPS. As long as it's not windy and there is no current,
it should be fine to wait a couple hours before I start the search.

Yesterday morning I was in the shower. I didn't have any hot water because we had not run the right engine or the generator for a
while. So I soaped up and was scrubbing, and had turned off the water for a bit because it was cold.

Then the man overboard alarm went off. I rinsed some soap off my face so I could see, and hollered for Mike. No answer. I went up to
the living room and hollered. No answer. I went outside and hollered. He was cleaning a fish on the steps, and the engine was
blocking the beacon signal. I went downstairs and rinsed. It was an albacore tuna -- the second 16 pound one in two days.

Today I got up and Mike was reeling in a BIG fish. But the line broke. Later today I reeled in a fish about 2/3 of the way to the
boat. It got off. Still later, I had one on for a few seconds when I was reeling in the lure. It got away. Tonight I was sitting
outside, and a fish jumped onto the boat at my feet. Finally I caught one! Who needs hooks?

Birds were flying around the boat this afternoon catching small fish. The birds (and probably the fish) go really fast, zipping down
in between the waves. It looks like a lot of fun. But not much fun for the fish.

Mike's been playing the guitar. I've been playing the piano an hour or two a day. I'm trying to learn Liszt's transcription of
Beethoven's 5th symphony. Liszt's hands were bigger than mine. We may have to extend the trip into a couple of circumnavigations
before I can learn it all.

We haven't seen a single pleasure boat since we left the U.S. We've been staying pretty far off the coast, even outside the shipping
lanes. I like it out here.

Yesterday I fixed the saltwater washdown pump. It had seaweed clogging up the intake hose, and then the pump threw a breaker. I
think that's because one of the motor brushes was a little corroded and wouldn't slide into the rotor to make good contact. Either
way, we now have a new pump. The pump is in the anchor locker, not a large space. I unhooked one of the hoses with pressure on it,
and it doused me thoroughly with seawater. I was stuck right next to it and couldn't even turn around. It was pretty funny.