Date/time: June 2, 2006 12:00 local (03:00z) Position at noon: 39 07 N & 142 33 E Noon to noon 165 Avg. speed: 6.9 kts Miles to go 247 miles to Tokyo Course bearing: 020 Sea state & wx: ENE 5 to 10 kts, sea 3 to 4', sunny Crew Ben, Brad, Kevin & Kurt Remarks: Kurt was diligent yesterday and caught a nice about 42" Mahi Mahi, I gaffed it and passed it up to him, he took it aboard but it flipped off the gaff, broke the line and bounced down the steps to the sea. For a grown man he was particularly excited. He and Kevin will keep trying. Less ships as we get farther north. Saw a whale then our first seals since South Africa. One group of seals, about 20 acted like dolphins and followed our bow and kept coming out of the water like dolphins for about 5 minutes, then went over about 100 yards and relaxed with their heads out looking at us. Never saw that before. We got a movie of it. Yesterday water temp 20.5, today 11.5. I guess that is why the whale & seals. Turned the upper heater on for first time since before Azores. 10 degrees centigrade is a large change for one day and we will maybe see some moderation before we leave Kushiro but you never know, the ocean currents everywhere are always full of surprises. Good weather, good sea, good food. Ben Gray "Idlewild" Custom Buehler 55 powered by a 55-hp Kubota Home port: Dunvegan, Alberta http://www.idlewildexpedition.ca/ http://dieselducks.com/Idelwild.html http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/ To follow "Idlewild" with Google Earth: http://tinyurl.com/ksnhg For the Trawler M/V JPEG version: http://tinyurl.com/ovdt7