From a recent email from Akama, a Krogen 48 Whaleback: We had a terrific, albeit relatively short visit to Canada this year. We were in the Edmonton area for Christmas and in the Ottawa area for New Year. It was good to see family and friends again, but we ran out of time and missed a lot of you this year. While we miss all our family and friends greatly, we are sure happy to be back in New Zealand, where the daytime temperature lately has been in the mid 20s C. The weather in Canada, for us, was abysmal (nearly everyone else was talking about how nice it was). We are still thawing out! AKAMA is out of the water for the first time in three years, for bottom painting and below the waterline maintenance. The hull is in terrific shape, much better than we hoped given our minor encounter with a reef in the Florida islands (near Honiara). Unfortunately, the running and steering gear both need overhaul. On the drive train, the prop has a nick in it, the main propeller shaft is badly corroded, and the cutless bearing is worn. The top bearing and seal on the rudder are shot and the steering ram mount is a bit sloppy. Repairs will not be cheap, but are essential. Maurice & Louise-Ann Nunas http://www.nunas.com http://members.rogers.com/waterworld/tnews_temp_113.html