#121 NOW September 28, 2006 2209 (UTC -11 hours Samoa Standard Time) S12038.5 W168042.4, Temperature 82.6, Pressure 1006 mb, Heading 0380 magnetic Wind 080 @ 10 to 15 kts, Seas: 5 to 7 ft swell from East. Para-vanes down, Miles Completed 155, Miles to Go 1166, SOG (speed over ground) 4.0 kts. 1300 RPM Good Evening from the Pacific, When I signed on to my yahoo mail address last Tuesday, I was blown-away with over 20 e-mails. Most were kind words of encouragement to continue my odyssey; a few were offers to help as crew, and a couple wanting more information about purchasing the boat. Since the librarys internet was closed over the weekend and Monday, I did not have a chance to answer them. I want to thank each one of you for your interest and support. Your suggestions and advice are greatly appreciated. Those of you wanting to buy my boat will have to wait until I get to Hawaii or maybe San Francisco, or.??? As you can see from the above data, we are on our way to Fanning Island again. I found a New Zealander living in American Samoa who could weld the aluminum supply reservoir. He did a fine job and once again, I was impressed by the skill and workmanship of Kiwis. His bill came to $50, which was a pleasant surprise. I want to make one more comment about this problem and then we will get on to other things. I feel very strongly that anyone taking a Nordhavn 40 offshore should have a backup system for this supply reservoir. This reservoir is a vital piece of equipment from which all major systems (Engine, Genset, and even the wing-engine after it uses up its fuel from the 10-gallon tank) get their fuel. If this tank fails, as mine did, you could be really up a creek, or more correctly in the middle of an ocean with only a paddle. A simple solution is to carry a small hose about two feet long that has a >-inch male connection on one end that can be connected direct to the main tank hose. On the other end a > to = inch adapter with another male fitting that can be connected direct to the hose running to the engine or genset as needed, thus completely bypassing the supply reservoir. This hose and connections cost me $75, a small amount to pay for a backup to a critical system. Mike Pate, who is manager of a Christian camp in Southern California, arrived on Sunday evening. He is an enthusiastic sailor and will be a tremendous help. Tuesday morning we picked up the reservoir and spent the rest of the morning installing it. In the afternoon, we cleared customs, and immigration, checked our e-mail and prepared the boat for an early morning departure. Wednesday arrived with squally showers, but a fairly good weather window. Arriving at the fuel dock at 0800, we topped off the tanks and headed past Rainmaker mountain and out to sea. As expected, we have been fighting moderate headwinds and seas on the starboard bow. At times our SOG (speed over the ground) drops down below 4 knots, which makes you realize that you could almost walk that fast. However, if we keep our RPM around 1300 we are projecting a 20% reserve on arrival in Hawaii. It may be possible to pick up some additional fuel at Fanning Island. I guess you could say we are living life in the slow lane. Life is a Cruise, Larry and Mike -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm

When Larry refers to a supply tank, is this a one gallon tank that comes after the day tank and serves like some kind of distribution center? If so, why wouldn't a distribution manifold be used? I thought that Norhavn measured fuel consumption using the day tank. Thank you, Ron Rogers