Date/time: June 8, 2006 12:00 local (24:00z) Position at noon: Kushiro Dock We had left at 11:20 local, but set our clock ahead 3 hours for Kamchatka time and so we left at 14:20 today June 8. Noon to noon: nm Avg. speed: 7.1 kts Miles to go: 915 miles to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy Course bearing: 0 Sea state & wx: Wind SSE 5 kts, some fog & clouds Sea SSE swells 3 to 4' Water temp: 9.00C Crew: Ben, Brad, Kevin & Kurt Remarks: Big news, we got our Russian Visa this morning at 09:30, thanks to Shigemi Seki here in Kushiro and his lovely daughter Ayako in Sapporo. Seki called the Russian Embassy in Sapporo and they said they had no provisions for private boats entering Eastern Russia. We could fly in or stay away. Seki requested the Embassy call Moscow and see if they can work something out because it was important. The guy called back the next day and said Moscow would give us a 3-day transit visa only, and we had to be in Petropavlovsk exactly on the day we said which isn't always easy on a small boat because of weather. For $150 each we will give it a try and are excited about being the first recreational boat to this area of Eastern Russia. If anyone has contradictory information in regards to this being a first, please let us know. Also Seki has a Russian friend who will help us when we get there. Seki lent us his car so we could drive around Hokkaido and see the beautiful countryside. A great place to retire. Security and friendliness are paramount here and it is such a pleasure in a smaller place like Kushiro to moor your boat downtown with all the services around and you can walk to everything you need. It would be like parking your motor home in downtown Grande Prairie and leave your door open all day and visit with everyone going by. Everyone visiting you gives a gift. We even got invited to a funeral and paid our respects after a full explanation. They are so friendly you don't feel uncomfortable, even though 3 cowboys with their hats (Kevin was back at the boat) going to a funeral where we didn't even know the name of the guy who invited us or the deceased. It was truly great. I want to come back again. -- 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