At Sea - 350 NM NW of Fajardo, PR Report as of 12:00 AST Nov. 8, 2005 - Next report in 24 hours PART ONE FOR ALL Last night we advanced ship's clocks one hour, meaning I got my daily rum ration (one drink) an hour early. Now, sunset comes closer to 5:30 than 4:30, which seems about right for fall in the southern North Atlantic. Happily, our boat speed is up. Unhappily, so is the engine room temperature. We measured after this morning using two sensors and it was 150 degrees F at the overhead near the main engine. Dean and I just changed another main engine Racor filter; after about five minutes in the ER, we both emerged closer to 150 than 98.6. ER temperature has become a key determinant of the quality of life on board (or lack thereof). To cool it down we have turned off the generator, re-opened the main salon hatch into the ER, and opened the door from the ER into the master stateroom. We've set up a new path for cool air in and hot air out, at some discomfort to those of us onboard. But it seems to be working. After two hours like this, engine room temperature has dropped to a relatively cool 130. The bad news is that the heat is dispersed through our living spaces: the staterooms, pilot house, and main saloon-it had to go somewhere! I have asked PAE for help anew on this tough issue. Alas, our XM Radio signal is fading. Signal strength is down to a single bar and the sound comes and goes. On her own initiative, Rachelle Gregory, the super tech support person at Ocens, did a little research on XM for us and says their website reports that XM works off all coasts of the U.S. Glen (Tut) Tuttle has e-mailed XM in our behalf asking for further information, which we'll share here it he gets a response. Steve Argosy called yesterday from Seabird reporting they are now about 36 hours ahead of us, expecting to arrive at Puerto Del Rey in Fajardo tomorrow morning. We're working hard to get there before sunset on Thursday. Steve reports that his weather has been significantly tougher than ours, perhaps due to his need to make more easting faster by virtue of leaving from St. Augusting, well to the west of Beaufort, our departure point. Life onboard continues good, if a bit hotter than we'd like. We're looking forward to getting to Puerto Rico and cooling this baby down! We expect to spend three or four days in PR before moving on to the Virgin Islands, and we would welcome any recommendations on places to stop. Tentative plans call for stops at Culebra in Vieques Sound, Christmas Cove, one of the bays on the north shore of St. John, Jost Van Dyke, Road Town, Trellis Bay (a favorite during our winter 1983-4 stay), and Virgin Gorda. We'll likely leave Virgin Gorda for Puerto la Cruz right after Turkey Day. For Steve Argosy: According to Bruce Van Sant's Cruising Guide to the Spanish Virgin Islands (1998), any vessel coming directly from the U.S. to Puerto Rico need not clear customs. That, of course, may have changed in the wake of 9/11. According to Van Sant's Gentleman's Guide to Passages South (2003), the customs phone number for Fajardo: 787-742-3531. PART TWO FOR OMNI WEATHER Weather conditions pretty well match your forecasts, though we're seeing SE wind and seas rather than the ENE-NE you're caling for. We're hoping the wind will back to ENE-NE. Don't the weather gods have to follow your forecasts? PART THREE FOR ALL Position 23-34.2 N / 69-00.6 W as of 12:00 AST Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005 Course 159 deg M Speed 7.0 kts @ 1900 RPM 350 NM to go to Fajardo Distance made good last 24 hours 165 NM, average speed 6.9 kts, distance from Beaufort 789 NM, average speed from Beaufort 6.6 kts. Total fuel consumed 675 gals, fuel remaining 795 gals, trip avg 1.2 NMPG and 5.7 GPH. Conditions: Wind 120 deg M @ 18-20 kts., swells 4-6 ft from 110 deg. M, mostly cloudly with occ. squalls, Visibility excellent. Barometer 1019.9 mb and falling slowly. Sea water temp 86 eg F, air temp 84 deg F. ETA Fajardo: 1600, Thursday, Nov. 10. All is well. --Milt, Judy, Dean and Schipperke Katy -- Milt Baker Bluewater Nordhavn 47 #32 Bound for Venezuela, via Puerto Rico, from Beaufort, North Carolina http://www.bluewaternav.com/index.html