Am glad to hear it. Not that I want to put a damper on things, but I am a careful soul, and these things do happen - see, for example, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/19/ BAG8JN28GF1.DTL&type=printable This is a sad story. That type of boating has happened before and it will happen again. Reading what Mike Peterson did to cross the Atlantic points out the patience it takes to have a successful cruise. I have fallen for the same thing. I left one day early from Western Samoa heading east to Suvarrow, which is a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific. We hit a sever storm. If I had waited, like I should have after looking at the weather, the trip would have been fine. If we are doing this for enjoyment then we have to boat in season and even then work around the weather. Haste does make waste. I have been off the Oregon coast in 20 foot seas, going down wind in Wild Wind IV. It was a good ride. At the time the port engine was down. That is another story. The problem out there is when the seas get bad there is no place to hide. The river entrances are so bad it is more dangerous than staying out. We were happy to get into Crescent City CA. I would like to hear comments from the people on this list that are from that area. Dennis Raedeke