4/09/08, Thursday,

1300 Darwin Time – everybody knows, and it has no greater importance to you, has it?

12 06 S; 101 48 E, 290 nautical miles to the island.

The island is tiny. Thank God I don’t have to use Jacob’s staff or my fist to navigate. I don’t think I would be able to find that small patch of land in the middle of the ocean… besides, what does it mean to “be a sailor” today??? (I think that, regardless of all the exams taken ashore, either you are a captain (you’ve got “the thing”), or you are not the kind of guy who may become one… (well, they say it is good to have really biiiiiig charts onboard since you can always write “where am I?” on the reverse side and show it to a passing plane: ) Poseidon always watches, he can see everything and frets the sea at sunset…

They say the sunset is the saddest time of the day… for me, it is waiting for the first star and guessing its name… Sometimes I get tricked – this one is Venus… I think it is… What other star is so bright and rises at 270 course, just above the horizon, and always makes me worry that it is a ship coming towards me…
Evening usually brings weather changes: wind either increases or decreases, waves change shapes as if the sun was kissing them goodnight. I stare at the horizon and the sun. These are magical moments when  I can imagine almost everything  past the slightly convex horizon. Whatever is impossible ashore, now becomes  just one of multiple options (which is what I got to like most in this journey)… It is amazing that Tanasza sails on its own, propelled by wind. It uses water as a path, just as simple as that, and so interesting ... I can’t imagine how tall ships do it [sail] technically… I wish I could see it someday…

P.S. An opened pack of Mentos fell off the shelf at night. I found it on my way, took it, and ate some. One was missing. I found it in the morning – yellow, beautifully smashed against the stairs with a water container. You can’t even imagine how difficult it is to scratch a wet mentos off the wall. Impossible, you can try and do your best, but the nasty thing refuses to cooperate…