Michael Fulton, an investment manager from the Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. His email said that they had great sailing for the first eight days and then the wind disappeared altogether. They powered until they ran out of fuel. Michael, talking on the VHF radio to a passing tanker, convinced the tanker to give them some diesel. The fuel was passed down from the tanker to LEYANDRA in 5-gallon jerry jugs while LEYANDRA was bobbing around on the slowly undulating ocean. Then after powering for another day, Spencer and Michael ran out of fuel again. But this time, it was because they had forgotten to check their tank and inadvertently let it run dry five miles from Horta. They were lucky, because they still had another 10 gallons in jerry jugs on deck. However, in order to get the engine started again, Michael had to bleed the air from the system. Unfortunately, he did not know how to do it. But being ever resourceful, he called a mechanic back in Ft. Lauderdale through the satellite phone he had on board. The mechanic walked him through the procedure and they were able to power the rest of the way into port.
   That night Herb said that we would have light winds beginning Saturday, as the Azores high would begin to develop. Thank God we had brought an extra 10 gallons of fuel in jerry jugs strapped on deck. At that

time, we had 12 to 14 kts out of the southwest, and the sailing could only be described as perfect. It would have been nice to keep that for the rest of the trip.
   Saturday, June 28th -- Herb was right. The winds eased up to only 8 kts out of the south, but with all sails up, we were still doing 5-1/2 kts on course to the

Azores. We also hit the halfway mark sometime in the morning -- 900 miles out and 900 to go! Before we sail, we always squirrel away some kind of treat to celebrate the halfway mark.
   It was time to break out the treat -- the latest issue of the National Enquirer!!! I spent the rest of the day devouring all the gossip, such as how Brittney Spears spent an afternoon on the beach picking lint out of her bellybutton. There was even a picture of her exploring her navel. Or, did you know that Martha Stewart's brother said that "jail would do her good"? And how about the hot romance between Demi Moore, 40, and Ashton Kutcher, 24, from "That 70s Show". I mean, how can one stay informed without the National Enquirer?
   You can tell that this trip is getting to all of us out here, because the morning and evening radio schedules with the three other boats are running as much as an hour each. Allison on SHADOW FAX told us that this morning when her husband, Keith, was making breakfast of scrambled eggs, the boat took a lurch and he ended up with raw scrambled eggs all over him. Oh, for the life on the roving sea!
   Sunday, June 29th -- Finally, our conditions were almost perfect. The wind was out of the northwest at 12 kts; we were sailing wing and wing doing 6 kts through the water which was almost flat. It was calm enough that I could once again break out the computer and check our email. We got a message from each kid. Alex was about to start his move from Philadelphia to New York, and Spencer, who lives in San Francisco, had taken his girlfriend on a trip to

the California wine country. What a joy being able to get email while at sea.
   After checking email, I went on deck to check for ships and inspect all the gear for chafe, etc. When I am on deck looking around, I don't get the feeling that we are all alone out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 900 miles from the nearest land. Rather, I picture us on a giant chessboard and we have been moving a few squares each day. Every evening after Herb's weather, I plot our position on the chart that has the whole North Atlantic Ocean. Each day we move another inch and a half closer to the Azores. So, I have a mental picture of where we are on the chart when I look at the vast empty sea. Then it doesn't seem so big and daunting.
   A fifth boat joined us on the morning schedule. The boat's name is CRUMPET II with Graham and Keith on board. They were having problems. Their forward gear wouldn't work so while they could charge their batteries, they could not propel themselves with the engine. To make matters worse, they had no wind and an adverse current as they were caught in the Azores High. Also, according to Herb, they could not count on any wind for a few more days.
   However, we were further east, were having light conditions and smooth sailing. CHAUTAUQUA, on the

other hand, was 400 miles behind us and still fighting frequent squalls. On the evening schedule, he said that they had suffered a lot of small damage. They had ripped a reef point in the main, torn their spray dodger, blown out one of their weather cloths, and lost two plastic buckets with small gear, such a scrub brushes, etc.,

overboard. Don was tired and depressed at how far he had left to go and he was getting gun shy about getting caught in any more squalls. The advice from the rest of us was that if it was still blowing had to just heave-to for the night and get some sleep.
   Monday, June 30th -- I awoke to take my 8 am watch and found overcast skies and light rain. The wind shifted back into the south and picked up to 20 kts. So much for the smooth sailing of the last few days. The bright spot was that it was finally a little cooler.
   On the morning schedule, Don on CHAUTAUQUA said that he had taken our advice and had gotten a good night's sleep and was feeling much better. We could hear it in the sound of his voice. Just to cheer him up more, I read from the National Enquirer about Brittney Spears picking lint out of her bellybutton. He also hadn't heard about Demi and Ashton. He thanked me profusely for filling him on what was going on in the real world! CRUMPET II said they had finally broken free of the wind hole and were now sailing, if only at 3 kts.
   During the afternoon weather schedule, Herb said that we could expect the winds to moderate somewhat and clock back to the southwest at 15 kts. Looks like some more good sailing to come.
   Tuesday, July 1st -- Beautiful sailing. The wind was 12 kts out of the south southwest. We were wing and wing, just gliding along a flat ocean. I had read every word of the National Enquirer and was not back into my book. Kitty was on her third or fourth book, as well as taking time in the afternoon to do some