Ahoy 5170 Century Builders, Yesterday we forgot to mention that it
has been foggy and we can not even see the front of the ship. We are
thankful for the powerful radar they have on board. The radar is so
powerful that if there are white cap waves it will register on the radar
screen. Since we are in the middle of the ocean and we have radar so
we have not even slowed down the slightest, we continue going at an
average of around 22+ knots per hour.
Super Typhoon Nida is still not being felt so we are happy as we watch
it coming closer on the weather charts. In fact I am writing this paragraph
just before lunch on the 19th and the seas are the smoothest they have
been for the entire voyage. Almost glassy seas with the temperature
up into the 50s and sun shining through. About an hour ago Cindy and
I decided that this would be the day for our adventure to go to the
bow.
We notified the bridge that we were going up forward and then we left
and as we went to the exit at the bottom of the superstructure the Chief
Officer saw us and suggested that we walk on the side that is away from
the wind. We walked up the Starboard side and as we went forward and
got in front of the reefer containers it seemed to get wonderfully quiet
except for the noise of the ship¹s hull cutting through the water.
We almost got to the front and I took a picture of Cindy standing
on one of the stanchions.
If you look behind her you get a feeling for the length of the passage
that goes from the superstructure to the bow and is actually under the
edge of the containers. That passageway is almost a 1/4 of a mile and
if one put Astroturf on it you could have a pretty neat jogging track.
When we got to the front part of the ship we first went into the repair
shop in the boatswain's locker were we met one of the men from Kiribati.
He showed us around his workshop and then he proudly showed us the CB
radio that they had set up on one side.
The old system of communicating from the ship used to cost quite a
bit. Since about a year they have a new system installed aboard. 
This
is the Iridium phone system which is world satellite phone system that
can be used anyplace in the world and is about 1/3 the cost of the old
satellite systems. In fact I bought a card to use from the ship and
it is about $26 for 20 minutes. The first time that I used it they let
me know that they gave me an extra 10 minutes so it seems relatively
inexpensive compared to the old system.
The men from Kiribati feel that this is still quite expensive since
they found out that a CB radio can be used to call home. Three of the
families at home have CB radios and so they talk with home almost every
night and the ones who have the radios relay the information back to
the families who do not. This is the best system since it costs nothing.
Not bad for ingenuity to address the issue of homesickness.
We left the boatswain¹s locker workshop and went back outside
and up to the bow where we hung our heads over hoping to see fish. We
did not see any fish but since this was the first day where we had some
significant sun we decided to sit in the sun and lounge about for a
few minutes. We then walked back and reported to the bridge that we
survived the walk and were back in the cabin, reading about Rotary.
Today is our last full day at sea and after lunch we are going to
start putting stuff back into our suitcases. We are sure that we did
not spend enough time learning Japanese but we are both armed with a
couple of books and we have practiced a few words.
Tomorrow morning at 5PM we will pick up the Pilot at the mouth of Tokyo
harbor and they expect that we will be alongside the docks at around
8AM. How long it takes for the ship and us to clear customs, we are
not sure, but the Ship's Agents will help us through that process and
then take us to the train station.
We are getting excited about this new part of our adventure which is
just about to start.
Saying goodbye from around 350 miles from Tokyo, Japan until we see
you on the website tomorrow.
Ron and Cindy
