Saturday June 13

On starry nights we look out at the sky for planets and constellations. Sometimes we can identify Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Saggitarius, and Scorpio. Other times it is too cloudy to spot just about anything. Usually about 11 pm, one can see a spectacular moon rising over the horizon.

Last night was far too cloudy and the sky was starless. The moon struggled to rise. Then around 11:30 pm we saw two tiny lights on the horizon. And you know how we feel when someone encroaches our circle! So, we decided to chase it out.

It was the 850 foot vessel, Cosco Fukuyama, and as AIS would later tell us, it was headed to Qingdao and set to arrive there on 6/27 at 5 am. A little after the lights were spotted, a tadpole size object appeared on the radar screen. The AIS was not yet providing any information and we headed up and out of a potential collision path.

It seems a little funny that objects on the radar are called "target" as if we could ever target a 850 ft vessel. To be honest, I am even a little skeptical that we were on a collision course. However, it was a first sighting since we left Honolulu and an awareness for everyone of things to come. A couple of hours later, Gavin and I spotted another vessel that came on to radar for a few minutes and disappeared. There was no further information we could glean.

It seems now that the sunny days and calm waters will soon be behind us. The crew feels pretty ready to move forward to the adventure ahead......

Gautam