Oct 15, 2017 3 am – We will dock Kandu at the suggested Bintan Island Marina & visit Singapore by ferry. Taking a breather from all the recent touring. Indonesia has been a jewel. Imagine we’ll return by plane some day. I’d like to help them develop & showcase their tourism capabilities. Think a job may be forming for my future: economic development via tourism & media (film & TV programs). That would be fun for me. Maybe get certified as Project Management Professional (Nick’s suggestion) & media (film & TV programs). I would use media by making movies/TV programs (dramas/romance) to entice viewers to want to visit, & create local programs to educate locals on available solutions for existing social issues.

Oct 15 2017 9:17 am – A subdued motorsail. Need to average 4.5 kts or greater to arrive before dark tomorrow. Will cross the equator before dinner today. Don’t think we’ll be crossing the equator again between here & CA as we go N into the Med from here, then across to Caribbean. Columbus hoped to find East Indies (Indonesia) for spices, but stumbled on the West Indies (Caribbean). It’s fun to explore both.

In FP, sailing friends suggested we see more of the S. Pac, 1-3 more yrs. In Indonesia, sailing friends say the same for SE Asia. I’m already hearing the same about the Mediterranean and will likely hear the same for Caribbean, and S & Central America. I say we’re doing it “buffet” style, not “sit-down dinner” style. When they push I say they’re right…Since we’re not dedicating adequate time, we should just go home!

And that’s actually what we’re doing…but the long way back. All of us dream of flying back to CA for 2wks, but at our current pace, that would mean missing one extraordinary experience or another, something none of us are willing to risk. Sure we’d like to skip the long passages, but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the crew. Each of us makes it easier on the others.

Oct 15 2017 21:27 pm – Took pictures of us crossing the equator. Turned around & did it again so B&T could swim across it. 2hrs later, avoided a 2 mile fishnet, driving us temporarily off course. Recycled bottles floated the net. Difficult to see. B saw ’em, saving us from tangling the net in our prop. Sea snakes swimming made me even more grateful we didn’t have to jump into the sea to cut off a tangled net caught in our prop.