I would have taken a photo of Maro, except all you would see is the big blue ocean. Maro is a tiny reef and the satellite photo will give you an idea what it is like here. You need binoculars to see the breaks in the distance that tells you without navigation equipment that there is very shallow water ahead or as the mariners of long ago would scream from the crow’s nest, “Land ho.” I could see where the sailing ships and whalers easily run aground. The fathometer tells us we are anywhere between 75 to 250 feet in depth depending on where we are afloat. We are going to be here for several days. Meantime I have to expect a weekly drill somewhere in between.
Weather reminded me of Seattle except it is much warmer here and instead of sun breaks, you could say it was partly cloudy. Around noon, the seas were calm that you would think we were floating on a lake. I went out to the weather decks quite a few times to see if I could catch another glimpse of the reef. No such like and had to rely on the binoculars to see a slight splash from the breaks.
The day started with doing the laundry. We have three washers and dryers. The washers are the Kenmore water saving models. The reason for the water saving models is so we use minimal amount of water to wash clothes with minimal wastewater produced. This allows us to sail in the monument longer and not have to go outside the monument zone to dump sewage so often. Several years ago, it replaced the washers we had because water saving appliances would be beneficial for us to remain longer times within the monument confines. The same applied to showers and toilets as well. The water pressure is as if you would find at home but the amount that goes into our sewage tanks decreased since the ship came into service.
I worked out in the gym on the elliptical machine and weight training using the Bowflex. My son made a comment that Bowflexes spend more time in garages collecting dust instead of actively used. I recall cussing out the big boxes when people ordered Bowflex machines for Christmas and had UPS deliver it. I was a temporary Christmas UPS driver ten years ago so I know how heavy it can be. Nevertheless, the Bowflex here is put to use. My quitting time is four PM and I usually head to the gym and try to work off this slightly than average body. Since it is four hours difference between our current time zone and the west coast, I would like to call but need to workout. Besides, my doctor recommended it for my health. Knowing my wife and son will be up a little late I can sneak in a call for about fifteen minutes each after dinner, which is around 5:30. Tonight I will draft an e-mail, send it to them, and wait for answer.
There is always something to do out here. My telephone system is similar to what you would find in a hotel. An alarm this morning alerted me that extension 145 called 911. Fine, except there is no active extension 145 and the 911 call would go nowhere. There are projects that are in progress and always updating the library and linking programs to the “File Server Navigator.” It is an Intranet page related to activities of the shop.
Have to send off some e-mails, maybe read a book or put in a movie in the DVD player and hit the rack for another day. It’s part of a countdown that another day brings me closer to going home, however, I want to have some fun in between.Doc and I are already planning what to do when we get to Midway. One is to find the post office and then the bunker at the beach.
Goodnight from Maro Reef, literally in the middle of nowhere.
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