Pacific High

We are smack dab in the middle of the North Pacific high pressure area now, but it is strangely overcast. Normally here in the high we would have clear skies, but the cloud cover has been almost 100 percent for a few days now. Otherwise it is typical high pressure weather; light airs and flat seas. We've expected to see the fabled North Pacific garbage patch, but so far the ocean has been remarkably clean. We do see a black plastic fishing float every few hours and we have seen some other small bits of plastic, but the only large item we've come across is the net Clay just missed hitting a few days ago.

It is so foreign to me being here on a power boat. I spent my sailing career trying to avoid the Pacific High. On a sailboat, no wind means no speed. On Starr we are trying to stay in the high as long as we can. No wind means flat seas, maximum speed, and maximum comfort.

Don made a real nice salmon/tofu/vegetable dish in the wok last night. We are making up for our meager appetites of the first couple of days.

There is more bird action today than we've seen since departing Oahu. Clay recognized a Laysan Albatross in addition to the brown one that has been keeping us company for a few days. There are a few other birds out here as well, smaller than the albatross, but I don't know what species they are.

Since the weather is nice, we've put out a fishing line. Don has engineered an alarm system that alerts us in the wheel house when we have a fish on. That way nobody has to monitor the fishing gear.

This afternoon we will reach the halfway point to Alaska, and by tomorrow afternoon we should be exiting the high and starting to see winds from the southwest. The forecast indicates that it might get up to 25 knots or so, but then the winds and seas should taper off until we make our landfall at Unalaska Island.

I've been spending most of my awake off watch time wrestling with computer and communication systems, but we are starting to get comfortable with both and now I can get back to reading. We have lots of good books aboard Starr. I'm currently well into James Michener's "Alaska".