Log of the sailing vessel RHYSLING Notes from the Editor - August 2001 These documents are the transcribed log books of Mike Bates' sailing vessel "Rhysling", between 1984 and 1991, on which he and various friends and acquaintances traveled from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, throughout the south Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, across the Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea, west through the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and then back to the U.S., where Rhysling was ultimately sold. Mike's mother, Billy Prior, has entrusted me with the Logs, and I am trying to transcribe them as accurately, and literally, as possible, making only a few minor spelling corrections, expanding some abbreviations to improve clarity and readability, and making some of the formatting more  consistent.  I've also omitted some of the many, many position fixes that were entered while Rhysling was under way.  I have included positions at least once or twice per day in these cases (especially when he was using the SatNav), so that the progress of the voyage can be plotted if desired, but I didn't feel it was necessary to include them for every other hour or so, as was Mike's habit while on a passage.  I have added footnotes whenever an entry, word, or phrase is somewhat obscure or seems to need additional explanation to put it into context.   The footnotes in the Web version appear as colored, underlined numbers in square brackets above the item they reference.  You can click the footnote number to jump to the footnote text, then click again on the number at the beginning of the footnote text to jump back to the reference point in the log. Any text in square brackets […] is the editor's, either for clarification, or to indicate, in the case of [???] a spelling or other question that is as yet unresolved (help and corrections welcome, see below).  Finally, Mike wrote the logs almost exclusively in capital letters, and so to avoid the look of SHOUTING in the transcription I have put the text in 'normal' upper/lower case, capitalizing where appropriate.  Thus, any errors in capitalization are the editor's.                                            *           *           *  Billy Prior and I have become close friends since Mike's death in March 1997.  Having sailed with Mike and talked for many hours about his voyaging, and Rhysling in particular,  I hope I have some small insight into what was happening on board when these logs were recorded.   In part, they reflect his background in the Navy and with NOAA, and his meticulous attention to detail.  They also reflect his warm affection for the people that he meets along the way, performing magic shows, hosting dinners, and being invited into the homes of so many that he met.  Unfortunately, Mike's self-effacing modesty surely prevented him from recording in his log most of his own contributions in food, advice, assistance, and friendship that he freely gave to others and for which he was continually repaid in kind.  Billy's intention is to have the logs published, and so I'm asking anyone who reads them here to please email me with any observations, corrections, or additional background material that you may know about which would be interesting or informative to anyone who might read this in the future.  In particular, footnotes that might be needed for clarity, and/or other explanations of sailing or nautical terminology.  Also, please forward any contact information for any of Mike's friends who are either mentioned in the logs, or who knew Mike and may be interested in them.  Of course, Mike's family reserves all rights to their publication. Thanks to all for your help. Tom Eagan Box 313 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 360-317-5327 360-378-4392 (fax)