Safe Arrival at Pohnpei

In spite of a forecast that showed 17-18 knots all day, the light air persisted through yesterday. In classic "horse headed for the barn" fashion, rather than enjoying a quiet last day, we motor-sailed all the rest of the way to Pohnpei.

I was for heaving to and waiting for daylight (or enjoying a slow sail in). But Dave wanted to get in, so we arrived at the entrance to the harbor at about 11pm. We hadn't had a squall all day. But of course, as soon as we proceeded in the narrow channel, a small squall descended on us. Fortunately it didn't last long.

We had a good set of waypoints for the entry, and a good set of Google Earth charts, which showed every coral head and reef on the way in (we think). We went slow, with Dave on the bow looking out, and me at the helm, navigating "on instruments". With the computer screen visible in the cockpit, I couldn't see anything outside the cockpit. I just focused on staying on the plotted course, which had several twists and turns. (insert screen shot).

At the very end, we switched places, so Dave could take us into the dock--I dock Soggy Paws about half the time, but I prefer having Dave take her in in new places.

Anyway, we arrived at the Port Captain's dock at 11:55pm last night. A Port Captain representative was there to take our lines, and welcome us to the Federated States of Micronesia.

We had a good night's rest and have just completed our clearance this morning. Starting at 8am this morning, we hosted individual visits from the Port Captain, Agriculture (Quarantine), Health, Immigration, and Customs. The total cost for clearance was $30 paid to Quarantine, for which we received a receipt. All the officials were friendly and professional.

We already have a dive lined up for tomorrow. Besides Challenger and Westward II, we already know two other boats here (Helena and Java), and have been talking to 3-4 others on the radio. We're looking forward to enjoying Pohnpei.
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Sherry & Dave
Heading west across Micronesia in 2014
At 02/05/2014 12:50 PM (utc) our position was 06°58.71'N 158°12.18'E