Of course we found out everything.
Our friends aboard the yacht *Curiosity* sent us sailing information about the Marshall Islands group, while our Yulia sent the social and geographical background.
Fully briefed on every subject, Lady Mary is bravely flying past all the atolls — probably the last atolls we will see for the next several years.
We went around two atolls during the night. One was far too inhabited; the other did not appear to offer likely anchorages.
We could not claw far enough upwind to reach a third, even though we very much wanted to look at it and its neighbour.
Uninhabited Taka Atoll has a second name: Suvorov Atoll. Yes, a second Suvorov Atoll in the Pacific.
Its neighbour, Utirik, has also been called Kutuzov Atoll.
It would almost be a sin not to visit.
But…
We are passing all this beauty not only because of the weather.
There is also the pandemic, and entry to the Marshall Islands by yacht has been strictly prohibited for two years.
Add to that the fact that even in the old life, before Covid and political complications, reaching the Marshalls was not especially simple.
Yachts mainly visited only three atolls, none of which are on our route. The entry fee was high, numerous permits had to be requested, and in general the local population was not particularly fond of foreigners.
Over the years of colonisation plenty of countries contributed to that attitude. Spain, Japan, Germany and the ever-present United States all found ways either to take islands away or use islanders' land against their wishes.
On Bikini Atoll the Americans detonated an extremely powerful hydrogen bomb in 1954. The Marshallese are still dealing with the environmental consequences.
So you understand: even arriving incognito at an uninhabited atoll would not be the brightest idea, especially now.
After the Marshall Islands Lady Mary will enter genuinely empty water. For a good thousand miles around us there will be no land at all.
Even now we learn that land is nearby only from visits by birds that are not especially ocean-going.
Flying fish, meanwhile, regularly inspect the deck.
They are not much use. They are too small to fry, practically fry in the other sense.
Every day we throw two or three tiny bodies back overboard. The large ones rustle their wings and fly past, having no interest in playing kamikaze.
It would be better if the big ones did fly aboard. They are tasty if you cook them.
The heat continues
And it determines both our leisure and our mood.
We wait for colder latitudes and for evening, which barely brings any coolness but at least makes existence understandable: exercises, a bottle shower, a board game, dinner, a film, night watch.
And you no longer have to force yourself to do lessons or pretend you are doing lessons.
The hatches still cannot be opened. Whenever the desire to breathe fresh wind defeats common sense, another half-bucket of seawater joins the interior.
Curtains and some of the bedding that we could not rinse in fresh water are already dotted with mould. Salt water simply does not dry.
On the positive side, we are moving quickly: 150 miles in the last twenty-four hours.
If only we could keep that pace all the way to Vladivostok, we would make it by May Day.
For now the deckhand and I are thinking about how to make our birthdays pleasant.
On 1 and 2 April Lada and I will become fully certified sailors :), celebrating our birthdays in the open ocean.
Nastya already had that pleasure on the 37th parallel on the way to Cape Horn, while Andrey had his somewhere between Tasmania and the equator.
Now it is our turn.
To be fair, celebrating a birthday in the ocean is not especially fun.
We have decided to celebrate the deckhand's eleventh birthday again ashore, with friends, noisy games and presents.
Enormous thanks to Alexander K. and the owners of cards ending 2318 and 3830 for supporting the ship's fund and the crew's morale.
Thank you to everyone who contributes to the expedition budget through YooMoney.
Thank you for your comments and messages on the website. Receiving them through our shore team makes us very happy.
You can find our real-time position under the Route tab. It shows the track from the Rockstar Iridium 360 tracker provided by MVS Telecom.
Sent by satellite on day 24 at sea.
Coordinates: 11°13′ N, 169°10′ E.