Palani Wright, crewman aboard the escort boat Kama Hele, shows off a glass fishing float, spotted from Hokule'a by Randy Kosaki. The Hokule'a radioed the float's coordinates to Kama Hele, which then scooped it up. Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser

The voyaging canoe had its steering sweep tied down and the boat was balanced so that it maintained a course to the northwest. Earlier, we had been cruising at 10 knots and surfing at 12 or so.

"Trying to scoop up a bucket of water at that speed is taking your life in your hands," said Randy Kosaki.

But there was a problem with one of the mast supports on the escort boat. The crew was making repairs, but the Kama Hele couldn't keep up with us unless it used both engine and sails. So we reduced speed.

It's a relaxing time on board, since there aren't many duties other than keeping an eye on our rigging and watching for obstacles. Watch captain Russell Amimoto announced that a worthy goal would be to look for glass fishing floats drifting on the ocean surface, like the one we came across Monday.

We had no fishing lines out, since we caught a 25-pound ono Monday afternoon and it would provide a couple of meals. We have no refrigeration, so excess fish is dried in the sun. But our screened drier was full, so there was no point in catching more.

Crew members are turning browner, despite liberal use of sunscreen. Sailing master Bruce Blankenfeld's back has peeled, and he's browning the next layer. There is little shade during the day, except under the sails or in bunks, which are sufficiently cramped that you can't sit up straight.

Hokule'a captain Nainoa Thompson keeps watch from the navigator's seat. Thompson is recovering from a severe blow to his back Saturday afternoon. Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser

During the day, clothing changes with the weather. Taupu and Keoni Kuoha have taken to wearing malo or loincloths. In the midday sun, Kuoha wears his with a straw hat that looks like a sombrero. It's quite a statement. He won't allow photographs, and Blankenfeld has taken to calling him Chico.

Captain Nainoa Thompson, who appears to be recuperating well from his back injury Saturday, wore full yellow foul-weather gear yesterday as he participated in a Kamehameha Schools board of trustees meeting by satellite phone. He is chairman of the board. The foulies were a precaution, since he could not leave the phone to change if the weather got worse.

It was fairly chilly, even during the day. The canoe was now north of 25 degrees north latitude, nearly 200 miles farther from the equator than Honolulu.

As we passed south of Maro Reef, a spider's web of reefs that forms the second largest lagoon in the archipelago (after French Frigate Shoals), a squall blew down from the north. Strong winds precede a squall, so as a precaution, the canoe's mizzen, or back sail, was trussed up and the vessel turned downwind to reduce pressure on the main and jib.

The squall passed with a little rain, and soon we were back to full sail.

The same procedure is followed when we catch a fish. If it's a big fish, all the sails may be doused, so the person pulling in the line hand over hand doesn't have to work too hard at it. A small fish might require no sail reduction.

Along with its other stores, Hokule'a carried the ashes of Maggie Schneider on this voyage, and delivered them to Tern Island at French Frigate Shoals. Maggie was a bird-life monitoring volunteer at the atoll after graduating from high school. Her parents said the summer with the birds of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands changed her life, which she dedicated to nature, helping kids and studying marine biology.

Maggie was a junior at Duke University when she was killed in a car wreck in late 2002. Her parents asked that a portion of her ashes be taken back to Tern.

The canoe yesterday was headed for Laysan Island, which it expected to reach at 8 or 9 p.m.

Or perhaps earlier.

The escort boat had made repairs by about 2:15 p.m. and Hokule'a got its main, mizzen and jib pulling again. The speed was up, the wind and waves were noisier and crew voices reflected a renewed energy.