We are about 6 hours from reaching Chennai, India. If I haven't said it enough, I'm really looking forward to this. We had our final Pre-Port preparations tonight and the ship is buzzing, even well after midnight.

Tomorrow will be a ton of administrative work to get the ship cleared; then I plan on heading out into the port city for awhile and will be attending a welcome reception in the evening. My trip to Delhi and Agra leaves at 0330 the next day. I won't be in contact for a few day since I will be off the ship and definately not bringing my laptop. While I won't be able to write or chat for a few days, I think it will be a great experience to let go and soak in all of what India is.

Last night I had the opportunity to be a judge for the Mr. SAS pageant and the amount of enthusiasm and talent of these students continues to amaze me. They also raised $5,300 for Student of Service which is great. Things are good. We had a Faculty/Staff Social tonight after all of the meetings and most nights, I've been going to the gym...there is something really energizing and also peaceful about a great workout followed by streching out on the deck, under the stars, listening and feeling the ocean. During dinner tonight, there was the most beautiful rainbow off the Starboard side of the ship that I had ever seen...it was a full arch of bright colors and stretched all across the sky and into the water as the sun set. I didn't have my camera with me but I don't think any photograph could ever do it justice. There are some things that just have to be experienced.

One more thing...If you're from the Lake, you will understand this! I feel like I belong in the "Circle." Each night at this point in the trip, I'm taking at least 5 pills! Between the Ginger Root, Acidophilis, Doxycyclilne, Mulitvitimin and now Cipro (and also carrying a healthy supply of 'just in case' Pepto chewables) let's keep our finger crossed that I don't end up with a case of "Delhi Belly".

With that said, it's time for bed becuase I need to be up early and don't want to be exhausted for India. Namaste.

M/V Explorer Position Report:

10 March 2008 -- Latitude: 10 degrees, 21 minutes North, Longitude: 081 degrees, 18 minutes East, Distance Made Good: 2355 Nautical miles, (Since Port Louis), Distance Made Good: 376 Nautical miles, (Since noon), Distance to go to the next Port: 256 Nautical miles, , (Chennai, India), Average Speed: 15.6 Knots, Distance to the nearest land: 48 NM from Sri Lanka, Sea Depth: 3635 Meters, Sea Water Temperature: 28º Celsius (82.4º F), Air Temperature: 28º Celsius (82.4º F), Wind: North east, 13 Knots Sunset Today: 18:16, Sunrise Tomorrow: 06:19

09 March 2008 -- Latitude: 03 degrees, 26 minutes North, Longitude: 080 degrees, 21 minutes East Distance Made Good: 1979.1 Nautical miles, (Since Port Louis), Distance Made Good: 444 Nautical miles (Since noon), Distance to go to the next Port: 632 Nautical miles, (Chennai, India), Average Speed: 18.5 Knots, Distance to the nearest land: 153 NM from Sri Lanka, Sea Depth: 4289 Meters, Sea Water Temperature: 28º Celsius (82.4º F), Air Temperature: 26º Celsius (78.8º F), Wind: South, 8 Knots, Sunset Today: 17:47, Sunrise Tomorrow: 06:11

08 March 2008 -- Latitude: 02 degrees, 34 minutes South, Longitude: 076 degrees, 07 minutes East, Distance Made Good: 1534 Nautical miles, (Since Port Louis), Distance Made Good: 454 Nautical miles, (Since noon) Distance to go to the next Port: 1074 Nautical miles, (Chennai, India), Average Speed: 18.9 Knots Distance to the nearest land: 208 NM from Maldives Islands, Sea Depth: 4828 Meters, Sea Water Temperature: 28º Celsius (82.4º F), Air Temperature: 29º Celsius (84.2º F), Wind: South west, 6 Knots Sunset Today: 18:07, Sunrise Tomorrow: 05:52