Day 5
19th May

Sunday today, so life on board is a little more laid back. Watchkeepers still do 8 hours watch, Linda still cooks, Frank our bosun and Sam, who has been a volunteer deckhand from N.Z. to Australia( and made a great improvement with painting on the poopdeck) do a few little jobs on deck and Neil our radio operater still has to send and receive ship communications. But he did seem very pleased with himself at having finally given his cabin a spring clean. First chance since arriving on the ship at Hao atoll 2 months ago. Even though our ships were handed back to us,from the French, that long ago and we have just come out of 6 weeks maintainence, still the strangest discoveries are made. Today Rob came across important, technical papers of the Rainbow Warrior, buried in a draw in his cabin and Shaun discovered the seamans' papers of a crew member who was deported from Moruroa, way under his bunk, only seen when the draw was pulled right out.

Many crew fom that trip have lost personal effects and also ships log books and important papers seem to of disapeered forever. Tomorrow morning, around 07.30 we will be passing through the heads of Sydney harbour.

As far away as 100 nautical miles off the coast, the glow of Sydneys' lights has intruded on the night sky.

From the information we have received on board, the 29 hours we will be in port will be busy. Press conferences,open boat, many visitors and catching up with some of the people who have been working hard for many months already, preparing for this visit to China and the aim to have all the nuclear weapons states sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. For the past few weeks, Jeannette has spent many hours doing chart corrections and the last few afternoons plotting our course to Manilla, 4000 miles from Sydney. Safely weaving our way around the reefs of Papua New Guinea and through the islands of the Philipines some of the most pirate infested waters in the world. So, we have decided a celebratory glass of Port after our watch, will go down well.

Tanya Popp