There's a replica of a Chinese Junk in SF right now at the Hyde St. Pier. I went to see it on the supposedly last day, Friday. They were eating lunch, so I asked if I could just take pictures and they agreed. As they were finishing up lunch I spoke with the skipper, Nelson, whose project this is. It took him 6 years of research and work to get the boat built. It has no nails and no synthetic glue.

I heard my teacher's voice saying, "Make a donation or offering." I asked, and they accepted. Then they invited me to have some of their lunch! People were taking pictures like I was part of the crew.

I spoke to Nelson about how important his work is, how disconnected we are here in America and it seemed to really resonate with him. They're sailing next to Hawaii and then back to Taiwan. (It took them 69 days to cross the Pacific.) They don't actually have a place to dock in Hawaii yet, so I called my teacher on Maui immediately and she was so excited. She happens to be married to one of the premier Hawaiian woodworkers, and he's just started teaching how to build canoes again. I'm hoping we can arrange for them to dock at Maui and we can do a traditional welcoming ceremony for them.

They aren't leaving til Thursday or Friday due to the weather and they're still provisioning. Today I brought them some oranges. They're a traditional offering, but I also thought, "Scurvy!"