WinStuart

I just cringe! I agree with wildone, "The guys have loose lips just like Joel and Lisa. What is with kids these days." It's like watching several trains approaching on different tracks, knowing that they will crash and also knowing there's nothing I can do about it. I tune in every Thursday morning to learn more and hope for the best. I also agree with daddydavk, " I repeat: 'It is more than past time for her to have a run of bad luck'." Let it be so. Thanks.

CJ: Thanks for this latest chapter. I agree with 'wildone". Just as the story seems to be winding down, old issues come to light and are more complicated that any of us readers knew. So we'll just have to continue to be amazed week after week. I too feel that the heavy emphasis on Trevor's old wreck and the garlic crusher seem to foretell more than average importance in the coming chapters....but how? Thanks, C J!

I shake my head and smile reading the forum. It's not as good at CJ story, but it comes close. What a cool experience this has been to see a massive, complicated and toally engaging story come into focus. It's also a privilege. Thanks, CJ.

Today was a great Tuesday morning - the latest chapter was there when I open up my computer. And things are coming together - like two nearly identical catamarans rafting off Australia's western shore. Even as things seemingly were falling into place, there was the odd press conference and the writer-editor conversation. Things in Australia and the Caribbean are far from being resolved. Bridgit, while mentioned in this chapter but not "seen", is still doing sneaky stuff which is sure to threaten Trevor and Shane. Thanks, CJ, for the good read.

CJ: Thanks for providing the tape's content and setting up Trevor to go public. Regarding the last paragraph, is it too corny to name the next chapter "Anchor's Aweight"? Probably? Definitely? The end is so much closer. Thanks.

Is MikeL's statement a cliffhanger by extension?

CJ: I was happy to see your most recent chapter bright and early Tuesday morning. Thanks. It is said of a Chinese dinner that not matter how much is eaten, the eater is hungry soon after. Your chapters are always full of new revelations and tons of facts, but soon afterwards the reader hungers for more. It never seems enough. Trevor's new surf board seems to be a "ripper", quoted as such several times. Will the board play a pivotal role in the story? A means of escape or a defensive weapon in hand? As always thanks. Looking forward to the next chapter.

As Kevin D says above, "Is it next Monday yet? So Bridget once again proves to be a master strategist." For me, Monday's are the longest days of the week and Tuesday mornings are totally distracted by CJ. As for Bridget, I capitulate to CJ. I can't guess what her next step is, so I'll just wait to see what happens. And Billy-he should have walked away from Bridget a long time ago. I still think Gonzales will make Bridget squirm. Not sure how. In any case, by the end of August, Circumnavigation should be complete and all shall come to light. What a cool story. Thanks, CJ.

Thanks, CJ, for bringing distant and blurry facts in this story back into focus. Now, we the readers, can figuratively set our butts deep into our seats and affix our seat belts for the ride to the end of the story: Bridget and Sanchez's confrontation rivals 4th of July fireworks The underlings struggle to choose the best side to support Gonzalez shadows the flotilla and heads up the arriving cavalry at Sanchez's island The bow fronts in Ned's shipyard are located and peeled open The public announcement of the hidden documents truly foils Bridget and her newest buddies do her in Trevor's mom leaves the hospital Shane has one to more opportunities to still save Trevor's life There is a family reunion at the Australian farmstead. Just my guesses

Chapter 124. What a meaty chunk of the story! Thanks, CJ. My biological memory bank has lost recall of many parts of this saga. If I had a week to do so, I'd start to read the story from the beginning again. Then many of the subtle details CJ has planted here and there would come into focus. However, at this point, I'm just blindly riding the story to its end. Things are about to get very exciting in the Bahamas. The convergence of many parties there, all with very different agendas, will cause much noise and violence. Things are relatively quiet now on the Australian front - the calm both after and before the storm. With Basingstoke dead and Bridget out of the country, the authorities will be sifting evidence but the bad guys aren't active. Next up to bat is Gray. I still don't know why Folwer and Ned took the other boat out to sea. Perhaps they believe something remains hidden in it and wanted it to disappear until the bad guys were caught? With new answers, more questions appear. CJ, thanks for a another great chapter.

CJ: Thanks for getting us closer to the solution. I am still amazed at the amount of research you've done for this story. I'm not current with maritime law and certainly not Australian maritime law. Well done. Bridget may be a scumbag but she's keeping her wits under pressure. If she's not going to the rendezvous, where is she off to now and why? Just looking forward to the next installment.

Hey! Finally, finally, finally something is going the right way. While I still have grave misgivings that Basingstoke will stay subdued and hog tied; he is at least seriously hurt. And Trevor and Shane have no qualms about heaving him over the side----again. I worry about the rental boat possibly trailing the Kookaburra. Because tKookaburra's lights, transponder and probably radar are off, Trevor is not aware of other boats in the area. Bridgit looks a fright at this point. If she were dead, she'd look a bit better. It's about time for Billy to get smart, realize he's totally expendable, and just leave Bridget to find her own way. Thank goodness, CJ didn't cut to the Caribbean island activities in the middle of the cockpit fight and leave the readers scrabbling to hold on at the edge of another cliff. Thanks for that small mercy. I'm unclear what forces are being marshaled to aid Trevor and Shane. There is the stakeout at the hired plane and police are near Rachel at the hospital. Now there will be a stakeout at the purported rendezvous of Bridget and Basingstoke two days hence. There is a cutter from the naval base an hour or so out from the boat. There is a military aircraft in the air somewhere near Geraldton. Some policemen are actively searching for Bridgit and Billy. And Ned is getting Atlantis launched for possibly a long sea voyage. They all might be converging but the image isn't clear in my mind. CJ, thanks for a super story and the pain of holding on week to week.

CJ: It was great to see a chapter posted this morning. It set me up for a fine day. Then I savored the anticipation and delayed making time to read until lunch. Now I feel "just unsatisfied"! The players made many moves. They are more in proximity to each other than ever before in the story. And we hold up at the edge of another, need I say it, cliffhanger. Maybe not a cliffhanger, more like everything stops its motion: Atlantis bobbing in the ocean; Kookaburra tied up at the doc; Travis and company protected in the jail; a firetruck caught with dust flying past its tires pointed to smoke out on the desert, Billy and Blazingstoke sharing a ride and Brigit touring the sidewalk. I guess that will have to hold me for a week. Thanks for a great story, CJ.

CJ: It's a happy Tuesday to wake up and see a posting to Circumnavigation. It appears that both parties have very intricate strategies for the end game and are aware of the deceptions made by the other party. As a reader, I feel I'm being set-up. I believe Trevor should prevail in the end, but then again I never thought Henry would be fed to the alligators. I've invested so much in following this story that I desperately want good to triumph over evil. Because of that investment in the story, I think the writer is willing and able to scare the pants off me. Here's hoping the risky gambit pays off and the three B's (Briget, Billy and Blazingstoke) get fried in their own napalm.

Dyor: Oops. Registration issues like misspelling your identity are a major pain. And I mistype all the time. I do agree that this is one of the best stories I've ever read. I've read all the major and many of the minor maritime survival stories. I've never read an account as gripping as Trevor's near drowning by the pirates; surviving for many days on an a stripped boat; and navigating with the merest navigating tools. And that was just part of the story! WinStuart

CJ: These chapters are like watching a chess board where all the pieces are the same color: gray. You see movement. You know there are opponents but much of the action doesn't make senses. All you know that the positioning is purposeful and intended to obliterate the opponents - whoever they are. For over a year, Tuesday mornings have been the start of my week by reading the latest chapter. It has been a great adventure. As much as I want to know how it all turns out, I half want it to end soon and half want it to go on forever. I guess those are qualities of a great story. Well done.

CJ: Thanks for starting the final lap of your epic story. Finally we are reading some positive plans being made for turning the story around: the multiple radio transmitters, the standing alert for all Debonairs flying west, the matching color scheme for both boats and a plan to have charters in both the US and Australia. As far as Bridget and Billy go, I sense they'll need more than looking different to escape and live unnoticed for the rest of their lives. Thanks for "Ballmail".

CJ: I agree with sdaddy, I'm going to have serious Tuesday withdrawl symptoms when Circumnaviagation finallly is finished. After tracking this story week-by-week for well over a year, I'll only have Glee to anticipate on Tuesday's. And Glee doesn't hold a candle to this story. And let's face it, the chapter has nothing but cliff hangers dangling all over it. Once again, seemingly all the cliffs are made out of ocean water. CJ can fashion a cliff hanger out of anything......and does. Great chapter and a truely grusome form of death described. Sdaddy is correct. The desciption now makes it unnecessary to actually go through with the killings. It's had its OMG factor already. WinStuart

CJ: Thanks for Blissfully Ignorant. The chapter, stateside, is full of information about who did what; this back fills a lot of the story. I can't imagine visiting an alligator farm much less one where all the animals are being disassembled for their stomach contents. I would have puked in the driveway on the way in. Meanwhile our intrepid sailors are sailing the southern seas. The tension in the story is papalpable. And now Blasingstoke is buying a way to make the deaths to be of natural causes. Yuk. Very much looking forward to justice being done!

CJ: I thought once Trevor and his mom met, we'd be near the end of the story. Not so. I feel like I'm caught in an ephemeral froth. There are so many complicated links between parties. Trevor and Shane are in the center spotlight and at the same time, they are completely in the dark. Thanks for letting us know that the end of the tunnel is about two month's away. Also thanks for a year of cliffhangers and a great story. WinStuart

CJ: I like it. Lots of teenage banter. The extended family sounds very real too. The parties are finally all talking to each other. And Bridget's mistakes of knowing more than she had any way to learn are coming to light. Now if only Rachael will be honest about her real dealings with Bridget, all the pennies will drop....ping.....ping....ping....thunk! Thanks for the double feature and the early publishing schedule for the next installment.

I just love this story. It just keeps getting better and better. I'm really looking forward to Lisa and Joel meeting Trevor's mom, and to Lisa and Joel telling Trevor of his father's boyfriend! I also can't wait to read about Bridget getting trussed up in her own web- it's gotta happen. And as for the assassin Mr. B, I trust he will be dumbfounded by his own failure. Thanks CJ.

Thanks for a good advance on the story. One can see how difficult it would be to discover your "dead" mother after so many years. I'd be disoriented and off balance for quite a while. One can hope that Gonzales will talk to Lisa before she leaves and learn of Bridget's gift of new suitcases. He'd surely suspect something and want to closely inspect the cases. CJ, this continues to be an incredible story will so many more details to be revealed. Thanks.

(I choose to completely ignore CJ's convoluted adjustment to the chapter numbering.) After the shocks of Chapter 99, this chapter is an orgy of explanations of various parts of the story. Well written and very complex. Henry Wesson talking to Mike Gonzalez after the attorney general meeting: “As for what Frank did with the State Attorney, he blindsided me too. I had no idea he’d pull that, but I should have guessed; that’s his way. He’ll do anything to win. He’s both my boss and my friend, but he’s a manipulative asshole a lot of the time – which he freely admits.” I dearly like CJ but this comment could apply to him for all the cliffs from which he’s hung us, the readers, all too often. In a later conversation with Henry Wasson, Mike Gonzales says, “On the flip side, Trevor was asking me about what it would take to become emancipated, so maybe he lied, thinking a claim of a homophobic parent would help. But… that makes no sense, if he knew his father was in a gay relationship, as it’d be too easy for his father to show the claim was bunk. Damn, this case is giving me a migraine.” That statement could apply to this novel of over one-hundred chapters. But the reading has been engaging and satisfying recently. And the best punishment I think I’ve ever heard meted out to a teenager: “Joel blinked, still not believing what he’d heard on the phone. “I’m grounded, so I’m going to Australia sooner?” he mumbled.” Thanks for chapter 100, CJ.

CJ: This chapter was well worth waiting for weeks and weeks of cliffhangers and Shark's Bay meanderings. While many issues are now out in the open, not all is well understood. I feel like I just received a short course in tax and federal law. And who knew that Trevor was being so closely watched and protected by family members. I can imagine all the whispered talking going on behind his back. Those sneaky and loving Aussies. And as others have pointed out, there's still Bridget, George and Blasingstokes. Now it will be fun to see the various spools unravel. Like "flashpoint 2008". I too look forward to a point when I can re-read the story right through - probably all night and a day.