AIR MAIL 
March 6, 1957 
SIBredin Society Ids. 
Dr. Jack Randall 
Yacht *NANI" 
Papeete, Tahiti 
Dear Dr. Randalls 
I am downright sorry that you will be unable to be captain of 
the MAREVA for us for our little cruise among the islands. I am 
much intrigued by what you say about Dick Stafford and wish that we 
might be able to sign him on without further ado , but I am afraid it 
is too late to try to make arrangements with the authorities for a 
waiver. I have therefore written to Mr. McConnaughey to see if he 
can still contact the Captain Carlson of whom he spoke. Should 
Carlson be unavailable, we shall have to take our chances on getting 
Stafford after we arrive in Papeete. It is possible that a personal 
plea to the officials or else one rendered through the American Con- 
sul in Noumea to the Governor might give us the opportunity of taking 
Stafford along as skipper. He is just the man we want, but we cannot 
risk coming down in the face of possible refusal on the part of the 
French authorities. 
You mention Reasin as having lined up a native captain. We 
alight consider that as a very last resort if we cannot get what we 
want. It seems to me that his man would have to be a very reliable 
man, for otherwise he might alienate McConnaughey* a interest in him 
and in his business. The matter of cook is still open, but I refuse 
to be worried about that . We can do our own cooking in a pinch, and 
I am asking Tom Bowman, who did a tour of duty as a second Army cook, 
to draw up a list of supplies that we should stock — any suggestions 
that you can make in that direction would be welcome. Will get them 
from you when w© see you. 
I am sorry to hear of your Customs difficulties. Personally, 
most Customs officials are fine people, but when it comes to interpret 
ing and enforcing the laws, I find among them some of the most diffi- 
cult individuals in the world • 
To your wife and to you I extend my congratulations. I am a 
great believer in large families though I did not have one nyself . 
My daughter has three, and I hope she will have a fourth one before 
too long. Nothing ties folks together more than a “crowd” of little 
children. With all the anxieties, responsibilities, troubles, din 
and shouting, youngsters have their moments of compensation which make 
up for everything else. I hope that someboc^y will disembark in 
Tahiti releasing a berth for taking her home. You never can tell, 
and maybe you and your friends can pull enough wires so that you can 
