UW 
,c. 
I am not personally anxious to make any large collection of 
fishes. Since my arrival I have devoted a large percentage of 
my time amassing an enormous collection for Bob Harry of the Geo. 
Vanderbilt Foundation at Stanford (for which I expected, to be well 
raid, but for which I've received only a counle of hundred dollars.. 
I had counted on Bob to heln tide me over. I have been trying to 
stretch the one Yale~Bishon Mus. fellowshin for an entire two years 
and not finding it easy) . My guess is that Leonard will not be 
anxious for another large collection from the Pacific. When I 
was last there he was faced with the large task oi* cataloging 
collections from Fiji, xiaottsqp ?alaus, and Arnhemland, in addition 
to the old Albatross material which is still not on the shelves 
in its entirety. I might add that I have already s ent the Fish 
Division a b~ut four small collections from here, largely things 
like oarrotfishes that I knew were wanted. I do not intend to 
publish any faunal study of the fishes of Tahiti 
Bob Harry will do ultimately. 
This, I nresume 
A good, resnonsible cook may be even more difficult to find than 
a cantain. "Te Vega" has yet to find one here or in Hon -lulu. But 
I think there would be some of average caliber available, and by 
average I don't mean resnonsible. If there is one universal bad 
trait of the oouulation here (es% the Tahitians), it is the lack u 
of same. One of the first French words I learned here was demain . 
But I am rambling. ... if I were to end un as skinner, it might be 
possible to talk my wife Helen into going along as cook, but I have 
my doubts. She excells at cooking and, of course, is used to cooking 
on boats, but there is the problem of our 3 year old daughter who 
was most miserable when her parents left her for three weeks last 
fall in the care of a Tahitian family on Moorea. 
I neglected to mention tkxt a counle of other things that could 
interfere with my being available to you. Bob Harry wrote about 
two months ago inquiring of the possibility of chartering Nani, but 
has not written again in spite of my writing him an encouraging 
letter. Two Belgian snearfishermen considered chartering N a ni for 
a month to the Tuamotus for 'TO a day. That was a month ago and 
I have heard nothing further. My guess is ^hat neither party was 
very serious. 
May I inquire as to what you have in mind for itinerary? Just 
the Society Islands? 
I forgot to say that I do not have masters papers (something 
I dont need when I captain my own vessel). If I vere skiooer without 
these papers (and, of course, I could not get them here), it might 
void the insurance of "Mareva" . There is an answer to this , however. 
McOonnaughey could write to the insurance company and ask for an O.K. 
for me as skipper, pointing out that I have sailed my own boat ^ a 37 
ketch) for 7 years, including cruises from Los Angeles to Hawaii and 
Hawaii to Tahiti. As long as he had a letter from the company 
authorizing me as skipper, the insurance would apply. 
