The 7th day passed busy fixing various blocks and sheets that are chafing.

I have read all those books written by long distance voyagers all my life, reading about the ''chafe'' I believed them but it is different when you see it happen in real.

For all repairs we first put down any ideas that come to our mind, discuss them, put them together say stories from our experience and then decide what to do. George (Ktypodaf) throws his wisdom as our magician materializes them.

The weather was not favorable in strength most of the day, now we just make 5-7knots and this is annoying. The direction is also changing from NE to E then to ESE and sometimes SE. We are now feeling the difference in temperature; it is warmer and the sun although partly cloudy is very hot. Unfortunately we cannot send you pictures of the sun set full with clouds just behind our foresail. We will try to send one photo reduced in size.

Another feeling we all have is that each of as depending the cruising areas we sailed in our life we always expect to see our favorite piece of land here and there. It is a picture I guess we all have, the combination of the waves, wind sailing course and the land we love or we expect most. It is an illusion that sometimes drives you crazy. Land is only 1500nm away from  one side and 1200nm from the other so let’s forget about our illusions!

The night is also playing games when alone in the watch...we are watching ''ourtube'' not ''youtube'' , old time stories, people we love, things we have been doing mostly younger or at work...very strong feelings. There is Plenty of time for such clips, others call them flash backs.

We all who love this sport know that problems occur so often, but in a long trip this is it, happens continuously. Is the continuous friction of the material at the same points?  It is natural something that works perfect for days or months when you really need it goes: Puff! And you spend hours fixing. This happens so often with electronics and whoever says ''it will never happen to me'' he is wrong.  Think that every day the dust and humidity goes and affects these guts of the computer. Every day since I left Greece I fell the keyboard different. The electrics too.  

My friend Paolo L. with S/Y Malaika5 who started the ARC last year and now he must be close to Australia going around the world,  he wrote to me ''Dimitri make sure you have many energy alternatives'' he is right  we consume Amps like crazy. Freezer, refrigerator, radar, plotter, Inmarsat, Satellite phone pumps e.t.c.  an endless list that just consumes Amps. Bear in mind that we don’t have the auto pilot (who is a hungry bastard and very naughty sometimes). Was it that sailing was more enjoyable forty years ago?  Safer, more enjoyable with less time spend on repairs just doing the real thing? We will talk about this another time, soon.

I have to leave you now and prepare dinner, it is Sunday, no school for us tomorrow kids, ha ha !!  we have made 1200nm up to now so its bourguignone (rather…. with a little Greek touch) with small boiled potatoes and beer or wine. I had prepared the food and had frozen it (as many other dishes)  in Las Palmas so it is only the potatoes to cook.

Tomorrow you will get our job description so you know who does what.

So cheer up there is another 1538nm to go.

S/Y ARMENISTIS