We had blocked heads a while ago and it took the removal of a section of pipework with all the control valves to a workshop for reamering out to sort it. In fear of anything like a repeat performance we now ban anything other than than the obvious going down - not even toilet paper and certainly not wet wipes or anything bulkier. Last time the problem was caused by a build up of calcium carbonate and the way to reduce this is to pour a bottle of vinegar down every now and again. The other thing to maintain against is the rubber valves going hard and breaking. As they become less supple they squeak and the remedy is finest virgin olive oil. There are of course various products you can buy, some of which claim to lubricate, cleanse and deodorise in one go. We also use these together with general purpose toilet cleaner (eco friendly when available). There is a toilet waste holding tank on board that can be used to hold waste when in harbour or anywhere sensitive but we have a problem with the non return valve back into the pan and so it is necessary to close the manual valve to the tank after use to prevent a subsequent back flow………………… 

Sadly, for descriptive purposes, there was no seasickness. The mattelos used stick on patches behind their ears but after a bit of sweaty winch grinding these soon fell off the male crew member. Fortunately he acclimatised to the conditions without them. Annie thought that a slight underlying feeling of unwellness might have been mild seasickness. Yours truly is lucky enough not to suffer, particularly after discovering one of the vagrant patches firmly welded to the back of one arm. It could have been there for days, slowly poisoning me with whatever they contain. It must be poison because the two mattelo medics insisted I wash my hands after removing it. You can see how much winch grinding I was doing though.

There was a degree of smelliness on board. Largely from unwashed clothes rather than direct body odour. Steve had two rather garish synthetic material tops that are supposed to be quick and easy to rinse through and dry. I think they received this treatment once only before the shock of discovering how much water we were using. There had been a great deal of scepticism about the work in Mindelo to get the seawater intake for the water maker in the right place. Annie and Steve had visions of ending up  on the Atlantic seafloor and would have much preferred not to have the thing in operation than to see me splicing into the pipe that keeps the boat afloat. Such little faith and thanks to getting the water maker going we were able to replenish the tanks by around 40 litres if we ran it for most of the day. This meant (fairly) regular washes were an option. One half basin of water is all that is required for a hair and flannel wash starting at the top and ending with the feet. Unless you are Annie for which it takes a whole tank ( oh, haha.. Annie.).

We arrived in Antigua lithe, trim and fit. It really does use up the calories straining every muscle to keep your balance when under way. Add to this all the deck work, sail trimming and the enormous physical effort of cooking a meal or making a coffee in a rolling boat and its the best workout imaginable. Steve was complaining about the amount of fibre in our shipboard diet but bulky one pot meals based upon lentils and pulses are easy to prepare and very comforting. Heavy bread with bran and nuts is what Annie usually makes and tinned sweetcorn makes the base of a good lunch time salad with olives, chickpeas and so-on. I think what he meant was the lack of cake, chocolate, crisps and so-on for night time grazing but he soon had Annie making white bread - still delicious and particularly with Rob’s BS9 honey. However, normality is quickly returning with all the burgers, chips, pizza and so-on we are now consuming.

The last few days have seen us concentrate upon the boat and I have now washed down the decks ahead of spraying on the Boracol anti algae treatment that we didn’t get around to back in the UK. We had A&A Rigging out yesterday and they were great. Always a good sign when they suggest alternatives to new fittings by using existing cleats and so-on. They are coming back next week to carry out a full rig check and we can decide if anything needs replacing in addition to the halyard and reefing line. Annie’s suggestion is to replace all the lines up the mast and along the boom that would be difficult to replace at sea, which I think is a good one. We have a spare set of genoa/staysail sheets.

Finally my brother James has written to suggest that we book into one of the local five star hotels and contemplate my social conscience over a five course meal next to the pool. Ha Ha! He has a point, though, and I have to be careful not to call the kettle black or pursue the politics of envy. What I am concerned about is not so much disparity of wealth per se but deep seated structural inequalities that mean the UK and the US are two of the most unequal countries in the world where social outcomes for many are much worse - on every measurable level - than in more equal countries like those in Scandinavia and, interestingly, Japan. I believe that paying tax for government to spend wisely for the benefit of all is virtuous. In the UK we promote tax avoidance and are destroying any notion of public service in favour of free market winner takes all economics, the result of which we are witnessing with all these super yacht tax haven red ensigns. I am just not able to sit back and take this for granted.