Computers are the cause of much angst on cruising boats; there are far too few of us who understand anything of their inner mysteries.  Mags spent nearly all day Monday sorting out my Windows Live Mail.  It had slowed down almost to a standstill, announcing the while that it could not or would not respond and gone all weak and faded on me.  Receiving or sending anything took an age.  I was frustrated, hamstrung, in danger of losing my well-known sang-froid.  The ship’s expert first settled down to extensive research on the internet.  This led to the conclusion that only complete demolition of the programme and a re-build would do: comprehensive back-up, clean uninstall, install and a leap of faith.  Included was a visit to something called Registry; so dangerous, apparently, that even to look into it leads to the risk of being turned into a pillar of salt.  Demonstrating prodigious courage Mags survived and I am up and running again.  My third rule of thumb for any aspiring world girdler is: never go to sea without a computer geek wizard on board.  (The first two are finding the right partner and selecting the right boat).

 

We have reason to believe that our mains’l is now in Luanda and will be flown to Praia, Santiago on Tuesday 9th.  There is some hope that it can be brought up to Mindelo a few days after that.