17:01.00N  61:46.00W

 We have just had an email from the firm who finally got the wretched thing going in the BVI asking where to send the invoice. My reply would be "the bottom of the ocean along with the beast", Tom is more moderate. This is surprising considering it is he who has sweated in a deep hot hole trying out all the suggestions made by the Fischer Panda manual, writer of the email from the BVI, knowledgeable friends and small inspirations that come to him when all else has failed, which it does all the time. 

I'm not sure I have mentioned the other infuriating feature of this trip. The lagging around the inside of the engine and generator compartments -  dark grey sponge, glued to walls and ceilings with an outer layer of silver foil - is perishing. The result is it peels off in places as the sponge turns to black dust, not dissimilar to the volcanic variety. Unfortunately the glue stays firmly attached to the walls etc, accompanied by bits of sponge.

 This is extremely difficult to remove and small - or not so small - dark grey sticky pieces then distribute themselves all over the boat, disseminated by the pair of us on the soles of our feet. The carpets now look like a severe case of black measles.

 We have done some replacement in areas where it has been possible to remove the glue with a magical substance called Goo Gone. Metal plates with long spikes are also needed to fix the new lagging. These are very painful when you accidentally tread on one, as Tom discovered  the other night. Regrettably at the time he was bringing our chicken in from the BBQ on the stern.This caused him to lurch forwards, falling into the cockpit and chucking the chicken in several directions, decorating the boat with  charred black greasy bits. 

The joy of boat ownership yet again comes to the fore - but we ARE having a lovely time......

Jos and Tom