Position 16:28.50N 28:47.75W

PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Fri 24 Dec 2010 13:48
    Last night in between Gabriella's astronomy lesson and a small refreshment from an Irish distillery we had a new diversion; Shmulik was interviewed live on the Israeli radio station "Galatz". Odeia Koren and Amnon Danker called from the studio to our Inmarsat system and introduced listeners to the idea that there are some strange and adventurous people crossing the ocean in a small boat. Odeia was well briefed and quoted a few instances from our blog. The questions were light hearted as befits a very late night program and Shmulik answered in the same vein. Evidently it must have been what they were looking for because a sequel has been arranged for the same time next week - Thursday at 2230 UTC. 
And now a word from our sponsors. Shmulik on the phone with GALATZ
  Today - Friday Dec 24th - we had a morning of make and mend. A toilet that wasn't flushing, a door which wouldn't close, loose handles and other small repairs  have all been carried out. Worried about chafe on the rigging, we changed the main headsail for the smaller trinquette and mainsail. Speed is constant at 5.5 knots and we are more or less on the desired heading. Listening to the cruiser net I find that our latitude is slightly north of most of the yachts which set out from the Canaries at around the same time we did.  A couple of yachts close to Barbados reported no wind but there's plenty of time for that to change before we get there. 
 
Nirit writes,
 

And what if??

Before we set off for this voyage and when we organised Passepartout to our liking, we put a lot of thought into the mean of communication that would alow us to be in touch with the kids and get weather forecasts while at sea.

Chris consulted with Tomer, our adviser, and the decision was made to buy an Inmarsat system - hardware that gives us the ability to e-mail and talk on the phone from wherever we are.

Yesterday, after we had our daily communication, I wanted to send one last mail to my brother Gidi but there was a glitch and we lost the satellite.

So - panic! What if Chris can't fix it, not even two or three days down the road?

After getting used to writing daily and staying in touch, will people worry? And we can't even call to tell them we are ok! And how would I call Tomer to wish him Happy Birthday on the 31st of December? I struggled with all these 'what ifs' for a few hours until the satellite connection was restored.

How dependent we are on machines and hi-tech. We rely on a desalinator for our water. We need the generator to run smoothly in order to power the desalinator, and so it goes. And there are no technicians mid-ocean. So much pressure to make sure all the systems work, it makes me think about all those who crossed the Atlantic years ago before they were slaves to the technology.

Apart of that we are doing well. Average speed is 5 - 5.5 knots, I am still adjusting to the rolling, we eat very well, catch fish and have plenty of laughs.

About 200 NM behind us I know there are about a dozen other yachts making this crossing crossing, but this is one big ocean and so far no sign of another sail on the horizon.

 
    
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