37:15.972 N  009:56.812 E

25/07/10

10:30

            We got away at 8:45 this morning. The wind is WNW Force 6 and is pretty much on the beam. We’re doing around 9 knots so the 66 mile run to Bizerte will be quick. We’re only about 1 ½ miles off shore and in 60/70 meters of water so there is  sea on the beam and it gets a bit rolly.

Yesterday afternoon I had to return to Customs to pay one dinar for a stamp for our cruising permit. He then asked me to take it to the Capitainerie for them to make him a photocopy. They of course were closed apart from a security guard, so I made a copy on the boat and walked back to the Customs office  which by now was also closed.

So back to the security guard  who was joined by a man who spoke some English and insisted the Customs office was open which it was not.  He then sent me to the extreme end of the pier saying the Customs man must be there supervising a refuelling.  Of course he was not so I walked all the way back and  asked him to give the photocopy to the Customs man.  He then opened the office and went inside asking how many copies I wanted.   I said I had the original and didn’t need any copies.  He insisted that I had just given him the original and we had a silly discussion nearly an argument all because he had never seen a colour photocopy.  It was only when I showed him than he couldn’t scrape the stamp off that he conceded it was indeed a photocopy.  He then asked for more copies for the Police and the Capitainerie but I said I had had enough and had already done them a favour by  doing the copy requested by customs myself.  I don’t know if he Customs man will ever get his copy.  Nor do I know if we were meant to pay anything for being rafted up in the fishing harbour.  There was no one there either last night or this morning so I simply reported to the local Coast Guard and we left.

16: 30

We had a very lively sail covering 69 miles in 7 hours averaging 9.85 knots.  We touched 11.7 several  times.  Mostly we were reaching but poled out for the last couple of hours. The wind was  Force 7 gusting Force 8.  Several times it was 40 plus knots.

We’re in Bizarte,. The yacht harbour is closed for reconstruction and we’re anchored near Tunis.outside the fishing harbour in semi sheltered conditions.  The wind continues.  It’s unlikely we’ll get off the boat tonight and will leave early tomorrow for Sidi Bou Said

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