Well we are back here on the island and have a few days to get the boat ready for the crossing. We re-fuelled today which was not an easy task in the crosswinds that are blowing and we would have preferred a calmer day to manoeuvre around the busy marina. But we paid a good price for the fuel at €1.04/litre - thank goodness for tax free spending!
When we got back to Tumi, there had obviously been a few sandstorms wafting over from the Sahara as the deck was covered in a mucky brown sand. I have had two attempts at washing it off, and will have to do it a third or possibly a fourth time to get it clean again. I still need to go up the mast to fit the anti-chafe strips to the spreaders so that the sails don't wear excessively when we are downwind sailing for such a long time, but this time it should be much easier for Debra to get me up there with the electric winches to do the work. Other than that, I think we are ready boatwise. We still have to provision, but Debra has that in hand. We are better prepared this time around having been through the exercise two years ago.
We had a good seminar on medical issues today, and I got to see some suturing up close as part of the demonstration. I even got to practice tying the knots properly, so I feel much better equipped to be able to do a neat job if I am called upon to do so. At least the knots shouldn't come undone!!!
The Atlantic Odyssey flag is now flying on our port side, we have a number for the crossing - 41 - and I will be fitting those tomorrow to the safety rails. The last ones we had for the ARC fell apart when the topsides touched the water. Hopefully these ones will survive intact.