Comfortable

I have not updated the website for way too long. But in Cagliari, I did't have internet on the boat, and I had to walk 20 minutes through the heat to reach an internet cafe. You can see why priorities changed.

Because the first night is always the most difficult, I usually leave around 4 o' clock in the afternoon. This gives me the opportunity to relax a bit, sleep a bit, and depart all rested. To show you how "wild" this crossing was, I have added some pictures.

Last corner of Sicily.

This is the wildest it got during this crossing. For most part, there was no wind what so ever. The wind varied between windforce 1 and 2 and it was a downwind sail. The second day, my autohelm autopilot broke!!!! I had taken it apart at least 10 times, resolderd the connections, reset the program via the dealers interface, and now it broke on something as simple as the drive belt!! And of course, this is one of the things I don't have a spare for on board. I'm always sceptical when it comes to electronics, but it was really the mechanics that failed this time.
Usually Madame Curie will keep her course under sail, except when it is downwind or broadreach. And of course I had downwind every day. So I was convicted to steering a lot of the time. At night time, when the wind died completely, I just drifted, so In could get some sleep. Motoring for a few hours was not an option, because underengine, you really need an autopilot. So drifting it was. As a result, it took me 136 hours to travel 274 miles, an absolute record for going slow!!!

But I was able to cook a hot meal every day, enjoy beautiful sunsets, and there were no nasty waves tossing me about. So yes, ik was very comfortable.

What a difference to the video's of the last crossing!!!!