Picture: Vittorio, more than nearly 15 meters up the mast inspecting the rigging before departure.

Leaving the Praia harbour breakwater extension to port we felt the change as the calm of the inner sanctuary gave way to the open sea. Mrs. Marietta rose to meet the increasing swell as we continued turning to port so as to round the right hand side of Ilha Do Maio as one looks at it on the chart. Keeping close to the shore in order to maintain the best heading we were able to get a good view of the desolate coast once the town had passed. Green scrubby vegetation showed above a rocky shore interspersed with crumbling cliffs.

At Punta Coroa on top of the cliffs stood a large deserted house. Already visible at a considerable distance I thought that it was a lighthouse. But not so, it's large chimney rising well above the broken roof gave that impression. It stood there boldly looking out to sea high above the cliffs surrounded by breaking waves. Reality gave way to daydreaming as I imagined living there in an idyllic quiet environment with a large antenna array and exploring excellent radio conditions.

All along the coast we needed to keep a sharp lookout as the sea was dotted with small open fishing boats. Around four to six meters with only two to four occupants they bobbed along fishing. Some had a small outboard engine for power whilst others hoisted rudimentary lateen sails having possibly rowed out against the wind and tide. A hard way to make a meager living.

Leaving Ilha Do Santiago behind us we hardened up on the wind as much as we could so as to pass the next island to the opposite side on our right. The shore of Ilha Do Boavista angled in a north west direction and lay in our path so it was necessary to make several tacks to claw our way along this coast. Different from earlier views we could now see long white beaches topped with sand dunes. There was a large temptation to enter one of the bays, drop the anchor, get out the tender and go exploring but alas no such luck this time.

Here by contrast the sea-bed was shallow at around twenty meters and once again there were plenty of the small open fishing boats together with a few larger motorized ones. I imagined the fishing to be good in the shallow water with the possibility of a few rocky reefs and a viable food supply.

Being without Paulo and Riccardo we have rearranged our watch schedule and are still keeping the same three hours on duty but have arranged different off periods. Some of these are four and a half hour and some are six hours. Valentinna is now also keeping an occasional watch together with looking after the galley.

Our first night back at sea was a very pleasant one with a clear sky. Being a few days after the full moon the evening was dark and we were able to do quite a bit of star identification. During my early watch period I saw two satellites passing overhead. The moon eventually rose very brightly and although it reduced the view of the stars it improved our visibility of the sea. Relatively calm conditions prevailed as we motor-sailed on with a magnificent golden glow stretching across the water.

Since Monday my thoughts have been with the chaps at Southern Wind Shipyard in Lansdowne back in Cape Town. They are back at work from their summer holiday and I hope that they experienced a good new year and well earned rest. Thanks to them for all the effort put into the building of Mrs. Marietta.

The fishing lure is once again being trolled behind but our total catch amounts to one fish lost of the lure yesterday due to the boat speed and a piece of fishing net this morning. Thank goodness it did not get into the propeller.

Regards from us all at 17 deg 24 min North and 021 deg 18 min West.

Cheers, Tom.