The ancient mariners were born to the sea with little knowledge of what was over the horizon. Navigation as a science and art was in it's infancy so it is no small wonder that many beliefs, customs and superstitions were formed. Many of these have continued to present times and although we have knowledge of the world and can navigate with modern and accurate systems our sailors customs remain firm.

MRS MARIETTA was ready to depart but no sailor will embark on a voyage on a Friday so our departure was delayed but Saturday was the 17th which is not a good number in Italian customs. Thus it became necessary to have a quiet day of reflection and mentally prepare for the adventure that lay ahead.

Slipping our mooring lines just before 8am we moved away from the dock and out through the cut at the swing-bridge at the V and A Waterfront. The early hour meant very few people about and I missed the usual throng of well-wishers as we passed through under the old clock tower. With clearance from Port Control we made our way to the open sea. A hold up with the auto-pilot had us spending a while in Table Bay whilst we reconfigured the system and adjusted the parameters. Then hoisting sail we were finally on our way.

The first day saw us all settling down to the routine and becoming accustomed to the boats movement. Not unexpected was the evidence of " Mall de Mere " in some of the crew. In most cases this was short lived although Ricardo was the worst off but has now found his sea legs.
Good sailing saw us making excellent progress for the first day but just before dawn on the second day a strop at the clew of the delivery mainsail broke. A reef was put in to continue until the sun came up so as to make a new one but unfortunately the sail parted at the reef reinforcement and we had to take it down altogether. A long days work lay ahead to take the old sail off the boom and put the new one on and continue sailing. Yesterday the wind lightened so we took to hoisting the Genacker and had a fine days sailing with good speeds. During the night the wind died completely and we have now been motoring for more than 12 hours. Weather information gained from contact via my SSB radio is not too promising but the wind should return later tomorrow.

There are eight of us on board and I will introduce the sailing companions as we go along. For those family members of the crew who are not familiar with the blogs format and posting I ask that you be patient with the posting of news. The news is sent via a radio system which is affected by the passage of the sun and other atmospheric conditions. I have been having some hold ups with the system but will keep the news flowing as best possible.

We are all very well and life on board is becoming a good sea routine which I enjoy. The tracking beacon is kept running as much as I can and the daily position reports are going out although yesterdays could only go in the evening due to atmospheric conditions.

This comes to you from a position off 26 deg 51 min South and 007 deg 01 min East.

Caio from on board Mrs Marietta.

Tom.