Sands of time

Wow! We were offline for two days as we entered Namibia where Starlink is not allowed and the roaming charges were bananas! But it was so much worth stopping - we climbed “Dune 7” in the afternoon and then the next morning took an expensive but oh-so-worth it 4x4 tour down to Sandwich Harbour. Those dunes were amazing as was our guide Jani. The close up photograph is of purple sand - or that is what it looks like - but it is large quantities of minerals (ruby, garnet, quartz, magnetite) that have been left when the finer sand has blown away.

A great morning and good complement to a ton of boat work we got done while in harbour. Seb had many suggestions on rigging changes to either replace worn lines or to do improve things. Alain was kept busy making soft shackles and many halyards were changed or repliced - and we removed the topping lift completely (we kept a mouse line in case we change our minds!) so we now use the lazy jacks only.

We are all much more familiar with where things are to be found and developing the muscle memory that relives the stress when something needs doing quickly.Read more