Mar 20, 2005 - 0600hrs UTC

0600hrs 20 Mar 2005 UTC Stanley, FI      Map Ref 123

And the day dawned overcast and windy (it’s always windy here…) and coldish – maybe 10 degrees – but not yet raining. Second cup of tea put away I’m just off to the boat to get some survival biscuits and feel the atmosphere and then off to the start in a couple of hours. Pete will be wandering the course with appropriate sustenance and he’s off to the fresh fruit and veg market to provision us for the next 70 days. We have to get diesel and water on board too and do some limited shopping and then it’s go when the weather looks reasonable.

Steve and Malcolm, tomorrow I will post cd’s with photos and other files – you might need a copy of Airmail to read some of them so I will include an early version. Marc Robinson could perhaps advise (prep. document). Track data to Simon @ digiboat pse.

IsabellaAlex's sister, video minidiscs and windows software also posted tomorrow. HilaryAlex’s partner and Katherine’s mother might be able to find the mac disc if it exists – it will be in the box on the downstairs desk and is called Image Mixer for Sony DVD handycam for Mac. But may not have had one in the kit.

It was great to talk to all y’all at the Bash even if it was in the middle of the night. We miss you guys.

[a little later…]

Just had a look – there’s a 25 knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second. -- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop . headwind for about the middle 30 k and it has started to rain. Oh whooopeee dooo. And the course winds its way between leftover minefields from 1982.  No different from your average headbanger.  Off to the start.