Sep 11, 2005 - 0900hrs UTC

0900hrs 11 Sep 2005 UTC 12’29”N 024’45”W Ref 350

DB : 75, 10830 (GPS 80) fuel remaining approx 140ltr. AssyAsymetric spinnaker just back up, hdg 174M, 6 kts – be nice if it lasts for a day or two – gribWeather files. Graphics in Binary file: GRIB files associate a specific weather datum (eg wind velocity or atmospheric pressure) with a geographic position. Because the resulting file is a collection of these points they are extremely small and so ideal over slow links such as sailmail. says a day anyway.

I have just realised – although I’ve been subconsciously aware all along, I think, that when the motherboard in the HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. radio was replaced in Lymington, it came with a completely different program of user programmable frequencies – not Marc’s Australian oriented version with all the PentaComstat and NZ channels. So – I have to find the Penta handbook and reprogram 160 user frequencies. Really easy for most of them but Marc’s chart doesn’t give the actual frequency for the ‘channels’ 408, 608 etc. And then find the ham frequencies which it is useful to have programmed even though we are not allowed to use them except in emergency. So will have to do some unpacking to find the right filing box and the manual.