05 February 2003
Working aboard the M V Barbara
Life aboard the M V Barbara, bound for Malta, is calming down as the seas also quieten.No current reports of sea-sickness, as Dove and Dolphin team members join the crew in their daily tasks.
Disappointment though as expected radio contact failed to materialise.
All this and more in the latest bulletin from John Maughan.
Bit of a bummer. The radio contact did not materialise. We were quite close to Lisbon but no signal. We were all hoping that there would be sufficient time for us all to have a word with you all.
The boat’s cell phone has a high aerial so we thought it would work first and then the other two would work but we just got half a signal on the boat phone.
As far as I can see we will not be able to communicate from Gaza.
We have had a great day here, fairly warm and sunny. Deck hands have been scraping off flaky paint from cargo hatches and painting. Stuart and I did a bit this afternoon and we now have a smart fo'csle.
Tomorrow we are going to paint the anchor winch.
John Hingley put his fisherman’s skills to use repairing a badly damaged cargo net that they were using as a safety net on the stern. He is really disappointed that he did not bring any tuna lures
as we are travelling at the right speed.
David is gradually getting to grips with his computer, has just managed to download a couple of photos. If we can master that there is just a chance that we will be able to send some back from Malta if not before.
end