Formentera at last ...

... after 82 hours at sea. We arrived at the Sabina Marina as number three out of a total of four "More 55" boats sailing to Las Palmas for the ARC race.

Upon arrival this evening I met the captain on Pixel's sister ship "More Amore". Everyone onboard his ship had been hardhit by seasickness en route from Palermo. Two of his paying guests, out of a total of four, have had enough will now return home from Fermentera. The captain offered me to move over to his ship and to give me a nice private cabin. When Micke, my captain, heard this, he refused to let me move... A crew member with "sealegs" is on every captain's wish list!

After a hot shower ashore it was great to have a nice dinner in a local restaurant together with my ship.mates.
My food choice: marinated and lightly grilled tuna fish with sweet potatoes, aubergine and almond mousse. A local white wine went very well with my meal.

Flying friends

27 Oct - off line blog

Africa bound birds are using Pixel as a resting place while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Our hospitality deck is always open, offering tired flyers food and water before they take off to their final destination.

The sky master below actually spent the whole night with us before flying away to his winter habitat.

Sun Greetings ...

... to welcome the new day. As a bonus we also do aerobic exercises in order to stay fit.

First class breakfast

Oct 26 - off line blog

After an excellent calm weather breakfast prepared by Ebba, our hostess, it was nice to be able to relax after two really jumpy days. Since our last stop we have now been sailing 54 hours and depending on the weather it will take approx. an additional 30 hours before we reach Formentera.

Sea view 360°

Oct 24 - off line blog

On Tuesday morning we made our last minute preparations and toping up the fuel tank with diesel for the long jump to our next destination.

As I am writing this we are off line and very much off shore. We are 24 hours into this leg and the sea is very much alive with 3-4 m waves and a wind factor of 12-16 m/s.

To prepare hot food onboard is a real challenge - I was the only volunteer and was able to provide a bowl of rice with a stroganoff stew for those who were able to eat - and keep the meal down for an extended length of time.

Our position just now is between Tunisia in the south and the island of Sardinia in the north (according to Mr Google).

The Swedish chef ...

... onboard Pixel preparing Japanese style rice lunch Oct 25 at 15 degree tilt. Check the angle of the gas stove! It is quite a challenge to keep all meal ingredients on the counter,  avoiding dangerous flying objects, e.g. sharp knives, while keeping your own body in a safe position.

We have not noticed much traffic here in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. This morning we met three sea turtles heading east and yesterday we met one container ship and one marin vessel with two hoovering helicopters heading in the same direction.

In the photo below: Ebba at the wheel together with our captain Micke.

Our current position at noon, Oct 26:
N 38°09.056'  E 5°59.116'
Our HDG: 282, wind 2.7 m/s, speed 7.1 kn,
Sea temp 23.1°C
In the south we now have Algeria on the north African mainland.

Pixel on-line

27 Oct - off line blog

It is much cooler (+23.1°C) and more exciting to be on-line Pixel offshore as compared to be on-line Internet onshore.

But it was hard to stay connected to the line and later climb onboard Pixel while she was slowly moving forward over a depth of 1800 m. For a life time thrill you should try it.

Pixel's brave on-liners from left to right: Ebba, Annika. Eva and Staffan.