First of all, thanks for all the emails. I'll try to answer all mails but if I forget someone, please forgive me. I haven`t been sailing much the last two months. My fiance met me here in Trinidad for a two week holiday so we had two relaxing week on a small Island between Trinidad and Venezuela. One episode worth mentioned was when I was swimming under the boat on that Island, I found to my surprise that the variable pitch prop was damaged. It probably happened when we hit a rope in the Canaries. I thought I could repair that easily in Trinidad but on the way back to Port of Spain, the blade fell off, so then I had to call Vega Marin for a new one. Fortunately they had 2 prop-blades secondhand and after 4 days waiting and 1 day of working the engine was back in business. Not bad after all. So for the rest of the two months, I have been fixing lots of small things which seems to always break down. My solarpanel went down the drain, so I have invested in a wind generator instead. Scuba tanks is also another thing a have missed, which i got secondhand. From now I dont need to worry if my anchor get stuck. I have already used it for that purpose, but that was fortunately not mine. Another sailboat tried to lift some a world war II wreck so I had to help him out. When my crew from the atlantic crossing went back to Norway I intended to sail singelhanded, but one day a norwegian backpacker stood on the pier and asked if he could hitch with me for a while. My first plan was to sail into the Pacific Ocean but as you might remember I tried to take the northern route across Greenland down here last year. But for various circumstances I turned south from the Faeroes, though the northern areas is still on my mind so when I met another norwegian sailor down here with the same dream we decided to try to sail up to Greenland so for now, my next plan is to sail up to Halifax and meet him there 1 of july.
That would sure be interesting. But there is some 2000 nautical miles sailing and the weather and also ice could sure give me a lot of problems so I take one step at a time. We will probably leave this week for Bermuda. As usual we preserve our own food. I have pressurecooked meat, chicken, pig and also fish in glass-jars. Until now I thought of making my own tin as a safe and smart way to store fresh food, but after talking with an american doctor - I learned for the first time about a bacteria called Clostridium Botulinum or more known as Botulism. The problem is that I cant taste or smell this guy. So if some of my readers know more about Botulism or preserving food I'm more than thankful for any information.
Best wishes and fair winds from SY OMNI
Jonny Birkelund
email: jonnyb@afux.af.nfr.no
URL:http://afux.af.nfr.no/omni