too early to say but...

I may have found the Iridium problem. To use the phone to talk to sailmail, you need to buy what is called the data kit - a fitting that clips on to the end of the phone and has a PCB inside it and an RS232 to USB cable to connect it to the computer. Intermittent problems are often just loose connections so - sure enough - the RS232 connector on the cable was loose and I applied some gentle screwdriver and held my breath for a test connection and it connected...If this one goes too I think I'm winning.

Grib shows low to NW tossing 35 knots from the NW at us tonight and dissipating and moving south tomoz. With a bit of luck we'll be far enough up its ugly face to pass through it before the sea has time to rise to the vicious. Cross 'em please

And talking of ugly faces - the massive igneous extrusion on the south side of Baie de L'Oiseau had the Mt Rushmore face in it - I described it as lizardlike, I seem to remember. Nah! It's Slarty, leaving us his self portrait for posterity and poncing it up like he's the Greatest. Which, of course, he is! On second thoughts, it may be one of his pupils with a sense of humour.

Hey Carla! G'day!

Ok - let's see whether this works...