<h3>DREAMTIME IV (Mañana, Mañana) </h3>
<p>Arrived in Gran Canaria, courtesy of appalling airways. I got a very 
 cheap flight, this proved the adage <i>'you g<img src="content/pic/trip1/geko.jpg" alt="Toy Lizarad anyone" align="right">et get you pay for'</i> the airlines logic can't be faulted. The aeroplane 
 was snow bound in France and wouldn't get in till 3:30 the original departure being 11:30. The plane arrived and at about 4:30 we  were informed that it didn't work (fuel pump apparently), however the air port cheerfully informed us that it was OK since the air line had a spare aeroplane on the tarmac anyway! This rivals 
 conex south central customer service if they had a plane why  didn't they send us out in it at 11:30!
<p> The pilot was kind of cool though he'd been pulled  out of bed to fly us and commented sarcastically that it was good that the airport had only taken three and an half hours to move a small amount of baggage between the 2 planes!. To make up for this prod at authority he proudly announced on the decent to Las Palmas 
 that "we've managed to make up a few minutes time in the flight" 10 minutes saved, well that's great pity about the other 9 hours!.</p>
 <p>Well the first news on board Dreamtime was that the 
  workmen were coming Mañana, always with the Spanish it mañana. They 
  didn't show, so there me, Skana and Campbell sat and unpacked the 
  vegimite (and there was much rejoicing) and waited till Mañana. Mañana 
  and Mañana and Mañana as as good old willy, put it, with the armada 
  hanging around the Elizabethan period Shakespeare got it right-the 
  Spanish will attack .......Tomorrow. I consider this educational, 
  Spanish time is mealy practice for Caribbean time where the workmen 
  might come .... next week (yeah right). The immortal quote from the 
  engine repair man in St Lucia last time applies, on the subject of 
  Mañana he said "no mon, we don't have anything that urgent" 
  Skana and Campbell have been great and work proceeded apace allowing 
  for siestas. </p>
 <img src="content/pic/trip1/insidedt.jpg" alt="Down bellow" align="left">
 <p>The trouble with siestas is that by 
  the time yachties get up its started and by the time its finished 
  Yachties are already drinking ...... so nothing gets done!.We 
  are now planning to leave Saturday, we have all the Don Simon 
  on board (cheap wine beloved of yachties) olive oil to get to 
  Australia and, thank god, ME. I am really happy to be back on 
  a pontoon where walking up to strangers and having chats/beers 
  is considered normal. The antithesis of the London under ground.<br>
  7:00pm 3rd day out into the Atlantic, Dreamtime is Quick! So far 
  we've managed at least 160Nm a day, probably 175 in the 24 hours 
  till noon, we're not sure as Campbell accidentally turned the 
  log off and reset it early this morning!</p>
 <p align="left"> Log says we've averaged 7.4Knots since then! On the 
  first day we managed 14.5Kn off the top of one wave estimating 17 
  days for the crossing! against the 23 last time. Skanna and Campbell 
  ant to know what I'm writing about them! They keep asking if its something 
  bad.....Yeah right they've been great, not only rescuing me from the 
  desk of doom but making me really welcome in there home.</p>
 <p align="left">We have seen nothing of interest in ages 1 Ship in the 
  distance this morning, and apparently they saw a plastic bottle floating 
  by early this evening! The excitement is killing me! When I get over 
  the Caribbean I will ask Sam if he knows the bottle. Have read three 
  and a half Harry Potter books already,OOPS soon I'm going to have 
  to read the intelligent book that Mona lent me before I left. Just 
  made some BREAD see I'm domesticated</p>
 <div class="blog">
		 <h3 align="center">The Dreamtime Atlantic Points System for Ocean Passages.</h3>
 <ul>
  <li>Dolphins - 5 points - they find you</li>
  <li>Ships - 20 points - very rare (only one so far)</li>
  <li>Rubbish - 10 points pretty common (your own dunny paper doesn't count)</li>
  <li>UFO - 200 points (bonus of 400 for an abduction)</li>
  <li>American Sub - 1000 points + money from Russians.</li>
  <li>Russian Sub - 100,000,000 points, cover head with towel and build fall out shelter with heads door (money from 
   the Americans and Russians for fixing it)</li>
  <li>birds - 7 points</li>
  <li>flying fish - 10 points (20 if you get hit)</li>
  <li>Barbados - 100 points (first seen)</li>
  <li>Other island - 1000 points and kick the navigator</li>
  <li>Mir Space Station - No points but please tell the Russians as they've lost it again! We wouldn't want it to crash 
   land in Australia would we. </li>
 </ul>
</div>
<br />
<div class="blog">
 <h3>Dreamtime? Who the @#*_ is Dreamtime?</h3>
 <p>Dreamtime* IV is a lovely 37 ft boat owned by Campbell 
  and Skanna Kiwi and Ausie respectively. They were friends with 
  Melanjen on which I did the Kings Cup Regatta in Thailand (see 
  photo left). They were in London in about September where I totally 
  failed to go to the pub with them. However just as flamelights 
  were driving me nuts Skana sent me an email saying "We're 
  stuck in Gran Canaria after damaging the boat", after hearing 
  this I immediately replied with the words "can I have a lift" 
  to my surprise they said "yes" and here I am in the 
  middle of the Atlantic again!</p>
 <p>* Aboriginal word for "Stoned"</p>
 <p align="center"><img src="content/pic/trip1/drmpipi.jpg" alt="Dreamtime Anchored off Phi Phi"><br>
  Dreamtime at anchor off Phi Phi Island in Thailand </p>
</div>
 <p>We finally arrived in St Lucia, not 
  Barbados, or Tobago, or anywhere else that was possible. It finally 
  took 18 days, shaving 4.5 of my last crossing. We did the rodney bay 
  round, Happy Hour in the Marina bar (2 rumpunches for the price of !) 
  followed by dinner in the lime, "local meal Please" as the cry goes. 
  Then into the shamrocks pub, where I proceeded to fall asleep. I particularly 
  recommend the bar in there-it comfy. Campbell may disagree as the following 
  night he fell off a bar stool there. He's still limping. The reason 
  he fell off can be attributed to a nice Englishman we met over dinner 
  at the lime. He proceeded to buy 3 Bottles of Moet Champagne which we 
  happily helped him to consume. The remainder of the night in Shamrocks remains a blur, I can remember Campbell falling off his stoo<img src="content/pic/trip1/dtat.jpg" alt="Dreamtime at Sea" width="300" height="211" align="right">l an latter 
  of the dock, there was a lot of shouting between us and a local salesman 
  on a boat if any one has the details please send a postcard to "Tom's 
  Missing hours, care of BBC Children in need, London"</p>
 <p align="left">lEarly the next morning, I had arranged a sked on the 
  SSB with Sam on Ramprasad in Tobago, to my surprise I actually managed 
  to make the time and frequency, unfortunately my ability to complete 
  sentences was sadly lacking and communication, despite good radio propagation 
  was lousy. Arranged to meet Sam in Trinidad, but after a week in St 
  Lucia was forced to concede that there were no yachts heading south 
  at all and in the end had to get a aeroplane. .</p>
 <p align="left"> The plane was expensive and late (yachts are nice 
  reliable things why can't aeroplanes manage it)Arrived in Port of 
  Spain to late for a bus so had to pay the outrageous sum of 60tt 
  to get a taxi the short distance to port of Spain, then a Maxi Taxi 
  (more like a Caribbean bus) to TTYA at Chaguaramas 
  for 4tt. Sam wasn't there he was still blissfully unaware of my 
  arrival. So slept on TTYA's bench for then next 2 nights after which 
  the management caught on and told me off. The next night a Kiwi 
  called Pete off "wired for Sound" let me crash on his Boat and the 
  following morning I Joined Sam and Rauni on Ramprasad (and there 
  was much rejoicing).</p>
