What exactly had you been waiting for to arrive here before your departure?

Nandor Fa: Lots of things were supposed to be delivered here. Only the forestay- cables came from the Future Fibers. The repaired sail, spare fixings, and things like this haven’t arrived and they are not going to any more, we won’t be waiting for them. We can sail across and back without them, they will be replaced afterwards.

The problem on the keel, that this outer layer got detached (which has already been taken out and been polished) : what does this mean in terms of carrying capacity and usage?

F.N.: When it comes to carrying capacity and security, this doesn’t mean anything. This was just a cover, which had been detached from the stainless steel keel body. We had to remove this layer and polish the surface underneath. There is no significance of this event.

What does your current status look like compared to when you left Trieste, or Brindisi? You have now only one day until your departure towards the American destination.

F.N.: First of all, we know way more about the boat. Second of all, there were many tiny details we hadn’t had time for earlier, and now we’ve finished them — either inside the boat, on the deck, on the sails, or the storage room, wherever. We made a progress in all aspects. These small details need plenty of working hours, although they do not influence the security. These are important in order for the boat to be a complex unit. By the time we leave, I believe we are going to have an almost completely finished boat.

I have a question in brackets: Marcell mentioned, that there were problems that almost could have led to the collapse of the mast, if you weren’t paying enough attention. What happened and how did you manage to solve it?

F.N.: Yes, almost… We just accidentally realized, that the holding pin of the very top saling was partly slipped out. If it had completely slipped out, the top 6 meters of the mast would have been gone for sure. Luckily we saw it and fixed it, while sailing, in speed. Marcell, and after him I went up there and we got it fixed. The producer company Pauger sent us a set of special tools (for my request), with which we can perfectly fix these compartments and the mast will be 100% reliable. The boat as a whole still has its smaller “teething” problems. Those openings, where the ropes go into the mast, are not well done because they destroy the ropes. They are made of carbon, and the edges are too sharp. We lost two of our halyards right at the beginning to these edges. We changed a few things about that area, so that this won’t happen again after we leave Gibraltar.

The steering system is a very cardinal question. How has that worked so far during the journey?

F.N.:
The steering system has worked perfectly the whole time. There were absolutely no problems with it so far and I hope it will remain this way. I believe it is completely all right.

When it comes to ocean sailing, the instruments, navigation and communication systems are of crucial importance. Peter had spent a long time accurately adjusting these, and also tested everything. Have you managed to try everything yet?

F.N.:
Not everything. By the way, Peter is a magician. He has a fantastic know-how and attitude — we are talking about Peter Perényi. He put together and adjusted everything. We just built in and finished the water filtering equipment last minute, so they are working as well. By the time we sail on, all the electronic equipment will be in order. I’ve got to say, there are no problems with the navigation and communication, neither with the weather forecast information system, nor with steering or security systems. the AIS and the radar are working. All of these things are all right, as we see them now.