esterday the sky turned red. Thick air hung heavily over us and there was an eerie half-light that turned the view across the bay into a sepia print. After a few hours everything was coated in fine sand. Everything. Saharan dust being blown across the Mediterranean is not a new phenomenon, but here it usually arrives in the form of rain. Many to find the transom has turned from black to orange – one time it was thick enough to obscure her name. The thing is, our teak deck disguises the issue just long enough for you to innocently walk on it and cart red dust everywhere. Obviously, it usually happens when the boat is sparkling clean, and that is bad enough, but when it lands on a salty surface, it is so much worse! One time our sails were stained with the stuff when we headed west from the Cape Verde islands. No matter, we thought, one good squall and it will be gone. Was it heck!
