Repainted and adorned with colorful sponsor stickers, 7 Roses and her escorts sail around the perimeter of the port twice before setting sail for the lands to the west.

The departure was planned for Sunday the 20th but was postponed by a week due to the late arrival of technical materials. This somewhat welcome delay allowed us to stay a few extra days at home and gave us an extra chance to resolve the inevitable little problems that never end on a boat. The radar, a gift from the city of Venice, was installed. The rigging was almost completely replaced and the wind pilot finally found just the right spot on the transom. Between one little job and another, two weeks flew by without a moment's rest. Preparations for a voyage are always tiring, the list of work to be done and materials to buy grows longer as the deadline nears. As in life, the most difficult step to take is deciding to cast off the moorings and set sail.

Elba, the last Italian stop for Project Zeno, was our longest stop since leaving Venice. Thanks to the help of the Esaom shipyard of Portoferraio, much work was done on the careening, the paint on the hull was re-done and lots of little technical details were taken care of. Help also came from a number of Elban organizations including the Naval League, the Nautical Circle of San Giovanni, the Cavo Circle and the Friends of the Sea. The city of Portoferraio and the Naval League organized a conference and CONFCOMMERCIO offered lovely refreshments for the event. NAVIOP and Elba Informatica helped with programming and finding a laptop computer. Gelsi sailing equipment made us some side covers out of canvas to add to the cover made in Livorno. And Discount DICO supplied us with good Italian products for our galley. Many private parties expressed interest in the Project and as always the irreplaceable collaboration and support of my family were not lacking. The list of everyone who so kindly offered help would be too long if I mentioned every name and therefore I extend thanks to my island and the islanders whose thoughts will accompany us on the many miles of this long voyage.