Since I've got plenty of time on my hands, I became nostalgic of some programs we used to watch when we were living in the UK; Grand Design and the F Word to name a few.

Thanks to the internet all these TV programs are available to you if you have a computer, a connection and YOU ARE IN THE UK. It might sound strange but if you head over BBC or Channel 4 websites from outside the UK you'll find out that all their OnDemand content is not available to you.

Luckily (if you really want to watch TV that is) there are VPN (Virtual Private Network) services that will overcome this problem. In lame terms what you do is establish a direct link, using your existing internet connection, to a VPN service provider; in doing so all your internet traffic will be originated from the latter and you'll be able to watch your favourite programs without a problem.

So what is a VPN service provider? It's a company that just like an ISP (Internet service Provider) put at your disposal (for free or for a fee) a server for you to connect to and start sending and receiving internet data.

There are a few out there, I tried a couple and the one I've been most impressed with is HideIpVPN .

They have a free and a paid version of VPN services available in the UK and US; Canada and Germany are also available on the paid version only. Setting up the connection is very easy on windows (I don't have Linux or Mac) thanks to the easy instructions available on their website.
There is also a connection wizard you can download from their website in case the computer is not doing what you ask him to (aka "User problem"). All you have to do is enter username and password provided to you by HideIpVPN once you create your subscription.

What about quality? I've been using their paid version (what they call Premium) for a few days now and I was amazed by the results; the video has been streaming without problems for hours with no stuttering, digital artifacts or further buffering required.
Their servers are very fast and having a direct link to the country you are streaming the content from really helps; your data is not hopping across the world to reach it's final destination.

I was also very close to buying the Nexus one (the latest and greatest Google phone) which is available in restricted countries. If you are dying to have one and you are not living in any of them you can use HideIpVPN to make it possible. Mind you still need a physical address in such countries for delivery and subsequent forwarding. Any friend living in the US or UK?

BTW I didn't buy the phone because, in all honesty, I don't need it. (and no one really does...:-) )

Hi all, I left New Zealand back in mid November, in order to head back to Italy where my beloved Gaby and my dad were waiting for me.

Since then we have been busy (not really) with routine medical checks and tests, Christmas and New year celebrations. Visiting parents and friends is the name of the game during the festivities.

Now that Gaby is getting more and more pregnant every day, traveling has become a luxury; even our swimming sessions that we started in December have now been scaled back.

We are expecting the main event sometimes in early February so we'll keep you posted.

After 1100 miles and almost 8 days at sea we are safely docked at the Customs dock in Opua. More to follow... now I'm going to bed.

Another day has gone by and very little wind helped propel us towards our destination. We had some westerlies but only 5kts or so; we motor sailed almost all day. Our fuel consumption has been very good running on average at 1600RPM for the last three days.

Still no fish caught and I don't see much sign of sea life around here; no birds or flying fish... Later we should be going over some sea mountains reaching 900 meters below sea level maybe that will bring us luck. In the mean time we have 310 miles to go with a current ETA to Opua-New Zealand as Sunday morning.

Another day has gone by. We are currently sitting inside the high we mentioned yesterday and we are becalmed. Have been running the engine on and off since midnight last night and we still have 560 miles to go. No fish yet decided to join us for a meal so we will start the pasta and rice diet soon. All is well though and Robin and I are having a great time out here with full moon and clear skies nights not often seen.

Another calm day in paradise. We are still sitting under this high pressure system that's bringing us sunny days and no wind. Today we motored all day unlike yesterday when we had the chance of playing with the gennaker for a couple of hours and motorsail for most of the day. To make things more exciting today we had a strike from an unidentified fish. As we were reeling it in, suddenly we lost it and we were left looking at a loose fishing line. To make up for this loss we baked a chocolate cake that we topped with some whipped cream. It's few hours past the usual update but right now we are 430 miles from our destination. From tomorrow afternoon we should start picking up some westerly winds soon backing to some cold southerlies.

Day 2 just finished a few hours ago; we have a full tummies from chicken curry prepared before departure. Since our stock of fresh meat is running low we started fishing.

340 miles in the bag and still 710 to go. We are now entering a big High pressure system that is sitting between us and New Zealand. Right now this system is very slow moving and will stay on top us for quite a few days, brining with it calm seas, sunny and clear skies and NO wind. We will have to start using up our stores of fuel and will try to make the best of what little wind we will have.

Right now temperatures are at 28 degrees celsius but being on deck is very hot (yes, Gaby, I'm using sun cream); wonder if there is any ozone left here. At night temperatures only fall to around 20 degrees but being humid it gets quite cold and one need te be well dressed.

This morning Robin and I left Fiji with destination Opua. 1050 miles away, so far 50 in the bag and 1000 to go. Wind up to 25kts is coming from south west which means upwind (bolina) sailing conditions. Motion could be better but could also be far worse, so can't complain. Hopefully wind will veer few degrees making for a better and faster ride.We miss Gaby