Uncharted Waters New Horizons

Have you ever tried seeing how long Pietro Conti can be kept going before seeing the Dutchess? I've found on his starting day, May 17, 1522, in Genoa, the Guild alsways seems to have the same 3 job assignments. I figure the best to try is Transport Goods from Tunis to Venice. Yes, it's always Tunis to Venice on that day, no other towns. It may look a little -longer-taking than the 10 days Pietro starts with enough supplies for, but if you have the skill to keep landing and briefly waiting every time it's just about to change at midnight from one day to the next, you can still get around while saving as much food and water as you would if you were constantly waiting at the shore. That should be enough to get him to Tunis to pick up the goods, to Venice to drop them off, then to Tunis to receive his payment of 1000 GP. That should be enough that he can afford a 240 GP-I-think remodeling of the Falcon to a more sensible 20 crew and no guns. Then you should be able to also afford 60 Glass Beads and enough supplies to first get the Glass Beads from Genoa and then go sell them in Madeira. Then in Madeira, you can get Sugar and sell it in Santa Cruz, and before long he's off to a better-than-5000-gold start without the Dutchess' help. The biggest advantage is, take a good close look at the logistics, he's always scooted automatically inside buildings with the message, "Pietro, we had better hurry up and see the Dutchess." If you get mugged for 3/4 of your holdings in a hostile port, it goes with failure to enter the building you tried to, and makes it harder to have the money to ally another port at the expense of that country. But, those auto-scoots will be instead of being held outside a building, and though you may get a lot of "Commodore, be careful, this is that country's port," it will mean little. Pietro will be invincible against getting mugged in port, and nothing can stop him, provided he comes up with enough money, from gobbling all of Turkey's ports for Italy, as long as he stays in that condition. But he must leave that condition and see the Dutchess sooner or later if he'll finish his story at all. Be ready. When he finally does, you may find you have 5 gold ingots or more on you but it's reduced to 5000 GP on seeing the Dutchess(hope you have a load of goods to sell). Also, if you've acquired some items before meeting the Dutchess, the first two of those on your roster will be wiped out and replaced with a sextant and telescope. Since it's normally not possible to get rid of a Letter Of Marque once you have one, I'd like to see it arranged so Pietro, having defected to Turkey a while then back to Italy, has a Letter Of Marque from both countries as the first items on his roster, then watch them get wiped out. But it's probably more trouble to arrange all that than I'll ever feel it's really worth.