Day 47, Wednesday 15 september 2004
Departure from Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
[Natascha >>]
After a gorgeous week in this incredible
atoll we lift the anchor and follow Bedouin, Just Jinks and Golden Sovereign to
the Seychelles. Carefully, we maneuverout of the atoll, circumnavigating the
numerous shallows and “bombies”. I sense that the steering wheel moves a bit stiff
and once we are out of the shallow area it jams altogether. Can we ever leave
trouble-free?
Stefan dives into the aft bunk and throws all gear out
to get to the steering compartment. There he finds that the chain came off the
gear, which now blocks the entire steering system. After undoing the cable he
can pull of the chain, tie the pieces together and we’re ready to go. It is on
one of these occasions that you cherish the choice for an autopilot fitted directly
to the rudder quadrant. The autopilot keeps the rudder stable enabling Stefan
to work on it and moreover, it prevents us from hitting the reef. The slack that
caused the blocking is still there but as long as we don’t hand steer there is
no risk this will happen again before we can redo the whole thing in the Seychelles.
Once we are ready to sail the wind drops from 20 to 10
knots, not even enough to keep up with the dolphins that come swimming by. We
log 112 miles during the first 24 hours – an all-time low for the Indian Ocean.
Day 48, Thursday 16 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 05° 07.0' S 70° 40.0' E
Sleeping wasn’t terrific last night. First, the flapping
sails kept us awake and when we dropped them it was the humming of the engine.
Basically, we exchanged noise for noise, albeit that with the latter we didn’t
damage the sails anymore.
We chat to Just Jinks every few hours over the VHF radio.
Being only 5 miles away, they are still within VHF reach, contrary to Golden Sovereign
and Bedouin who are 40 miles ahead of us. Would we have fired up the engine earlier,
the difference would have been much less, but hey, we’re not in a hurry and it’s
not a race (isn’t it Stefan?). Luckily, the wind picks up during the day, allowing
us to kill the iron genoa again. The second 24 hours bring us 140 miles further.
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
The generator story continues... As
feared, the rolling of the boat spread the always-present debris through the diesel
tanks, ready to be pumped into the filterless generator. And guess what, it wasn’t
impressed at all. In fact it quit on day 2. It’s a pity that our trick didn’t
work, but look at the bright side, the freezer was already empty anyway. I do
make a firm resolution to get a 12 volts system on any next boat because where
I do see the value of a generator, I never want to be dependent on such a volatile
piece of machinery.
[<< Stefan]
 Day
49, Friday 17 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 05° 01.7' S 68° 24.7' E
[Natascha >>]
Hurray, my first passage without being
seasick. I thank the quiet sea and moderate wind, where Stefan believes that I
am actually getting over it. I actually don’t care, all I know this is a lot more
pleasant than the previous 3 days of any passage.
The wind dropped a bit and we are still reaching which
is the right moment to pull the spinnaker out of its bag. For the non-sailors,
a spinnaker is approximately twice the size of a regular genoa and is made of
much lighter fabric that allows it to fill in low winds. And of course, the huge
blue and red sail makes a lovely sight.
 The
previous owner told us he never used it as the genoa was generating enough power
as it was. Let me tell you something, there is no such thing as enough power in
light winds. Either he never sailed in light air, or he was just plane lazy. Probably
the latter as he estimated their daily average at 120 miles, where we are already
bitching if we do under 160 miles.
Stefan here isn’t sitting in his sleeping bag but the
spinnaker that he just took down covers him.
A huge sailing ship is approaching us on the stern. It’s
most likely Northern Spirit, the 120-foot schooner we saw on Cocos Keeling and
Chagos. We call them on the VHF to confirm. They sail with a crew of six around
the world for an extremely wealthy owner who they last saw on Fiji, that’s 6,000
miles back. Sounds like a great job to me. Doing 11 knots, it only takes them
one hour to catch up with us and very kindly they offer to take some pictures
of us under sail. You’ll see them once they’ve been emailed to us.
Day 50, Saturday 18 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 05° 01.5' S 65° 28.4' E
Yesterday’s perfect sailing continues for another day. A steady 20 knots breeze
pushes us with 7 knots along while we sit in the cockpit and enjoy the sun. This
is how sailing is meant to be
 We
also get a lot more comfortable sailing together. I now know the sequence of all
tasks to be performed when tacking, gibing, reefing etcetera which brings a lot
more peace to the boat. Rather than asking which colour of line to look for, I
now actually know where to find the main halyard, main sheet, second reefing line
and so on. I have still many questions but provided I raise them after the action,
Stefan is quite patient in explaining what happened and why things had to be done
as he said. Mind you, silly questions in the heat of fire result in a very short
answer at best.
Day 51, Sunday 19 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 05° 20.6' S 62° 29.3' E
Only three more days to the Seychelles. We expect to arrive Tuesday night or
Wednesday morning. We must say that we do look forward to the civilizedworld
again. Not that we have had enough of deserted white beaches and palm trees, on
the contrary. It would just be so nice if all that could be combined with a supermarket,
nice restaurants and an Internet café. Guess we’re over-asking here. Anyway, a
cold glass of white whine, a big portion of lobster or gambas would go down quite
nicely. Stretching our legs is another one.
[<< Natascha]
Day 52, Monday 20 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 04° 26.7' S 57° 33.3' E
[Stefan >>]
Murphy was again sailing with us today.
Firstly the fresh water pump decided to go quit again.
Never mind, only less than two days to go, so worry about it when we arrive.
 When
I’m enjoying my morning coffee, the spinnaker suddenly starts flapping as hell.
A small tear started just over the reinforcement of the tack and ripped the entire
lower part of the sail from left to right. Quite disappointing, as we were very
careful in not pushing it too hard and it did give a lot of extra momentum in
light air. It was the only sail that hadn'tt been replaced by the former owner
and although he never used it, it was clearly worn out already. We’ll probably
find a good sail maker in South Africa who can put it back together – if possible
at all. Too bad, it looked so good.
An hour later, I smelled something burning in the steering
compartment. Please let it not be the autopilot, which is the only piece of electrical
equipment that’s fitted there. Fortunately, it was only the light bulb that I
fitted there to make working below easier. It came of the wall and rested in a
bit of seawater causing a short circuit, which burned one of the wires.
Last blow of the day were the eggs. We had only three
left and were deliberating on how to best use them. Cook them, make an omelet
put them in spaghetti carbonara or make pancakes. Pancakes it was. Natascha diligently
cracked the shells and put the eggs in a bowl. She went outside to dispose of
the shells and whoosh; a big roller hit us and swept everything standing loose
on the floor, including our last eggs. Shit! Back to plan B, a delicious spaghetti
pesto?
Day 53, Tuesday 21 september 2004
Arrival Seychelles (Victoria - Mahé)
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
The last passage day was actually a very pleasant one.
We were told to keep our fishing lines out as we approached the bank of the Seychelles
where the depth came up from 2,000 to 20 meters in a matter of 3 miles. Normally
you will find plenty of fish there, which means plenty of predators who fancy
our lures. The first hit was a big one, in fact so big that it broke the swivel
leaving me with a loose line. Too bad.
Next one was a small Bonito that picked the squid lure.
Hauled it in and it turned out to be a nice 5 kg fish. Not quite sizeable but
it will do for a nice meal. Within 30 seconds his bigger brother stroke on the
wooden fish lure, this one being 15 kg, which will make nice filets. Bonitos have
red meat just like tuna and are perfect for sushi and sashimi. Will have to wait
till tomorrow since we just finished our dinner when they started striking.
Day 54, Wednesday 24 september 2004
Arrival Seychelles / Mahé
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
At 1 am we arrive in Victoria, the “capital” of Mahé.
Bedouin, who arrived that morning, confirmed that C-map was accurate enough to
approach Victoria by night. The anchorage where customs wants you to wait is 2
miles out of port with a nice 20-meter depth and sand bottom that promises good
holding. We waited for an hour for Just Jinks to arrive and went to bed at 3 am.
[<< Stefan]
Day 55, Thursday 23 september 2004
Mahé / Victoria
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
The Seychelles comprises 115 islands of which the vast
majority is uninhabited. About 90% of the 80,000 population lives on Mahé, which
is the main island, still only 27 kilometerslong and 3 to 8 kilometerswide.
The first inhabitants were pirates who used the Seychelles as a base for their
“business”. It is said that the famous pirate Olivier Levasseur – also known as
"the Buzzard" – left a treasure on Mahé. Hey, with a bit of luck...
Victoria is a convenient place for supplies but other
than that there is not much reason to stick around for long. All its industry
makes it an ugly place with little resemblance to paradise as known from the postcards.
That can only be found on the smaller islands Praslin and La Digue, so guess where
we are heading for.
Since paradise can only be enjoyed if the basics are taken
care off we first need to do some maintenance. I kindly request Stefan to have
a go at the fresh water pump first. The longer I have to do without fresh water,
the further morale sinks, for which Stefan has to suffer by default. Who else
can I lay it down on? Not that I blame him for the broken pump of course.
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
Now why is it that something like that
does come to my mind every now and then?
[<< Stefan]
[Natascha >>]
Stefan does indeed dive under the sink
first thing. Why? Pick the correct answer(s). It’s because:
[a] Stefan always does what I ask
[b] Stefan wants to get rid of my nagging
[c] Stefan feels really sorry for me not having access to fresh water
[d] Stefan figures it’s probably easy to fix
The correct answers are b and d.
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
And of course, I want to have sex during
the coming two weeks. Having said that, it was indeed quite simple. Something
clocked the outlet of the fresh water tank, which could be resolved by simply
blowing some air through the outlet hose. Pump reconnected and there we go (mind
you to the next job only).
My big friend the generator is calling again. A small
shop actually had the filter housing I was looking for so that should be fairly
easy to install. That’s one of these ‘shoulds’ again. After connecting the filter
it was collecting air as never before. Could it be the pipe seals after all? The
only way to find out is to apply the rule of elimination. Rather than fabricating
one piece, the previous owner decided to assemble 6 different parts resulting
in 12 screw connecters that are sealed with tape. It is not unlikely that one
of them was leaking as a result of moving them during the previous exercise. Undid
them all, sealed again and tried again.
Damned, still leaking like a sieve. After some further
plotting around, I find that the primary filter of the main engine turned itself
loose causing a massive leak. The attentive reader will say: Why didn’t that affect
the main engine? Well, we always run it that low that the pump generates plenty
of fuel of which the residual – including air – is fed back into the tank. Tighten
it and see if it’s any better.
 Never
mind, I’m on a roll here and quite prepared to tear the whole bastard apart if
I have to. Eliminating a little further and find that the new filter is leaking
like hell. How can that be, it came straight out the box? Yeah sure, but that
doesn'tt guarantee that some idiot couldn’t have opened it to take one of the rubber
seals out. Thanks buddy, brilliant.
 After
4 hours of sweating, cursing and doing a bit of work, it runs. Very nice, but
somehow, I’m still a bit reluctant to stuff the freezer again with expensive food.
Let it first gain some credibility by running smoothly over a month or so.
Time to finish the day with John and Verona. It’s good
that unlike a car, you can steer a dinghy under any conditions.
Day 56, Friday 24 september 2004
Mahé / Victoria
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
Not all cruisers are alike. Some arrive in a port any
only need to stock up on fuel and groceries, and some entertain themselves in
the engine compartment before seeing any thing of the island where they arrived.
You probably figured out by now that us poor buggers are proud members of the
second group. John and Verona – clearly belonging to the first group - left to
Beau Vallon, a beautiful anchorage just around the corner.
 We
ordered some parts with West Marine from Chagos 2.5 weeks ago and were hoping
the stuff would have arrived in the Seychelles post office by now. As we had plenty
of time we reckoned the expensive DHL solution would not be necessary and opted
for regular airmail. Too bad, nothing there yet and the lady at the counter kindly
informs us it could take up to 6 weeks instead of the 2 to 3 weeks indicated by
West Marine. Well, we still have another 3 weeks to go in the Seychelles so it
should work out just fine. And else, well we’ll worry about else later.
Day 57, Saturday 25 september 2004
Mahé / Victoria
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
Bedouin also leaves to Beau Vallon so that only Golden
Sovereign and we stay behind. They are still waiting for a part for their autopilot
that is supposed to come in. As they didn’t opt for a full back-up system that
most boats have, they had to hand steer the entire 2,500 miles from Cocos Keeling
to the Seychelles. Fortunately they have two older kids who can also do watches,
which leaves each of them with 2 hours watch, and 6 hours sleep per cycle. Well,
I call that pure luxury. They just had a little bit too much rain to really enjoy
it. And on top of this, their main sail started tearing apart. After loosing their
main, they also ripped the genoa so far that they had to furl away 50% of that.
When I asked Clive over the radio how it felt to have his wings clipped the response
was somehow a bit unclear... Let’s just say they were happy to arrive in the Seychelles.
I still haven’t checked the steering chain and something
tells me that it might have incurred some damages coming off the gear. Pulled
it out and yes indeed, two links were broken on one side. Jumped on my little
bike again to find a spare. Chains all over the place, but all way too small and
surely not in stainless steel. In theory, we never use the steering chain when
we have her on the autopilot or windvane but I’m not really looking forward to
sailing all the way to South Africa with a dodgy steering system.
Eventually, Clive comes up with the easiest solution.
Just move the broken links to the outside where they don’t need to be flexible
and weld the broken parts together. And the man even carries a small welder on
his boat! A 54 footer can definitely carry a whole lot more stuff than Espiritu.
Day 58, Sunday 26 september 2004
Mahé / Beau Vallon
GPS: 04° 36.7' S 55° 25.5' E
 We
leave Victoria together with Golden Sovereign. As the trip to Beau Vallon is only
6 miles, mostly downwind we are too lazy to hoist the main and just unroll the
genoa. Clive hoists his repaired main when we round Mahé to check the strength
of the stitching. The sail is all right but it doesn'tt generate much extra speed.
After 10 minutes I see him looking back worried about us sitting there just 50
meters behind him. To prevent any further embarrassment over the afternoon drinks,
he immediately drops the main to come to the configuration as we have (Golden
Sovereign is 10 foot longer and should thus be a lot faster).
 The
anchorage is upwind with many wind shifts and variations thanks to the mountains
ahead of us. So that’s going to be hand steering and see if we can get some speed
out of our lady. On the first tack we are 5 boat lengths ahead and at the next
tack Clive is still looking at a gap of 3 lengths. When he tacks behind us I hear:
"Winch in that fucking genoa!” Damn well they are racing. On the last, rather
tight, crossing we yell “Starboard!” to make sure everybody is still paying attention.
I progress sailing out to the end of the bay, where Clive remains under the coast.
We see him almost sitting still, while we are doing 7 knots – yes, we nailed him!
However, it turns out that the old fox was the smarter (or luckier) bastard as
he got a good lift under the coast, which gets him just before us. Never mind,
we had a lot of fun. Dropped the pick and time for a beer.
[<< Stefan]
 [Natascha
>>]
We went to explore Beau Vallon an hour
later. It’s very quiet since today it’s Sunday and besides that, Beau Vallon only
consists of a few shops, a petrol station and a police station. Anyway, it’s always
nice to see the way local people live.
For the first time in weeks, we go out to eat. We join
the South Africans for a huge barbecue where we hugely over-eat ourselves in a
nice Creole restaurant called "the Boathouse".
Day 59, Monday 27 september 2004
Mahé / Beau Vallon
GPS: 04° 36.7' S 55° 25.5' E
This morning we took the bus to Victoria to buy a few
pieces of equipment and some groceries. Too bad the parcel from West Marine still
hadn'tt arrived in the post office. In Maxwell’s sail maker shop we collected the
steel cable of the downhaul, which had been repaired by him.
 At
Maxwell’s place we noticed a "Coco de Mer", which can only be found
on the island Praslin and two other small islands on the Seychelles. This famous
erotic nut from the Coco de Mer palm is also named: Coco d'Amour. Look at the
picture and you know why... According to the Lonely Planet: "These strange
fruits excited the 17th -century sailors who first stumbled upon them after months
at sea". This Coco de Mer only grows on female trees. That gets me curious
to what's hanging of the male trees....
Day 60, Tuesday 28 september 2004
Mahé / Beau Vallon
GPS: 04° 36.7' S 55° 25.5' E
Our initial plan was to sail to Praslin today but since
there was hardly any wind and we didn’t feel like motoring the 20 miles, we decided
to stay another day in Beau Vallon. All boat jobs are done now, so time to relax.
After one week of hard work we finally have a real holiday feeling. We enjoy a
nice swim, read a book and update the website.
This morning we got new neighbours, a 45ft catamaran with
8 middle-aged men. For a normal guys hangout they are by far not loud enough and
moreover they are too well dressed. So Clive, homophobe number 1, quickly determined
that it had to be a bunch of gays. When we saw three of them running around naked
over the deck we were positive that these had to be very special friends.
 That
night we had a party for the last time with our South African friends. Tomorrow
they are returning to Victoria to check out and on Friday they are heading to
Mayotte on the Comoros. Their initial plan was to visit Praslin too, but since
they have already been cruising for three years, they are looking forward to get
home as soon as possible. Too bad, we really had a very good time with all of
them. Anyway, we’ll see them in South Africa. Clive and his family live in East
London and John and Verona in St. Francis Bay. Both places are on our way to Cape
Town and we are looking forward to see them again.
Day 61, Wednesday 29 september 2004
Mahé / Beau Vallon
GPS: 04° 36.7' S 55° 25.5' E
 It
took some time, but it’s finally going to happen. Stefan is nearly able to braid
his hair so today I’ll try to cut it. In Singapore I bought a nice electrical
clipper and according to the demo video it shouldn’t be too difficult. Stefan
takes a seat in the cockpit and soon the cockpit floor is covered with pieces
of hair. I’m not totally convinced of my hairdresser capabilities but since I’m
already half way through, there’s no turning back now. So just finish it and see
how he comes out. After 20 minutes and a couple of sweat drops it’s done and the
result actually isn’t too bad.
 After
lunch we lift the anchor and set sail towards Praslin. According to the Lonely
Planet and the Indian Ocean Pilot, Praslin and the adjoining island La Digue should
be beautiful. Looking forward to explore the islands.
The trip to Praslin is just how I would regard a perfect
sailing trip. About 15 knots of wind, no waves, nice sun and most of all short,
hence no night watches. Since we left a bit too late (no purpose emphasizingwho’s
to blame for that...) and the wind is dropping it quickly becomes apparent that
we are going to arrive in the dark. It’s something we tend to avoid, although
this anchorage is again relatively straightforward. (Guess that’s why you see
all these rentals – sailing is dead easy here). About an hour after sunset we
reach the Baie Chevalier and the depth gradually decreases from 30 to 7 meters
as indicated by C-map. We drop anchor and while sipping our late sundowner we
enjoy the moonlighted beach of Anse Lazio, supposedly the most beautiful beach
of the island.
[<< Natascha]
Day 62, Thursday 30 september 2004
Praslin
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 [Stefan >>]
The bay is indeed stunning. A blinding white beach in a hell-bleu lagoon, incaptured by green hills with here and there some rough rocks. The postcard we saw in Mahé wasn't an exaggeration. The beach remains very quiet, even later in the day. When I take the bicycle to the next village I find out why. You need to take a steep cross road of 2 miles where no buses come and the already expensive taxis charge a ridiculous surcharge because the road is so bad. And us lucky bastards can just swim over if we want to.
 The numerous charter yachts with far too many screaming kids on them heavily outnumber the cruising boats. And if you're really lucky one of them carries a 14 year-old punk who just loves to ride the dinghy all day. Just circling around from one boat to the other to the beach and back, all for no apparent reason and in any case very loud. Hey sport, why don't you go snorkeling(and perhaps drown a little while you're at it).
[<< Stefan]
Day 63, Friday 1 October 2004
Praslin
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 [Natascha >>]
Stefan found a mountain bike rental yesterday. I'm actually looking forward to some exercise and a bike seems to be the most feasible option to explore the island. It's all very small and car rentals are outrageously expensive. One little drawback - nobody told me these damn hills are so steep! My god, the lack of legwork is showing now. I have to get off the bike at almost each hill.
 We head for the pre-historical forest Vallée de Mai. It has about 4,000 of the very rare Coco de Mer palm trees, other special trees and some kind of unique black parrot that can only be found here. We might not feel like the entire 3 hours hike but it is certainly worthwhile spending some time there. Until we find out the entrance fee: 20 US Dollar (mind you, no rupees accepted) per head to walk in a bloody forest! No thanks.
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
We estimate that the Praslin restaurant owners are by and large greedy jerks. We got to this conclusion after a non-scientific research of a sample of three restaurants of which two turned out to be absolute ass holes.Let me tell you why.
When we arrive at the first, almost empty restaurant to have a quick lunch and a drink the waitress asks us if we are aware that we can only pay in US Dollars or Euros. Although the prices are listed in Rupees, foreigners can only pay in hard currency at a rate determined by the restaurant. Firstly, we are running low on US Dollars and therefore prefer to pay in Rupees that we can get from the ATM. And secondly, it's rather strange you can't pay in a country's local currency for something simple as a meal. When she kindly offers to get the manager we decide to see the man - looking forward to what he has to say.
There he is with a big smile, apologizing for the inconvenience, but he can't help it because it's the law. Excuse me? I can't resist pointing out that currency trading on the black market is actually against the law - at least that's what the officials told us. No no, we misunderstood, it's the company law. Aha, so it's your own privately invented law, how convenient. After some arguing backwards and forwards he says we can also pay by credit card. Sure brother. A bit cynically, we explain that usage of a credit card is based on mutual thrust, and he obviously does not qualify. He will probably trick us again, now without us knowing. By the time I find out he ran the card three times, we are long gone, having to explain to the bank what happened. With a last "Stick that burger up your fXXXing ass" we walk out of his - still empty – place.
We find a much nicer and fuller restaurant hundred meters down the road that served delicious hamburgers and club sandwiches. And the sweetheart didn’t even start about Euros or US Dollars. The score is one positive and one negative experience.
 When back at the beach we want to park our bicycle again at the restaurant. This was agreed with the owner’s wife yesterday under the vague promise that we would come over for lunch one of these days. Where the woman was actually very nice, her husband was a plain French jerk who wanted results right away. In other words, we are ordered to get the bike off his premises because we didn’t come for lunch today and we should return to the beach ‘where we belong’. Right. Fxxx you for the second time that day. As we walk away, two drivers from a local travel agency tell us the guy is indeed a complete ass holeand we should spread the word to all other yachties not to go there. That’s exactly what I have in mind and as we get washed by the surf while bringing the bike to the boat something in my mind is playing with the idea of painting some advertisement on his fence. Well, let’s leave it, the guy is not worth the effort.
[<< Stefan]
Day 64, Saturday 2 October 2004
Praslin
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 [Natascha >>]
The mountain bike must be returned at 11 am, a last opportunity to bike around the island with its beautiful sceneries.
The supermarket has some badly needed supplies like bottled water, eggs, vegetables and meat. We are quite pleased with the extensive shopping we did in Singapore which leaves us with plenty of pasta, rice and all kind of tinned food and snacks, even after being underway for two months. We wouldn’t have found everything here, and what they have is outrageously expensive.
With all the groceries a taxi was far more preferable to a bus, which in this case would leave us with a 2 km up- and down hill walk. Luckily a British couple overhear us about the taxi and offer to share one. You wouldn’t believe the taxi driver’s face when Stefan reduced his mega bike to a small package the size of a suitcase that nicely fitted into his trunk. Off we go, the four adults, bags and a bike. By look of the man’s face he surely regretted agreeing on the bargain I negotiated.
[<< Natascha]
 [Stefan
>>]
The couple turns out to be on their honeymoon for which they saved for a year. Their jaws drop as they learn that we are only 2 months underway of the one-year journey sailing around the world. Such an encounter makes you realize that we are actually doing something quite unique.
Living between other cruisers, who have much more time to spend, you sometimes forget that we are indeed two lucky bastards in the fortunate position to make their dream come true. As with income or luxury goods, your actual situation is far less important than your position compared to your peers (keeping up with the Jones?). Quite confronting to get it spelled out like this.
Day 65, Sunday 3 October 2004
Praslin
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 There is supposed to be a nice dive site just out of the anchorage. The dive instructor did warn for strong currents that has put tourists in serious problems.
Foolish enough, we ignore the tide when deciding to go out. By the time Natascha has her gear sorted out, she finds herself 25 meters away from the dinghy. She does manage to swim back and we hold the almost horizontal anchor line while descending, hoping for less current deeper down. Not so much. Seven minutes and 40 bar of air further we decide to abort the dive. We are kicking like madman and only progress 20 meters up current. When we ascend from the 7 meters depth, without swimming the current puts us right back at the dinghy.
Drift dives can be quite pleasant – just sit back and let the underwater world pass by at rocket speed without doing a thing. Only missing element now is the friendly smiling Egyptian captain who picks up 2 miles further.
Day 66, Monday 4 October 2004
Praslin
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 Having learned a lesson yesterday, we now plan the dive a bit more carefully. We go out to an island 3 miles away just before high tide so that we can dive with virtually no current. The anchor line is now dangling loose, an indication that the circumstances will be a lot quieter. Being further away from shore, the water is much clearer and we see many more fish. Underwater navigation is quite straightforward. Just circumnavigate the island and by the time the compass points east again, we should find the dinghy at the same depth we started. The coral is less stunning than Chagos but we saw many different fish species among which two huge Napoleon fish, tortoises, two manta rays and a Murray eel, the first one in the Indian Ocean.
[<< Stefan]
 [Natascha
>>]
Stefanspends the afternoon doing small repairs and maintenance while I enjoy the beach with a book and a badly needed nap. When returning with the dinghy, we stop by at a German yacht, Auryn, owned by single-handler named Bernt. He has been underway with his cat “Zocken” for the past 4 years. He rounded the infamous Cape Horn under the argument that the Panama Canal is far too dangerous... To put this one in perspective, one should know that over 10% of the non-professional yachts find themselves knocked down, rolled over or even lost altogether in that area. Anyway, he apparently did well and surely gave him a unique voyage. His new German girlfriend who never sailed before just joined him for the, rather difficult, leg to South Africa. That is, if she overcomes her seasickness. So far, she has been feeding fish all the way from Mahé to Praslin, which doesn'tt sound like a promising start.
Day 67, Tuesday 5 October 2004
Praslin & Curieuse Island
GPS: 04° 17.6' S 55° 41.9' E
 The island Curieuse is located about 1.5 miles north of Praslin. It was a leper colony from 1833 to 1965. Besides the Seychelles’ patients, all leper-infected people from Mauritius and Reunion were sent here because these islands didn’t have any suitable isolated places themselves. In return, they looked after the mentally diseased from the Seychelles. Curieuse is also a breeding space for giant tortoises and the books indicate good snorkelingaround the beaches. More than enough reasons to dinghy over.
 We see the remains of the patient houses at the end of the beach – people pay a lot of money for these kinds of locations these days-:). The doctor’s house a little bit further is now converted into an information centre. A local guide asks us for our tickets – for sale at 15 Euro per head, Seychelles Rupees not accepted. We can peer around here, but we can’t go to the other side of the island where you find all the tortoises. Just when I want to have a go at him, Stefan gives me a punch. Thankfully nodding at the man for his kindness we walk back to the beach and climb in the dinghy. He didn’t seem to have a radio so he can’t contact his brothers on the other side and when we don’t see any of them over there, we get away without paying anything. It’s just so nice to have your own means of transport. Honestly speaking, we do understand that the authorities prefer regular tourists to yachties as the latter bring in hardly any cash. We feel no need to change that pattern.
 Curieuse, as Mahé, Praslin and La Digue is a granite island. Large granite rocks are arising out of the water in beautiful shapes, a lovely sight. After plotting around at the beach a bit we want to find these giant tortoises
We see a sign "guided tour", presumably towards the tortoises, where else? It’s a nice varied walk between rocks, palm trees, and mangrove swamps. The trees hold large webs with huge palm spiders. Unfortunately, the light is too poor to take a picture. There are also numerous crabs and again, no evidence as they creep into their little holes as soon as they hear us.
After 30 minutes without finding any tortoises we reckon it was all a fake to attract extra tourists and turn around. Just 150 meters from our starting point we do actually find the heavily sought after tortoises. The first one is an enormous animal, it appears to just have stepped out of Jurassic Park. It approaches without any fear and completely ignores us when enjoying its continuous meal of fresh leafs. We find some more of them a few meters ahead. Beautiful!
 A short snorkel trip completes the Curieuse trip before we head of to lunch at the restaurant Bonbon Plume (obviously not my “friends’” one). The Creole fish with half a bottle of wine is a real treat. The number of young couples is quite remarkable – the majority is most probably having their honeymoon...
Day 68, Wednesday 6 October 2004
La Digue
GPS: 04° 20.8' S 55° 49.7' E
It is an early morning because we want to take the maximum of the day in La Digue, which is 8 miles further east. Stefan takes the anchor out at 8 am. Mind you, by hand as the electrical anchor windlass ceased operating. The electrical cable is completely rotten and without power, the thing is quite entitled not to work. Hopefully we find some replacement cable in Victoria because Stefan is not really enjoying this early morning workout. I must say, all the heavy work doesn'tt do any harm to his looks... The trip lasts considerably longer due to the head current and head wind, which makes us tacking up to the island rather than sailing a straight course. We anchor in the little port between two other boats with long lines out to the quay.
 Despite its moderate size, only 2 by 4 km, the island is too large to explore walking. Cars are banned except for some utility vehicles, which gives a rather nice atmosphere. Everybody moves around on bicycles or ox-carts, how different from Cocos Keeling where the local inhabitants use motorized quads. Again we rent one bicycle and I stick to my famous little folding bike. We start our tour at L’Union Estate, the former coconut plantation. The most important industry used to be winning oil out of coconuts. A small museum shows the process and of course we have to test how the coconut milk tastes.
 The most spectacular beaches are supposed to be at the southeast part of the island, so off we go on our bikes. Via the only, quit hilly road, that crosses La Digue, we reach the stunning beach Grand Anse. Staring at the huge waves, Stefan wishes he had brought his kite surfboard. A narrow path through the rocks guides us to the deserted, dramatic beach Petite Anse. Having seen Cocos Keeling, Chagos and the Seychelles we definitely are spoiled for the rest of our lives! After a refreshing swim, we cycle back to the boat.
We have supper in a cosy Creole restaurant. Getting there on our bikes (and afterwards returning to the boat) via the meandering, unlit road was a real challenge, since the bikes don’t have lights. Anyway, we made it safely.
 Day
69, Thursday 7 October 2004
Mahé / Victoria
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
In the morning we leave La Digue to return to Mahé. The officials need two days for customs and clearance formalities and demand you to be in Mahé at least two days before departure. Not very efficient but since we’ve got lots to do there we don’t really care. We need to go to the Madagascar Embassy to apply for visa, fill our water and diesel tanks, have our laundry done, stock up on supplies, internet and hopefully pick up the parcel from West Marine.
Sailing from La Digue to Mahé Stefan caught three Bonito’s. Two of them he let go since they were small, the third one I marinated in soy sauce, garlic, lemon, ginger and pepper and tasted delicious.
The parcel from West Marine finally arrived at the post office. It arrived two weeks ago, just after we had left to Beau Vallon. Next time we better use DHL, saves time and hassle.
Day 70, Friday 8 October 2004
Mahé / Victoria
GPS: 04° 36.9' S 55° 28.8' E
After the broken bottles of wine, Baileys and gin, the tins start causing trouble. After a while tins become porous and start leaking. A nasty smell is coming from the locker under the chart table where we keep the beer. It turns out that some of the tins exploded due to the rock and rolling of the boat. The best prevention is drinking them all but we’re working on that one as hard as we can already!
While I’m at it I might as well check out the storage places under the bunks where we keep the tinned food and cartons of fruit juice. I discover a black, slimy substance at the bottom of the fruit juice but no clue where it’s coming from. Inspecting every tin I finally discover what’s causing the problem. One of the peach tins emptied itself and is covered with mould. Disgusting! They end up in the dustbin together with the pineapple tins that are making a hissing sound.
Tomorrow we’ll leave for Madagascar with a considerable lighter and cleaner boat
[<< Natascha]
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A short snorkel trip completes the Curieuse trip before we head of to lunch at the restaurant Bonbon Plume (obviously not my “friends’” one). The Creole fish with half a bottle of wine is a real treat. The number of young couples is quite remarkable – the majority is most probably having their honeymoon... 
Despite its moderate size, only 2 by 4 km, the island is too large to explore walking. Cars are banned except for some utility vehicles, which gives a rather nice atmosphere. Everybody moves around on bicycles or ox-carts, how different from Cocos Keeling where the local inhabitants use motorized quads. Again we rent one bicycle and I stick to my famous little folding bike. We start our tour at L’Union Estate, the former coconut plantation. The most important industry used to be winning oil out of coconuts. A small museum shows the process and of course we have to test how the coconut milk tastes. 
The most spectacular beaches are supposed to be at the southeast part of the island, so off we go on our bikes. Via the only, quit hilly road, that crosses La Digue, we reach the stunning beach Grand Anse. Staring at the huge waves, Stefan wishes he had brought his kite surfboard. A narrow path through the rocks guides us to the deserted, dramatic beach Petite Anse. Having seen Cocos Keeling, Chagos and the Seychelles we definitely are spoiled for the rest of our lives! After a refreshing swim, we cycle back to the boat.
