Day 29, Saturday 28 August 2004
Departure from Cocos Keeling
GPS: 12° 05.5' S 96° 53.0' E
[Natascha >>]
At 3pm we lift anchor and leave Cocos
Keeling while Jill and Thomas from Charlotte and Françoise and Mike from Heart's
Content wave us off. "See you in Richard's Bay!" Our next destination
is Chagos, 1,500 miles to the North West.
As expected, the South East trade winds blow a steady
25 knots. Combined with a 4-meter swell from the opposite direction we know this
is going to be a tough ride. We easily log 7 knots with only our small genoa up.
We feel like being in a roller coaster. In only two ours time I'm seasick and
Stefan is feeding the fishes in no time as well. It's the continuous rolling of
the boat that makes it hard. Hopefully we'll get over it soon.
Day 30, Sunday 29 August 2004
Indian Ocean
11° 33.0' S 95° 09.0' E
 In
the morning we contact John from Jocara over the HF radio. Due to a bad injury
on John's foot and engine problems they are still stuck in Merak Harbour. They
expect to leave Merak and head for Cocos Keeling in a few days time. Too bad we
couldn't meet them in Cocos Keeling! Would have been so nice to see them there
and go for a couple of dives together. We inform John that besides the fact we
are feeling sick as a dog, Espiritu and we are doing fine.
Until………………a guy called Murphy turns up to spoil our party.
Every morning we run our generator to cool the fridge and freezer and to charge
the batteries. Suddenly the generator stops working. Interesting. Should we change
the fuel filter? The filter seems quite dirty indeed and as soon as Stefan changed
the filter, the generator starts working again. But what's this strange smell?
Stefan quickly turns off the generator and discovers the problem. One of the pipes
of the fresh water-cooling system is corroded-through. As any engine, a generator
overheats quickly if it runs out of coolant liquid. Now that we know the cause,
let's think of a solution. Meanwhile, the next issues crops up.
Bilge water is coming through our floorboards, it seems
something is wrong with the electrical bilge pump, and water is pouring from the
cupboard under the sink into the galley. The first one is an easy problem; the
bilge pump is wasted - back to the manual procedure. The latter is not unfamiliar
although we have never figured out the root causes. Aha, but now we do! The freshwater
pump is mounted under the sink against the centerboard housing. Mind you, the
previous owner punched screws all the way through and since the whole thing sits
under the waterline inevitably creating a nice leak. All we can do for now is
take the thing off and fill the holes with kit until we can do a proper job at
the next destination.
Back to the generator. Stefan tries to close the hole
in the pipe with kit. Too bad the kit doesn't hold. It seems we can't get the
generator fixed now. This is very disappointing and inconvenient. Being on our
way to Chagos - where there's nothing but some palm trees and deserted beaches
- having no freezer, fridge, dive compressor and battery charger. We'll have to
throw overboard all the contents of our freezer and won't be able to dive on top
5-dive destination Chagos. Besides all this, power will become an issue so that
we might not be able to use the HF radio.
 Great!
Anybody still thinking we are on a one-year holiday? Of course we realize it isn't
all too serious and we are able to remediate most issues as we progress. Still
it's definitely not a walk in the park.
Day 31, Monday 30 August 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 11° 23.6' S 92° 14.8' E
It's lousy weather and Stefan is reading inside most of
the day. I'm trying to get over my seasickness outside.
Now the generator stopped working we need to charge our
batteries via the main engine, which takes longer and is less efficient because
it consumes five times the amount of fuel of what the generator needs. Not to
mention the increased noise and smell. The solar panels of course do their bit
but the sun doesn't show itself too much these days and they won't suffice even
under ideal conditions.
A few more surprises. The freshwater pump sounds a bit
dodgy. Let's keep our fingers crossed. And one of the life jackets inflated itself
on the wet floor rather than waiting till getting really wet with one of us falling
overboard. Nice it works although timing remains an issue.
Today we added 170 miles to the log, same as yesterday.
Not too bad at all!
Day 32, Tuesday 31 August 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 09° 52.0' S 90° 27.3' E
Yesterday's fear materialized. For some reason the freshwater
pump quitted. Maybe something went wrong when we took the pump off from the centerboard
housing two days ago. Another item for the to-do list. So we have 400-litre water
in our tank and can't get a single drop out of it. How nice! Luckily we have 75
liters in jerry cans and we've got plenty of bottled water. And there's always
the bucket shower!
Any more troubles? Yes, more troubles indeed. A big roller
was the end of our brand new digital camera. It landed on the floor sitting in
a bit of salt water that had spilled out of the bilge. That water normally doesn't
bother us too much but now we did curse it. Damned!
One of our fellow-cruisers had a very recognizable definition
of cruising: "Cruising is sailing to beautiful places to work on your boat".
Well, if it were a walk in the park, it wouldn't have been such a challenge so
just get on with it.
Looking at the bright side, Espiritu is performing terrific.
She sails beautifully; fast and pretty comfortable, and all essential systems
such as self-steering and the engine work as expected. And once the sun breaks
through and you have a "bucket shower", things start looking better
already. We're not really seasick anymore, a bit unstable at the most. Boy, are
we going to be slim.
Day 33, Wednesday
1 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 08° 50.0' S 87° 54.0' E
 The
flying fishes continue landing on the deck as if it was fish' heaven on earth.
It is indeed their end, but I couldn't vouch for the nirvana state. Apparently
they hold the boat for some giant monster that is ready to eat them, and instinctively
they jump out of the water to escape from it. Irony is that, especially at night,
many actually land on deck where they sputter for a while before passing away.
We throw out most of the ones landing in the cockpit, but we have no appetite
risking our own skin by climbing on deck at night to save some stupid fish. So
each morning we do a little tour to toss the dried fish over the side. We have
heard of cruisers who fry them, which to us is only an option if we are down to
the last tin of baked beans.
The freezer lost its last bit of cold so it's time to
empty it. Bye bye sate, minced meat, chicken filet, beef and deep-frozen vegetables.
We manage to save some spiced sausages so that will have to be breakfast, lunch
and dinner for the coming days. This also makes life in the galley fairly easy,
which is quite convenient given the continuous rolling of the boat.
Day 34, Thursday 2 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 08° 16.0' S 85° 17.0' E
We are about halfway - only 5 more days, which implies
only 5 more night watches to go. Getting kicked out of my nice warm bed twice
a night continuous to be a rather unpleasant experience. Especially if it is followed
by 3 hours fighting back your sleep in a cold cockpit. The endless load of books
and the computer game Tetris are welcome distractions. We average a book per two
days and the Tetris record improved from 4,600 to an impressive 24,000.
Time for another bucket-shower, followed by a splash of
fresh water to rinse of the salt. It seems Neptune is playing a little game with
us. Each time we just dried up, the slightly confused sea combines two waves from
different directions, which build up just high enough to splash over the side.
Whoosh, and the cockpit is filled again. The cockpit is absolutely off-limits
for both the computer and the Iridium phone for the very same reason. Loosing
the digital camera was bad enough.
Stefan is already dreaming of our next boat. A 60-foot
cutter with an enclosed pilothouse suitable for drinking coffee and watching DVD's
in our pajamas while doing the night watch. Keep on dreaming (and saving) bro.
[<< Natascha]
Day 35, Friday 3 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 07° 38.2' S 82° 44.0' E
[Stefan >>]
We log on to Rowdies net each day,
this is a HAM net for cruisers in South-East Asia over the HF radio, run by a
guy called Richard, an Australian who lives in Thailand. Normally, you're not
supposed to use the HAM frequencies unless you have a valid license and any licensed
HAM might find his revoked if he talks to any unlicensed radio operator. Richard
here doesn't care at all though - probably because weak law enforcement practices
in his country of residence. It is probably save to say that Thailand even beats
the Netherlands when it comes down to tolerating minor violations.
Richard is a great help to cruisers, giving weather forecasts,
providing info about ports you are approaching, locating spares and you can brief
him on your position so that he can keep track of you. So we did each day until
the generator failed, which restricted our electricity charging capabilities to
the solar panels. In the morning, when the net is operated, the batteries are
at its weakest due to the running lights we use at night and the obvious absence
of the sun. We are still able to listen to the net, but we can't transmit due
to the lack of power.
After 5 days, we hear him asking around for sailing yacht
Espiritu because he hasn't heard from us for a couple of days. We still can't
reach him, but we do have his email so we decide to call my parents and ask them
to send him an email with our position saying that we are all right. The next
morning we hear him thanking us for the email confirming that it worked. They
probably wouldn't have started a search-and-rescue action right away, but it's
good to know that people keep a lookout.
[<< Stefan]
[Natascha >>]
The Iridium receives the sms messages
in batches. Today we had more than 10, great! Moon & Ernst, Joyce, Mike, Suzanne,
Cocky & Ton, Pat & Bren, Jolanda & Alex, Marjon & Martin, Luc,
Eugene en Remco & Lisette, thanks guys! It's nice to receive something while
being in the middle of the ocean.
Stefan made another attempt to prepare dinner - that is,
fighting with kitchen cutlery, pots, pans and an unwilling stove that swings around
frantically. Just when he is scooping the pasta on the plates, the boat rolls
over, sending one plate behind the stove. "That's it! I'm through with this
shit, no more cooking by me on this f**king boat. All I'll do is make coffee,
boil an egg and warm up ravioli". That's actually not a bad idea. Each time
he cooks the galley is a mess where I always leave a perfectly organized working
place. Guess we should all focus on our strengths, hence leave Stefan with the
sailing and fixing.
[<< Natascha]
Day 36, Saturday 4 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 07° 32.7' S 80° 00.0' E
[Stefan >>]
This morning we heard Sue from Carefree
coming up on the cruising net first. Sue and Bob make an elderly British couple
who lived almost all their lives in South Africa before cruising around the world
for 7 years. They are now dreaming of building a house in the inland of South
Africa to enjoy the wild life. Their 40 years absence from the UK cannot reveal
their very British style.
We are actually a bit surprised to hear Sue as we normally
hear Bob on the net. Since we only hear fragments of the conversation due to the
long distance, it takes a while before we realize something serious happened to
Bob. When we hear Peter saying "Terribly sorry" and "Deepest condolences"
it cannot be otherwise than he passed away. The absence of any mentioning of an
accident makes us assume it must be a natural cause, probably something instantaneously
as a heart attack or perhaps a stroke. This is quite a shock - two weeks ago we
were laughing and drinking at the barbecue on Cocos Keeling.
We try to imagine Sue's position on the boat with her
husband's body. We feel terribly sorry for her. Loosing your other half and handling
all the practical matters is bad enough, adding the responsibility for a sailing
boat deep ocean in 25 knots of wind makes it stressful to say the least.
Peter is of course very compassionate yet extremely accurate
and determined to keep Sue focused on her own safety now. We would have expected
her to "keep a stiff upper lip", but it's quite amazing to hear how
she gets herself together and navigates the boat to Rodriguez. Simple things like
reefing the main are an enormous effort for a fragile woman in her sixties, yet
she manages to slow the boat down and get it in a bit more comfortable motion.
She follows the agreed three-hour schedule and we hear
her coming up at noon again. She tells she is doing fine and estimates to reach
Rodriguez. within the next 20 hours. Mary, the net coordinator, is still in Cocos
Keeling from where she phoned their two sons, who fly to Rodriguez. first thing
tomorrow, as well as the Rodriguez. coast guard, who will send an airplane around
3PM to contact her directly. Initially, they propose to tow Carefree in, which
is unnecessary since the engine is working fine - all Sue needs is an extra hand
to get into port. Then they offer to take her from board as they drop off two
men. Now Peter steps in and stresses that Sue should not leave the boat under
any circumstances to avoid salvage fees or even complete juridical loss of the
boat. We hear her responding with a thin voice that she "will try to be very
firm" on that as instructed by Peter. Poor lady. The next day, Mary confirms
she made it safely into port.
These kinds of situations show the value of cruising nets.
Without Mary's and Peter's support Sue would have had a lot more difficulties
dealing with the whole situation on her own. Without the moral backing from a
friend, it's quite hard to pick yourself up and concentrate on the immediate task
of getting the boat and yourself into safety.
We couldn't help thinking about the incident all day and
you automatically wonder how we would handle a situation like this. Hence, would
Natascha be able to sail the boat through moderately serious weather if need be
and navigate safely to the next port? As we start going through all tasks, we
conclude that she actually could, even reefing the main would be doable. While
we all hope nothing like that occurs, there is no need losing a second life to
incapability.
Day 37, Sunday 5 september 2004
Indian Ocean
07° 28.7' S 77° 05.3' E
I finally got my fishing rod out and mounted the whole
thing together. Now that we were out of meat, it was time to become self-sufficient.
Tuna-boy, I've got some lovely lures for you!
And you bet, after an hour we hear “trrrrrrrrr”, the spinning
sound of the reel letting out line to prevent it from breaking. A huge blue-white
fish jumps out of the water before diving deep in an attempt to get away. We quickly
stop the boat but the 600-meter line I have is still not enough. I just have to
put the brake on to avoid losing the whole line, lure and the like (all in all
100 US dollars).
I hold it for 5 minutes before I start gently taking the
line in. Damn! The tension is off so he must have broken the line. After reeling
in 500 meters of braided line there should follow 100 meters of leader. Not so.
Too bad, probably it would have been too big to bring on board anyway. I've another
bag of apparently highly effective lures so there will be a next opportunity.
During the day the reel kept rattling so that I had to
maximize the resistance. This suggested the lure was pulling with a force of 30
kg. The lure is certainly not that big and I'm afraid the reel got blown already
during its first adventure. To save some money I had resisted the temptation to
buy a wonderful Shimano 50 reel and bought this 30 pounds Daiwa reel instead,
which, according to the salesperson was high quality as well. It seems he needed
to get rid of it - as I do now too - wish I had bought the Shimano! For some reason,
every time I go cheap, it goes to pieces within two weeks. In this case even faster:
two hours! I don't care about the price but on the Seychelles I'm going to buy
a reel, which others use to pull sharks in. Hopefully this one won't break.
[<< Stefan]
[Natascha >>]
The boat was a cheapie too, wasn't she…………???
[<< Natascha]
 Day
38, Monday 6 september 2004
Indian Ocean
GPS: 06° 46.3' S 74° 47.0' E
[Stefan >>]
The wind backed off completely last night, which reduces
our speed to a lousy five knots. By daylight it picks up to 20 knots again, enough
to reach Chagos before sunset.
While I'm amazing myself over the miracle "Woody
the Windpilot", who perfectly counter-steers to correct the waves setting
us off, I imagine seeing something behind the boat. Rubbing the sleep out of my
eyes improves my vision significantly and indeed, I do see a gray fin splicing
through the water. It seems a bit too small for a shark (unless it’s a little
one which is unlikely deep-sea) and dolphins never swim alone.
Actually, it’s a whale! Magnificent! Slowly it unravels
it’s back while blowing out air. It’s fantastic to see this 20-foot giant swimming
behind us. Natascha grabs the camera but he is not much of a film star. He keeps
his distance and only comes up twice again before heading of entirely. Sorry to
have no evidence.
[<< Stefan]
Day 39, Tuesday 7
september 2004
Arrival on Chagos
GPS: 05° 35.6' S 72° 58.0' E
 [Natascha
>>]
Land ahead! After 10 days at sea, we sea the palm-trees of the Chagos
archipelago. The main island is Diego Garcia, which the British rented out to
the US Navy as a military base, who is not too keen on any visitors.
The other islands are also not exactly advertised, but
yachties have been tolerated on the atolls Peros Banhos, Egmond Islands en Salomon
Islands for the past few years. The tolerance evolved so far that they actually
charge you 80 US dollar for a stay.
We boot up the laptop with C-map and when I see the lagoon
approaching, I shout: “Turn to port to 165 degrees!”. Stefan's only response is
pointing at the reef right at our port side. Turns out C-map is half a mile off.
It surely is a nice tool, but there is indeed a reason for not approaching unknown
anchorages at night. The lagoon is scattered with small reefs and “bombies”, which
is all peanuts for the forward-looking sonar. Each time we see something approaching
we bear away 50 degrees, which reduces the little “hill” on the screen to healthier
depths.
 We
anchor at Île Fouquet, where we also find Borrachio. We gently make little turns
to allow the sonar to view what's around us before dropping the anchor. Stefan
quickly takes out the scuba gear to dive down and assure the anchor is properly
set between the coral. In absence of any moorings, there is no other option than
drop 40 pounds of metal on the coral, which is actually quite a pity.(foto: Espiritu
Chagos)
Enjoying a sundowner while checking out the stars is a
good way of starting our Chagos visit.
[<< Natascha]
Day 40, Wednesday 8 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
[Stefan >>]
The score after 1,500 miles:
- A generator with a leaking cooling system – resulting
in stopping the fridge, freezer, hot water boiler, dive compressor and battery
charger – in turn killing any transmitting on the HF radio;
- A faulty fresh water pump which carries one advantage:
the water tanks are still almost full after 11 days at sea;
- A broken electrical bilge-pump;
- A leaking centre board housing. Has always been leaking
– now we know why;
- Leaking stanchions that soak the two aft lockers and
bunks;
- A wrecked fishing reel;
- A digital camera baptized in salt water – didn't turn
religious;
- A broken bottle of Baileys leaving the wine locker and
the diving gear with a very distinctive smell;
- Not to mention all other lockers that collected their
regular amount of seawater.
That will sort me out for the coming days. No diving,
no beaches; just work. The only difference with real work is that the office is
now an oily, hot, dark confined place. Could I please write one more report, promised,
I won’t moan this time...
[<< Stefan]
 [Natascha
>>]
My mood was also down to say the least. After cleaning the
Baileys mess, I make my way aft to the flooded locker that has all the tins. Assuming
this isn't the last time, rip off all wrappings and pencil the contents with a
black marker.
[<< Natascha]
Day 41, Thursday 9 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
 The
bilge-pump couldn't be fixed – the multi-meter didn't indicate any continuity
so that one is bust. Given that the thing can’t be opened might as well toss it
overboard and convert to manual pumping until we can get a replacement.
Cees from Borracho handed me a piece of silver-tape to
close the hole in the cooling system. I’ll be damned – it worked. We have a working
generator again! This proves you only carry enough spares after cruising for a
couple of years. I actually looked for that kind of tape but couldn't find it
– partially because I didn't know what it looked like. And forget about the Chinese
shop owners – they can only sell it, but wouldn't have a clue what their goods
are for.
 Now
that the most pressing jobs are done, we open our eyes to the beautiful atoll
we arrived in. Each shell holds a living creature and birds look you in the face
almost asking you why you have the guts to disturb them. There is no evidence
of human interference at all. This is nature how it has been for thousands of
years.
The marine life is as special. Each reef is filled with
beautiful coral in a variety you even rarely see in the Red Sea. And now not at
some isolated place you have to motor to for a few hours, but straight under our
boat. Privacy is ultimate with our next neighbor at a mile distance. Forget all
pessimistic environmentalists – it’s all still there, you just have to travel
a bit further. On the other hand, it would be so nice if you could see this rawness
all over the world.
 Day
42, Friday 10 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
The three South African boats (Just Jinks from Verona
and John, Golden Sovereign from Anne-Marie, Clive, Claire and Shaun and Bedouin
from Mandy and Chris) are anchored some three miles from us at Île Boddam, on
the other side of the lagoon. According to the map this island keeps some remains
of the original inhabitants, before they were forced by the British to move to
Rodriguez. in 1965. The British have leased the main island Diego de Garcia to
the US Navy as a military base. (In the war against Iraq, part of the B-52 bombers
was based in Chagos). For obvious reasons the Americans don't want any nosy spectators
around.
We stuffed the dinghy with snorkel gear and motored to
Île Boddam. Our South African friends were happy to see us again. Our radio silence
had made them slightly worried about us.
 At
Île Boddam we saw the ruins of the former inhabitants’ houses and a small lovely
church covered with palm trees. This is what happens if you let Mother Nature
look after your house for a while. Walls completely overgrown and entire trees
in the middle of the old houses. The timber work and rooftops are largely rotten
away. We wonder how the original inhabitants managed to make a living on this
little island. They must have been fishermen of some sort and perhaps had some
small cattle.
The coconut crabs are amazing. And as you might guess
you will find them around the coconuts.
 The
ride back is long and wet. The strong wind and resulting waves prevent us from
planning so that we see each wave, and give each of them the opportunity to scoop
over some water, which makes us even slower. Thank god the generator works so
that we can have a hot shower to warm up again. The chilled champagne didn't really
appreciate the rolling over the past few weeks and turned into vinegar. That's
one down, but fortunately another 26 bottles of red to go. Guess we have to finish
them before they get spoiled as well. So far for the resolutions to live a bit
healthier.
[<< Stefan]
Day 43, Saturday 11 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
 [Natascha
>>]
By the time all jobs are finished and
the boat is dried out, all hardship is quickly forgotten. The hammock takes care
of the last traces of distress.
This is how we alternate between deep lows and stunning
highs. The journey is a long string of surprises and new experiences. We just
have to accept the never-ending to-do list. The trick is to approach it like homework
during your school days; just ease your conscience while ignoring it as you please.
 It’s
surely not going to be perfect and idyllic, but it will definitely be rewarding.
Why? Visiting paradise places like Cocos Keeling and Chagos, the excitement of
sailing with dolphins and whales, the special friendships you develop, the kick
of rounding Cape of Good Hope in our own boat, visiting the colorful Caribbean
islands to be finished with our guaranteed emotional arrival in our hometown.
That's what makes all this hassling worthwhile.
 For
the time being all systems are up and running again. Only drawback is the continuous
rain. Not too bad for a day and pleasant side effect is the opportunity to top-up
the water tanks. You wouldn't imagine how much rainwater gets accumulated in a
dinghy.
The South-Africans fled from their windy anchorage at
the other side and motored over to our anchorage. To ‘celebrate’ reuniting drinks
are announced at Just Jinks. Cooking tonight is doubtful.
Day 44, Sunday 12 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
We actually did have supper albeit that Verona had already cooked in advance
and invited us to stay. We gladly accepted and are now regretting this foolish
decision. The food was not the issue – it was the damn whisky. Better have a slow
start today.
The ladies organized a High Tea at Bedouin, which was enough for the man to
make their way out and go fishing. Mandy has never used the beautiful tea set
that she inherited from her grandma. When they exchanged their house for their
44-foot catamaran she didn't want to pass it on or put it in storage so decided
to take it on board. Just imagine, a 100-year-old porcelain tea set on a sailing
boat! I would give it 3 days before we would break the first cup. Anyway, High
Tea at Chagos. Who thinks of that!
 Mandy
did her utmost to serve delicious dishes and was just about to put the teakettle
on as the gas bottle ran empty. Changing that is a men's job, who are now all
out fishing. We reluctantly agreed on a far less tasty alternative: white wine.
By the time the guys returned we emptied three bottles among the four of us.
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
We headed off in three dinghies to
the end of the lagoon where the drop-off supposed to house plenty of fish. And
where there is fish, there are predators that might fancy one of our lures. We
take hand-reels because rods are a little impractical in a dinghy. I brought a
gaff and Clive took a hammer to close a fish's eyes once caught. The ladies were
full of cynicism so we had to catch some to shut them up.
My brand-new repala lure was indeed appealing enough to
attract a nice size Travelli within 15 minutes. I quickly reeled it in to beat
the sharks that were prone to snatch it away from you. And how it goes, I was
so anxious to get it out of the water I tilted it too high inviting the fish to
shake his head and free itself. Stupid bugger, the next one will be gaffed. Never
mind, another two hours to go before sunset.
Suddenly we see Chris standing in his dinghy for quite
a while. He must at least have a huge tuna he's fighting with. As we approach,
he didn't catch anything, he is surrounded by huge manta rays. We obviously don't
want to harm any of them so we quickly bring in the lures and enjoy their show.
 Duty
calls, back to work. We are all still empty-handed so it’s time to arrange dinner.
Ten minutes was enough to strike a small Bonito, a red meat fish very suitable
for sashimi. Quickly tossed the repala over board again – get one with it boy!
And he did. Another ten minutes before the second Travelli strikes. Gaff it, bang
it on the head and in the bucket. That one will make the pan stink. Meanwhile,
Clive gets pretty upset with my golden repala – all fish go for it happily ignoring
his bate.
Next catch was a nice Coral Trout. Landing it was easy,
killing it was a battle. It jumped frantically around the little dinghy with the
second hook of the lure aiming for our toes. It’s distinctive teeth complicated
getting the lure out of its mouth leaving us with a little challenge. Clive's
hammer did the job though – number three in the bucket. Number four was again
a coral trout, this one less lively than its brother. More than enough to fill
the fridge so we took the lines in and powered up, back to the boat. We should
have brought a beer for the return trip.
The ladies got quite loud after their tea party. It took
us a while before we noticed the absence of the tea itself; explaining the volume.
We proudly showed our catch and went over to Just Jinks to filet the fishes. Quite
a messy job – this is where a deck shower comes in handy. Finished the day with
a chilled Chardonnay and a Bonito sushi as starter, followed by a pan-fried Coral
Trout. Life can be tough.
Day 45, Monday 13 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
The generator story, continued... With the cooling problem
resolved, there remains one other issue. The second fuel filter keeps on collecting
air, which can be drained, but it’s hardly the objective to have me lying next
to the noisy hot device with a screwdriver every ten minutes. It’s about time
for a more permanent solution.
Clive has a business that specializes in engines – That's
the guy I'm looking for. After two hours of testing dismounting, fitting back
and testing some more, it seems the primary filter housing is leaking. A close
examination reveals two tiny hair-cracks just next to the reinforcements that
probably cause the problem.
The inconvenience of an uninhabited island is the absolute
absence of supplies. Where most cruisers carry spare filters, there is not a soul
who brings a spare housing. Chris actually did have one but tossed it overboard
after replacing it because he felt the thing was ill designed. He's probably right
but hey, it doesn't weigh that much, does it? Oh well, That's what always happens
if you dispose of something. Some day, some place you regret not having it anymore.
All we can do now is by-pass the filter and keep our fingers crossed the diesel
is clean enough to allow the generator to run without a primary filter. For the
time being it does, and although we don't have any food left, we now do have cold
beer. It’s all a matter of priorities.
We finished the day with a barbecue ashore. John had a
huge steak that was handed over by another cruiser with a fridge problem (we’re
not alone) and of course, we had plenty of fish! Not to mention the cold beer
and the 26 bottles of red. Where to start?
[<< Stefan]
Day 46, Tuesday 14 september 2004
Chagos
GPS: 05° 20.5' S 72° 15.7' E
 [Natascha
>>]
Tomorrow is already our last day here. We could have spent another
three months, could we ignore our schedule. We have to be in South Africa mid-November
to avoid the hurricane season in the South-Indian Ocean. Another 3,500 miles to
go so get on with it. Fortunately we have two nice stops – the Seychelles and
Madagascar to break the journey.(foto: Stefan Chagos 2 en Chagos 3)
The South Africans are also leaving, including Chris the
weather champ. He made a complete study out of the weather patterns around here
and announces this is the weather-window we have been looking for. Who are we
to challenge him? Better join the winners. And don't forget, we now have Chris
to blame if something goes wrong...
 Preparing
a boat fills the day nicely. Scrubbing the underwater line (supposed to speed
us up), change the genoa to its larger brother, burn the rubbish, stow all gear
away and clean the boat. Wiser and sadder, I save my energy cooking meals in advance;
some crackers and bouillon will suffice for our poor stomachs during the first
few days.
Hollandia
Home Services gave us an inflatable lobster that still hasn't got wet. Our
last swim, last meal, last beers together, haul the dinghy on deck and we are
ready to go.
[<< Natascha]
|
[Natascha
>>]
Preparing
a boat fills the day nicely. Scrubbing the underwater line (supposed to speed
us up), change the genoa to its larger brother, burn the rubbish, stow all gear
away and clean the boat. Wiser and sadder, I save my energy cooking meals in advance;
some crackers and bouillon will suffice for our poor stomachs during the first
few days.
