Still lumping along in 25 knots. Down to triple reefed main, no headsail. Ran all night, till dawn when the wind went forward, so down came the pole and on came the cockpit spray. Otherwise we are very comfortable. Below,its rough, with the occassional deep roll as we slide sideways down a bigger wave, but that aside its warm and cozy, the sound of pots, plates and cans rattling in the cupboards, marking off the miles as we toss about in our berths.
As of 0800 hours, the beginning of day 12, we are 117 NM to go. We are very likely to make land fall sometime in the middle of the night tonight. The harbour is on the lea side of the island, and according to the charts, well marked. If the soundings are good, the entrance is lite and the seas are smooth, we will enter the harbour in the dark. Otherwise, we'll heave-to till dawn.
Impressions of the South Indian Ocean in the late winter early spring? Rough, but consistent strong trade winds make for fast passages. A bit too wet, but we fared better than one of the other boats on passage who took a whole wave into the cockpit and down the open companionway! He was safe but still bailing hours later. (And this skipper managed his boat and family of wife and two babies under the age of 3.)
The waters are so much cooler than the equatorial region, cooling the air at sea down to woolies, hats and rain gear on watch. Its a bit rude after Singapore and Indonesia, but confirming that we have indeed, finally, left Asia for Africa.
Tomorrow we will dine African on Rodriguez and enjoy other no guilt pleasures of hot showers, quiet beds and a full nights sleep!
After landfall, its often difficult to pick up this email address by ham radio. Contact us on our regular emails for the next three weeks until we set sail again for Mauritius, only 336 NM away.
To all of you out there following our blog, thanks for you attention and interest. Look for pictures of the passage after tomorrow.
Cresswell
No comments:
Post a Comment