Its 6:30 am. The wind is awake, rumbling in the rigging, calling as I struggle below with the internet, trying to coax some weather over the local phone network. At last. Winds for the next three days 10 to 15 knots from the SE. Perfect for the 330 mile sail to Mauritius. Eitan and I will put back out amongst the waves this morning after we go ashore and stoke up with fresh bread and a few more vegetables. Irena, now in Singapore will meet us in Mauritius on Saturday.
The big sail beyond Mauritius to South Africa is still weeks away, but already, I am watching the weather and learning the tricks to tackle this difficult passage. To reach South Africa we must leave behind the brisk but consistent SE trade winds of the Southern Indian Ocean and venture south of Madagascar into the cyclonic storms spawned by the great Southern Ocean. Low pressure systems are spun north east every three to four days from south of the Cape of Good Hope, with SW winds typically of 30 knots or so. These winds meet the south west flowing Agulhas Current creating very big seas. www.passageweather is an excellent place to watch this weather phenomena.
But that's all later. For this week, we will pull up our sails, set the fishing lines and enjoy a great sail to Mauritius.
Cresswell
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