We wake up and listen to the forecast. Although the possibility of cyclonic formation in the area is lessening, it is still there and as we got the boat ready for departure yesterday just in case, Mike decides to leave this morning to try to get away from the area.
Naturally, the day starts with a hiccup. As Mike is pulling the dinghy up onto the davits, the rope frays and snags in the jammer. He has to get it down again and prepares to put new line through it before he realises that it has snagged right at the end and he just has to cut that bit off.
We’re almost ready to leave when Sean comes over and asks Mike to take another look at their satellite phone so he goes over there while I sit on the back step and fill all the water bottles with fresh drinking water ready for the trip. He comes back disappointed that he has not been able to fix their system.
We pull the anchor up and leave the bay. I wish we could have stayed one more day in some ways as I would have liked to attend the WARC barbecue and explore West Island but as I had no wish to go to the wine and cheese festival, we would have been stuck on the island until 5.30 pm when the ferry returned so it wasn’t really an option.
The sea is a bit lumpy for the first hour or so but the wind is good so we put out the main with two reefs in and the genoa. When we change course slightly, the conditions become much smoother and we settle down to the second single longest passage of the circumnavigation – all 2300 miles of it across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.
By 5 pm it is a completely different picture. The sea has a huge swell and the wind is gusting from 20 to 35 knots. Then the rain starts, torrential and squally. It’s going to be a hard night. The radar shows huge yellow blobs all around and we have to go out in the downpour and bring the genoa in.
Photo: Wet weather gear and flip flops – another fashion statement?
Photo: The radar as I have never seen it before
Mike takes the first watch and I decide to take one of the sea sickness tablets that Sara gave me. Unfortunately the instructions are in Spanish and although it’s obvious what the dosage is, the method of usage is less so. Do you chew or take with water? They are pretty pink tablets so I opt to chew. Big mistake. The vile taste makes me retch and even though I clean my teeth I can’t get rid of the taste. Drinking water doesn’t help either and within minutes of chewing, the side of my mouth with I chewed on is completely numb. But I fall asleep almost instantly despite the banging and crashing.
Our position is: 12 deg 42 min S, 95 deg 31 min E
Distance so far: 14049 nautical miles
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