Author: kerri

Peros Banhos…..

17 October 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

Well, we tried to leave Salomon yesterday and we did! However, there was virtually NO wind and as we were going right by Peros Banhos Atoll, so we stopped for the night. We anchored off the old pier (which is defunct); it no longer connects to the shore. The jungle here is really thick as well. Though people lived here some 50 years ago, it doesn\’t appear that there is any infrastructure here of any kind (other than the pier). Now that it\’s low tide, we can see that there are remnants awash of it\’s pilings that do indeed extend to the shore. If there are any buildings, they have long ago become part of the jungle.

As the wind has come up over night to a much more encouraging for our departure. It\’s up to 9 knots, we\’ll be off shortly.

Our general plan will be to head more south initially, just staying to the west of the Great Chagos Bank. This will get us back down into the \”trade winds\” and then as they strengthen, we\’ll head more westerly to keep them and any building seas on our stern or quarter. The \”day trip\” from yesterday gave us a bit of re-adjustment to our sea legs as well.

We\’ll be in either radio contact or email contact with \”Sunflower\” as we head toward Madagascar and of course be sending \”the daily blog\” to all of you. Don\’t forget to look for those position reports (links at the bottom right of the home page).

So, by the time most of your read this, we\’ll be off!…

KIT, Scott and Anxious Nikki

Island Tour and Weather Watch!…..

11 October 2012

Dear F&F,

Yesterday, Nikki and I along with Dave & Kathy of \”Sunflower\” took a \”tour de lagoon\”! We went over to Ile Foquet and it\’s neighbor \”motu\”, Ile Yakamaya.

On the north tip of Ile Foquet is the wreck of \”Black Rose\”. She was a French Cat that we think (if memory serves), was on a delivery from Vanuatu and lost is a severe squall. She was clearly anchored for south east wind protection, but at Ile Foquet, if the wind comes out of the north with strength, you\’re in trouble and quickly. The entry pass is directly in line with the anchorage there and you are effectively open to the outside sea. We took lots of photos….one day!…:-) Also, off the north end of Ile Yakamaya, a similar fate happened to the \”Ferro Cement\” wreck. We think this one is a bit older, but similar circumstances were at play. Here on the far west side of Ile Boddam (where we are tied on to a mooring which I\’ve checked), the overall comfort of the anchorage has been very good.

We also went to Ile Mapou which has more birds than any of the islands as it is the only \”rat free\” island of the nine islands here at Salomon. Lots of boobies, frigates and terns. We then motored past Ile de Passe, Ile Anglaise and back to our home base at Ile Boddam. Noting along the way, the condition of the coral is very nice. Unfortunately, we also find here the ubiquitous flip flops, plastic bottles, fishing floats, etc.

A highlight at Ile Mapou was watching a small eel come out of the water and swallow a small crab in it\’s entirety. It then attacked a large crab, tearing off one of it\’s claws! A few moments later, it slithered back into the tide pool from which it emerged. Nature is fascinating, but can be quite brutal.

At night we get more rain and squall, but nothing over 20 knots. It gets hotter and sunnier during the day with occasional rain squalls. The water is 84 degrees F or 28.9 C. It feels like a warm bath and is much of the reason the unsettled ITCZ weather is hanging around us.

Speaking of which! The weather information says that the month of October gets a tropical storm every other year in the western Indian Ocean and a tropical cyclone every four years. Well, the first tropical storm will form about 200 miles to our southwest tomorrow and increase in strength as it moves west (away from us) for at least two days. The good news is that first, it\’s ahead of us and will be moving away. The not as good news is that we\’ll have to wait another 1-3 days to leave here. Then more good news, we should have a reasonable northerly to get us south AND the trade winds will be down in force. Next, the wind will be more from the east than the south for at least a few days which will give us a more comfortable sailing angle toward Madagascar. Lastly, the system will have died off at is moves west and we\’ll be in lighter and reasonable conditions behind it. The key is to get to Madagascar before the next possible system develops which shouldn\’t (emphasis added with a ? mark!) be an issue.

So for now, we\’re just stuck in paradise. Somehow, we\’ll manage.

KIT, situations are dynamic! Scott and \”Plotting\” Nikki, the \”Celestial Navigatrix\”…..:-)

Arrival at Chagos, 10 days at sea…..

05 October 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

Our last day at sea was in lovely light downwind conditions except for the odd swell coming from both the northwest and the east southeast. It felt like we were zooming up and down hills, shortly spaced together. We had an actually sunny day and no squalls.

We slowed last night to arrive here just after dawn. Around midnight last night (why, why, why is it always midnight?!) one last bombing squall came by and caught Nikki by surprise. We had full sail up and had to get it down in one of the heaviest rains I\’ve ever seen. The whole show was over in 15 minutes.

Last night around 2 a.m. local time, I got an email from Angela in South Carolina. When she finds out where we\’re going, she\’ll often \”google it\” and get me some nice information. She found a blog from another boat s/v \”Taglich\” that was here 4 months ago and had a nice GPS set of way points to enter here over the shallow pass. \”Taglish\” said they never saw less than 22 feet (7 meters). I used them and we never saw less than 22 feet either. Thanks Angela!

Debrief of stuff along the way: A small rip in the main developed yesterday. It actually doesn\’t require immediate repair, but I will do so if possible while here. The new furler line works, but is too thin and jams in the winch. I\’ll try and swap it out while we\’re here as well. Some generator/engine maintenance, hopefully I can unfreeze the chuck on our winch buddy (which electrifies any winch on the boat!). We lost the adapter for the winch that fits in the drill motor, but we\’re still good if I can fix the chuck as I have a spare adapter! The stove\’s problem was that a 24 volt to 12 volt converter went bad. Again, I had a spare, we\’re back to hot food. Only missed one meal that way. The washing machine repair seems to have worked, the machine is working as well as ever. We\’ve a leak in our large water maker. It works, but puts 30 liters of sea water in bilge which is a pain. The spare small water maker kept us in plenty of fresh water the whole way here.

It\’s raining cats and dogs right now, but not too windy. We may have to move over to the Ille Foquet when the southeast trades come back in a day or two for better protection than Ille Bodham gives. We are at Ille Bodham next to \”Sunflower\” now.

Dave and Kathie from Sunflower have been here for 18 days and may go the same route we will to Madagascar. They\’ll leave as soon as the weather cooperates. Thank you Dave and Kathie for helping us get set on the mooring. Dave even checked it underwater. IT IS NOW POURING! We\’ll go for \”pupu\’s and cocktails\” at 5:30.

Nikki is nuts and is running out in the rain in her swim suit!…:-) After all, \”I\’m English you know\”, said she!…:-) She wants to swim to shore. She just jumped in and forgot to put the ladder down. Now I\’m soaking wet from putting the ladder down. She just asked me (while she\’s already in the water) if there are any sharks here? I said, \”Yes, lots of black tips like all these reefs\”. She\’s now standing on the beach!…:-) It is POURING!

Okay, we\’ve put out the position report and updated our arrival. Nikki cooked a lovely breakfast and we\’ll be napping shortly…

About 1600 nautical miles, 10 days exactly. Welcome to possibly one of the most remote and unspoiled atolls left on planet earth… Salomon Atoll, Chagos Archipelago

KIT, Scott and Swimming Nikki…:-)

Day 7, weather and ships…..

02 October 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

Yesterday was a nice sailing day, the evening got a bit cranky. The winds are definitely \”northern hemisphere\”. There is a small low pressure system now between us and Chagos which is moving toward Chagos. This should allow us to follow it in with the more or less current conditions.

The wind, being from the NE is a bit \”beamy\” and we\’re not as comfortable as when it\’s behind us. If it goes aft at all, I\’ll sneak a bit more northerly track in to avoid just coming down on the lee shore of the Great Chagos Bank. The bank is about 80 miles wide and very shallow. Once upon a time, an atoll that must have been magnificent.

We\’ve been in touch with \”Sunflower\” who is at Salomon now, but we may miss them as they may leave before we arrive?

Each day is a bit unique out here (of course), but we get a feel for the day depending on the \”squall scene\”. Last night, it was delightful not to have too many, today is setting up to be a squally one so far.

Yesterday, we crossed a major SE Asia/China to South Africa shipping lane and actually ended up seeing 7 ships on our AIS system. We spoke with two. One coming from China, the other going to Singapore. The one bound for Singapore, \”Eleni\” at 967 feet full of oil, actually had to turn slightly to avoid us. Pretty wild when you think about where we are. We spoke on the radio, his English was very good.

We did 161 nm yesterday, we\’re currently beam reaching in 17-21 knots with a reefed main and staysail. Fortunately, the seas are relatively calm. Relative being the operative expression…:-) 417 miles to go, we should be there on our Friday.

Stand by, feel free to write! Well enjoy hearing from you all..

Scott and Cooking Nikki….