Ian
08/28/2011, Indian Ocean

Sea Time

For those of you that wonder what getting ready and life at sea on a small yacht is like. This is the second of two stories of some of the preparations and then the log extracts/tales of life at sea for the first three days of a major passage.

The sail Day 1..

Up early as sleep does not come easily when the excitement of a 12 day sail is offered. Keely joins me for breakfast, then Jo and Gillen. To relax Gill and Keely watch a movie and Jo and I discuss the trip. A last safety briefing and MOB (Man Over-Board) exercise is completed and we are ready to weigh anchor. It is blowing 20 knots in the anchorage but the weather

looks set to moderate to 15 to 20 so a decision is made and we start the engines. While the engines warm we stow for sea and clean ship so everyone knows where everything is and close all hatches and then complete last minute systems checks and engine checks. Sounds great in theory and the stowage lasts at least the first few hours.

Weighing anchor in 20 knots on a lee shore is not much fun with many other boats to also be aware off and avoid but we manage with Gill on the helm and eventually cat the anchor down and clear decks for sea. The sea anchors and drogues are then prepared for deployment, life lines rigged and we motor through the Direction Island fleet tooting our horn in goodbye, waving and promising to meet again when three large dolphins join us in our departure and jump and play with us as we reach deeper water and heave to to raise sail.

All reefs and islands are cleared and we set course on a Great Circle route for Rodrigeuz Island 2000nm away and set watches. The wind is ESE at 20 knots so we begin to make miles straight away. Watches are set and everyone retires to the cabin to begin sea sickness trials.

Day 2.

The day dawns at 0600 as we have retarded watches as we make the move west. The night had lots of small surprises after our Indian Ocean net HF sked with the other boats on 8182Mhz. The wind would go SE to 25 knots with squalls so we made a lot of good miles but by and large the wind has been up the exhaust at ESE at 10 to 12 knots so we are not moving along as well as could be expected. The days run will be measured and checked and reported at next sked at 0400UTC. At a guess it will be about 175nm. A bit less than the 200 I expected. The wind up the stern means that we have had to reef and shake reefs out all night long. We had two large ships pass astern during the night. The AIS is GREAT !!!!!!!!!!

The bilges and pumps are checked every morning but especially first day out to see if anything has sprung a leak. The stbd hull has taken water but this is due to heavy following seas running up the rudder post. Sounds strange but it spurts out anyway. It does not happen to port and this rudder hangs slightly lower. Maybe a clue in there somewhere.

I tore a tendon in my right elbow at Cocos and it is still not right so the constant reefing and banging it make it feel even worse and I am a tad grumpy this morning. Checked all the decks for flying fish this morning for the pan but none fresh enough so we have put the lure out the back and hope to entice a nice Wahoo or Dorado to join us for a few meals. Fresh bread made and hot bread, butter and golden syrup for lunch. Mmmmmmmmm. We also mix up a packet cake mix for night watch munchies but I think it will not last that long.

On the skeds "RYTHYM" with Ike and Becky have been reporting whales but as yet all we have seen are birds and flying fish. It was our first night at sea for a month so only Jo and I held down a watch. Keely slept below and Gill slept in the saloon cabin so it was a good time to catch up on reading "Two Years Before the Mast" by Ricard Henry Dana Jr and to catnap and meditate the night away. I stay on deck till 8pm when Jo relieves me and stays till 10pm when I return on watch till 1am, Jo takes over till 3am and I take it for the rest of the morning. It is a glorious sunrise as the sun rises through the squalls but the winds back further ENE and as we wish to go the exact opposite we keep jybing so our course is now modified more southerly so we can take advantage of the breeze and hopefully meet a SE breeze further south. Actually we are now heading for Antarctica so the wind should freshen and back soon. Several ships pass us this morning and most heading for the Sunda Strait. They can have it as we are so not into Asian waters and the fishing fleets anymore. Give us the deep blue any day.

It is time for the 0400Z sked and all are OK with the fleet strung out from 300NM from Rodriguez to 1900NM. A German yacht at Cocos tells us that Rodriguez is full so where will we find a park? Have I forgotten to mention the navigation? It is an hourly task with the GPS to record positions, radio chats, weather and significant events in the log. For example : 1915Z AIS target "PALMA BULE" heading NW 12.4knots bearing SE 12NM, should pass astern 4NM within the hour. 1958Z. Lights sighted astern approx 4nm and "PALMA BULE" identified.

We will use the sextant this trip to regain old skills and as a teaching aid for Gill. We will start when he feels better and this is normally on the 3rd day at sea. Our positions are plotted every 3 hours on the routing chart and we take turns in guessing the days run. Keely wins today with a very poor performance of 165nm. The wind died on us but comes back into the SE at 10 knots around 8pm. I hope it lasts.

The day passes slowly as we regain our sealegs and get over being tired and tomorrow we can begin to relax but I have a surprise Man Over Board exercise for them.........As the sun sets I complete the outboard engine service and check the engines to run tomorrow morning for water and power.

Day 3. The wind is here at last and during the night we were able to run down our Great Circle route to Rodriguez island. We had been going in a more southerly direction to find the wind or at least find some with a SE component and it appears to have worked. We are sailing along at 8 to 10 knots in a 15 knots SE'ly. What's a Great Circle ? Simply put it is the shortest distance between two points on the globe. It is a straight line on a spherical projection map while a rhumb line is a straight line on a non-spherical projection map and is what most people follow to go short distances. On a voyage of this size we sail over 10 % less by using a great circle.

We did not generate much power yesterday as it was not too windy and also a bit cloudy. On average with the kids we are using 150Ah a day and it takes wind and sunshine to generate that. We are still 173Ah down in the house batteries at midnight. I make a note to shut down the computer and run the engines in the morning. We can also make some water at the same time. After this is done I go below and check the bilges before handing over the watch to Jo at 0400 local time.

Sun rise to a beautiful day in the Indian Ocean. Wind ESE 12-15 knots, seas a bit lumpy but flying fish everywhere and only a few small cumulus clouds in the sky. We put out another lure hoping for a Dorado for lunch but I guess they are not that hungry this morning. As soon as the sun rises we begin generating power. If the wind would veer SE we will make a lot more but I doubt it today so it will be a motor and the kids can play games as well. Ran the engines and water maker for 2 hours and pumped out all bilges again. The sun and trades are giving us 20amps an hour at present into the batteries so I hope it keeps up and we may reach some modicum of normality once again and the Playstation can do its job of motion sickness distraction.

Gill and Jo are feeling a lot better today and Gill is actually seen away from his temporary bunk in the saloon and in the cockpit while Keely again wins the miles run competition with 165nm guess. Tomorrow we should top out over 200nm with the fresher SE wind. We did not have a MOB exercise as no-one felt like it. The kids watched tele while I ran the engines and Jo feels a bit seedy again as the seas become lumpier. Maybe tomorrow......

Well, life here is quite busy and I still have lots of books to read and we will top 220nm in this next 24 hours. We are skipping from wave to wave and I had better go put another reef in to keep it all controllable.......We finally caught two yellowfin tuna this afternoon and sushimi was on the menu...........YUM

Be good and enjoy life.

The Crew

Comments [0] | | More

Ian
08/10/2011, Cocos Keeling Islands

Preparing for Sea

For those of you that wonder what getting ready and life at sea on a small yacht is like. This will be the first of two stories of some of the preparations for the 2000NM trip to Rodriguez Island and then the log extracts of life at sea.

Preparation begins a few days before departure and usually goes something like this.................

The first thing besides trying to locate beer supplies is to go up the mast to check all fittings and repair the salt encrusted anemometer. How on earth it gets covered in layers of salt up there amaze me each time. Engine servicing and checks then occupy me as I do not like making repairs at sea and try and find any possible source of trouble and fix it if possible. One thing this time that worries me is the high saline line from the watermaker is leaking and I do not have a replacement fitting so it will have to wait till Africa. We have stocked up on water jerry cans as an alternative if it goes bung on the way.

I bribe Gill to help me clean the propellors of barnacles and slime from the hulls. As we have just been antifouled it is a quick job wiping the slime off the hulls but the sharks make it a bit more fun as there are always several around the boat trying to catch the "poo police fish".

All standing rigging (bits that hold the mast up) are checked and cleaned. I have dyneema rope to replace any failed stays but do not relish the idea of going up the mast at sea. All the halyards and sheets are checked as well for chafe and weak points and we have enough rope aboard to replace all lines. Next is to check and clean the bilges and bilge pumps and their electrical fittings for voltage. It is amazing what ends up in there and if you lose something on the boat you will eventually find it in the bilge or stuck in a pump. This includes Jo's and Keely's hair. It appears that females on average tend to clog one pump a week. The hair is quite blonde so Gill is not the culprit and I shaved my head as I lost my comb.(much to Jo's disgust but a good enough excuse anyway)

The electrical system comes next and first item on the agenda is to defrost the fridge as it ices up and this means more power is consumed trying to reach a temperature that becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve. We need to do this on average every two weeks but it is also a way of restocking the fridge and finding the chocolate you dropped last week. All electrical based systems such as navigation, lighting, anchor, communications etc are checked and rechecked. Ian services the sextant to remove error in case it is needed and to teach Gill the art of navigation. Nav programs are loaded and checked and passage plans produced and discussed according to all their own various factors. (Another story in the offing here if you are interested.) We produced a 250 page passage plan before leaving Australia and it has become a great reference now we have no internet.

All other yachts in the anchorage are consulted and information exchanged. This includes charts, electronic documents and any knowledge at all. A data stick soon speeds its way around the fleet so everyone has the same data and communications are discussed and frequencies and times for skeds are agreed upon. Radios are checked and programmed and aerials and tuners serviced and cleaned.

Stores and fuel are a necessary evil and need to be assessed and replenished. We have plenty of stores aboard to last till Africa but have taken the opportunity to stock up again on chocolate, soda, 40L of petrol and another 20L of diesel to replace that used in making water while at anchor.

Checking the weather and assessing system movement is a daily job but becomes increasingly important as you begin preparing for sea. We are not true multihull sailors yet so I do not like to leave a nice anchorage in 40knots of wind so passage weather.com, grib files and weather reports from Africa are read and discussed by those preparing to leave, judgements are made and then checked out Aust Customs basically on the state of the weather. For example it is blowing 30knots here at Cocos and a boat that left a few days ago was knocked down last night but we have "checked out" as we believe the weather will moderate by Friday when we need to leave for Africa.

Jo always like to talk about making food for passages as everyone else does and she has used the pressure cooker to make a few days worth but we find we can still cook quite well at sea and no-one is interested in more than a coffee or hot milo anyway when huey piles it on us.

Clearing customs and Immigration at Cocos is easy and we do a final check of the mail which has again been offloaded for passengers. No mail now for two weeks but we cannot wait any longer as we all feel the need to be underway for Rodrigeuz Island. My medication finally arrives (the three week script filled)and we buy some more chocolates and head back on the 2nm dinghy ride to Chaotic Harmony in 30 knots of wind. Not pleasant but stimulating for the adrenal gland.

We made a decision not to sail till Friday or possibly even Saturday with the trades being compressed and squashed in our area so we will now begin more preparations or go fishing or read a book while the wind howls. Maybe I'll even shave my head again..............................(Actually Jo is right. I do look like an escaped convict)

All is well here and we hope you are all well.

The Crew

Comments [0] | | More

Ian
08/10/2011, Cocos Keeling Islands

Life at Cocos Keeling Islands

Well I suppose you may consider life tough for us at present. With all the pot luck beach gatherings with other like minded sailing folk and the crystal clear water to swim, dive and snorkel in and the fresh food we have to BBQ on the beach at Direction Island. Not to mention the great people we have met and the friendships we have made.

Gill has had a ball learning how to dive and spearfish. He is growing into a great young man and mixes well with everyone. He had his first dose of sunburn and is learning the art of skin shedding in between exploring this place. The rangers are trying to trap a kitten for Gill that we will take with us. It will be wild and I guess gloves may be the order oif the day till Gill tames it. Another challenge !

Keely has adapted to island life well and going fishing with Dad is a must happen event. She is very capable but still likes to keep Dad on his toes with some of her habits like active destruction but all in all is growing into a beach bunny. We arranged a Skype session with her classmates and teachers and that was her highlight on Friday. It was a bit emotional for Jo and Ian actually.

Jo turned 50 on Saturday the 13th and the kids made her coconut goblets and we had a great beach party with all the yachts in port. Ian made a cake and it was suprisingly good. Jo says it was the best birthday she has had. Wine, cake, great company and a great place to be. We decorated the main cabin and made A3 size birthday cards that now cover the walls of her cabin.

We now wait for some supplies and look forward to sailing to Rodriges Island before Mauritius. I expect we will sail before the week is out and it is a biggy at 1950 nautical miles so it should take 10 to 14 days. We can do 200nm days so hope the wind is not too strong or too weak. Trade wind sailing is a joy until the trades top 30 knots!

Have to go back to the beach ! Will post pictures soon.

Be good.

The Crew

Comments [3] | | More

Ian
07/31/2011, Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos Islands (and Singapore to Cocos Keeling Islands)
Lat 12 05'S 096 53'E

We are sitting on anchor at Direction island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the trade winds are still howling through at over 20 knots. They were well over 30 knots yesterday and we missed going ashore for a BBQ with the other sailors at anchor. There are Mike and Lynn from "Wombat of Sydney" and Kirk from "Salsa" and the crew from "Ino". We have the only kids at the moment so hoping like crazy that someone turns up soon.

Cocos is still beatiful although we have only seen Direction island as it has been too windy to take the dink to Home Island and the ferry onto West Island. We will try to do it this week. Everything is a bit overgrown as they do not tend the plantation anymore but the water is still crytal clear and the fish are still in abundance.

The trip from Singapore went without a hitch and we made it in 8 and a half days. The first 5 and a half to six motoring from Singapore down the Durian Strait, and SSE through Banka Strait and finally Sunda Strait where we all saw Krakatoa blowing smoke rings. From there we cut a course direct to Cocos and met the trades. First from the SE, then from the ESE and increasing velocity till they averaged 30 plus knots on the last day. Seas were a bit confused and a S'ly swell added to the mess. CH wore 3 reefs and a rag of a genoa trying to slow down but even at this we were moving at 9 knots and it was a tad uncomfortable with the bridge deack crashes but the surfing was excellent. No trolled fishing line as too rough. Good breakfast feeds of flying fish

King Neptune came aboard not long after leaving Singapore and Gill and the Keel were indoctrinated into the ways of the sea and became honorary citizens of the deep blue. It was a bit scary as everyone though he came up out of the toilet.

The new Yanmars performed admirably and were basically on for 6 days as we motored against 15 to 20 knot trades to reach Sunda Strait. Banka Strait was a fishermens paradise and a yachties nightmare and was a difficult passage. We did come alongside one of the fishermen at sunrise and traded an old line for some fish though and had a good breaky.

We will stay here for a few weeks to a month before setting of for Rodrigous and Mauritius and ultimately SA so mamny fish to catch and many sleeps to catch up on.

The Crew

Comments [6] | | More

Ian
07/11/2011, Raffles Marina

Well it's midnight in Singapore and just turning Saturday 16thy. There is a howling "Sumatra" passing over us with a following squall line and the wind has topped at around 40knots so it is a good time to sit and write. Just when you thought you could have a good sleep..............

Our steering is once again working fine. The hydraulic cylinders have been replaced and the autopilot reset so it is all sysems go once again.

We have topped up on diesel and have about 500l aboard for the motorsail down to Sunda Strait. There is no sea room for us during the first 4 days of the trip and headwinds so a motor we will go.

The canvas man delivers the new dinks cover on Monday or Tuesday so theoretically we can sail Wednesday but I am tipping Friday as we still need to hit the shops and visit the zoo. Not to mention the new Harry Potter movie at Boon Lay cinemas.

The Raffles Marina is excellent. Pool and games room for the kids. Free WiFi. A great restuarant and very cold Tiger Beer. The docks are large and you just need to hit Channel 77 and a golf cart comes to the boat with your morning paper or whatever else you may need. Marina life is not too bad and we are out of the hustle and bustle of city life but all looking forward to getting back to sea and reaching the Indian Ocean.

Talked to our good friends Ned, Khami, Liam, Lucas and Shani on Skype as well as Kerry from Queensland. It was great to hear and see you all. If you have Skype just search for BatCamp and you will find us.

Have fun, we are.......................

The Crew

Comments [5] | | More

Ian
07/09/2011, Pt Dickson

Dear all,

Well the plan was to leave Port Dickson and Malaysia today but thunderstorms and strong winds from the Southeast have prevented that. In fact thunderstorms and strong winds on the nose are all we have enjoyed so far.

We left Phuket in late June and here it is the 9th July and we are still not at Singapore as the overnight sails have been horrid. Radar for the fishing fleets, depth sounder to stay on the 10m line, AIS to keep away from large ships and towed barges, VHF and HF radios monitoring traffic and the GPS to check our position. Awfull lot of info to process but it has saved us on numerous occassions here.

All of us cannot wait to finally leave Asia. We will stop in Singapore for a week to have the hydraulic steering looked at as I fear the seals have gone as the steering is locking up every so often. We will take the opportunity to fuel up, make tube covers for the new dink and get some more food (and chocolate milk which is a bit of a hit) and visit Maccas which just so happens is on every corner there.

The plan then is to either tack our way down to Sunda Strait or just motorsail direct till we get the trades and pass Krakatoa on our way to Cocos. This means another 5 night passages through Indonesia and its fishing fleets but at least big ships are not around that part of the sea.

Everyone is well and happy, or at least until school starts but we are settling into our floating home quite well. It is great to have reliable engines for this trip and also a great new windscreen to keep the rain out. We have been collecting water if the storms have come out of the North as the rainwater from the South (Indonesia) is badly acidic so we just turn on the watermaker. Energy has not been an issue as the wind turbines work ceaselessly.

From Phuket we tracked Southeast and had a few overnight island stops before we entered Malaysia at Langkawi. We stopped at Pulau Datai on the north coast and we celebrated our anniversary there with dinner at a 5 star beach resort. We just had to step out of the dink and walk a few meters up the beach to a candlelit dinner with the kids having the obligatory french fries. Around the corner and down the coast to Telaga Hbr and finally Kuah where we checked into Malaysia. Kuah is a good anchorage but we dragged badly on our last evening with a large storm hitting us just after midnight. This prompted us to bolt for Penang where we just stayed on anchor overnight until the storms passed over.

Penang to Pangkor Laut was a good sail. In the 10 hours we sailed for only 15 minutes !! Did a 50 hour service on the diesels from Phuket if that is any indication of the wind, or lack of it, or overabundance of it in storms. Pangkor Laut is a beatiful place and it did not disappoint with fine weather and nice beach food houses for Jo. An overnight motor and motorsail then saw us arrive at Port Dickson which is a small resort town north of Malacca with a great marina where we stopped for fuel and met some great Americans on a HC38. We will see them in Singapore and also Cocos Islands and Africa and beyond. Word is out among the sailing fraternity that a new Oz kids boat will be doing the Indian Ocean and we will meet the rest of the kids at Cocos and Madagascar.

Checked out of Malaysia yesterday with the idea to sail away before sunrise but the storms have set in again so we will just have to stay here, listening to live music and enjoy another happy hour and try for tomorrow (10th) departure.

We are all well and hope that you are. Anyone want a stay at Cocos or a trip from Singapore to Cocos?

Jo, Keely Gill and Ian

The Crew

Comments [0] | | More