Mahe, Seychelles
21 August 2012 | Indian Ocean
John
We arrived at the customs and immigration anchorage, just outside the entrance to Port Victoria, at 17:15 local time - just too late to be boarded by the officials. So, down with the anchor and crack a few beers before a simple supper of pasta, roasted red pepper sauce and a couple of finely sliced chorizo sausages. Thanks to Inna Paarman for the bottled sauce! The combination actually works quite well. Whilst finishing off our meal, I popped my head out of the saloon and in the dark could not see my lights ashore that I had lined up to check if we were dragging anchor. Then a quick check on my navigation software on my iPad - damn, we were dragging anchor!
I then found a nearby coral patch on the chart and we dropped our anchor on the one side of it so that the anchor would drag onto it and hold us for the night. I set the anchor alarm and we had a tiring night rotating an anchor watch.
Saturday morning dawned and just after 09:00 we had the pilot launch edge onto our starboard stern and drop off five officials - who they all were, I still have no idea but they knew quite well what was required. Each one wanted a crew list, of which I still had plenty on board. Then it was a case of then each filling in their appropriate form and a race for them to shove it under my nose and say "sign", which I did. Then each official issued me a document and we were told to lower our yellow "Q" flag, which we had flying off our starboard spreader. They all jumped off and off we went to our mooring at Eden Island and a free cup of coffee at the managers office. The delivery was over!
I am sitting in the smoking room at Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya, typing up this final blog. We flew from Mahe at noon and we have a lay-over here for five hours before catching our next flight to Johannesburg, where we are due to arrive at midnight. Our last flight to Cape Town is only tomorrow morning at 06:00, so it is going to still be quite a long evening and night, with not too much sleep. For anybody ever passing through this airport who is a smoker, the smoking room is right at the end of the terminal, next to gate 14. So, as I pump my lungs full of poison, cheers until the next delivery, which should be in about a months time. Regards from Richard, Dylan and myself, John.
Ps. Thanks for those who sent me short emails - I will be replying to them in the next few days after I have settled back at home. John.