Sailing with Nine of Cups

The anchorage was tight. We were very tired and it seemed, oh, so easy, to just tidy up Nine of Cups and relax ... not rush ashore at all or even launch the dinghy, even though it was early in the day. We wanted to see how Cups would lie midst the other boats, but really, we had no interest in doing much other than just hanging out. After the officials all left, we were content to sit in the cockpit, drink a cuppa and get a feel for our new neighborhood. The big excitement of the day was that the supply ship/ferry, Mauritius Trochetia, had arrived just before we did and she was unloading. All of the yachts that had been tied up to the dock had been required to move off and leave the harbor while the big ship came in, turned around and docked. We arrived, it seems, shortly after six other yachts had returned to the harbor and anchored.

We watched with interest as the ship's big cranes systematically cleared the decks of containers and then her three holds opened up and all sorts of goodies were unloaded, including several trucks and automobiles. The island's not that big ... 46 sq miles (108 sq km), but we can hear the sound of a steady stream of cars, trucks and motorcycles passing by the port and here were a few more to add to the mix.

We watched the local fishermen sail out onto the reef to fish and then sail back again later in the day. Octopus is plentiful here, along with crab and other assorted shellfish.

There was a distinct fish smell on deck that we couldn't identify until we found a very stiff, smelly flying fish trying to make an exit through the cockpit drain...a souvenir of our recent passage. He was overboard quickly and we were left with only the usual boat smells ... diesel, bilge ... you know what I mean.

After some champers, a good dinner and a movie, we headed to bed ... our own, comfy bed and slept soundly till first light. With the time change of 2-1/2 hours, that happened to be about 0515. The ship's crew had worked the whole night through and the emptied decks were now stacked with containers, huge propane tanks (presumably empty), livestock containers and one marked "luggage". The tugs moved into place and at 0800 sharp, Mauritius Trochetia sounded a blast and began casting off her lines.

As soon as she was in the channel, there was a mad dash by the anchored yachts to claim a space along the dock. We figured we were last in, so we'd wait to see if there was any space available. There wasn't, but no worries. We were happy to stay put. We'll launch the dink and head into town today, but no rush.