We moved just a bit.
06 May 2015 | Adduu Atoll
Cloudy with some rain coming we think
After loading up on what we could find for provisions yesterday, we both(Yolo and us) pulled up our anchors and moved across the atoll to a bommie laden area northeast of where we had been. We're now at 00 35.361S 073 12.433E, sitting in about 30 feet of water with a sand & coral bottom. Getting to our new digs about 1300 and settling in. We are a bit more exposed here as there is no reef nearby to break the waves and surge that comes across the atoll.
Last night, we did a bit of rolling but not to bad. A bright spot was that it was Jason's Birthday!!! We invited both he and Karen over for a bit of drinks and snacks and Tracy fired up the oven during the afternoon and made a German Chocolate Cake--from scratch no less. After a few drinks, the cake was served and everyone dug in. Definitely a winner all around. We made sure to send Jason home with a big chunk of cake for later snacks.
Yolo had planned on leaving today and they still might but we are surrounded by coral bommies that can take a chunk oot of your bottom unless you are careful. It started blowing and raining this morning and we both put off going ashore for any more provisions since where we are is reputed to have better veggies than the rest of the atoll. After the storms and passed or should I say between squalls, we jumped into our dinghies and headed into the harbor(one of three). As we neared the entrance to the harbor, Mother Nature let loose with a bit of rain just to make us a tad soggy as we motored in. It let up shortly after we got out of our dinghies and we slowly wandered around the town. We found a few stores that sold some but nothing great. Since we are not planning on leaving for a few more days, we left Jason and Karen to shop and we headed back to Zephyr. With another storm coming we got there as fast as we could and a few minutes later it started pouring again. Once it let up, Jason and Karen returned.
The bad thing is that since it is completely overcast, there is really no way to clearly see the coral bommies that litter this area of the atoll. Unless the skies clear up, I just don't see anyway for them to safely escape from this area. I guess as the afternoon passes(It's about 1430 now)they will have to make the decision as to to stay or go. Their visa for Chagos doesn't start till the 10th so they have plenty of time to get there as it's only a two to three day trip.
As we have stopped thinking of going to Chagos and just going straight to the Seychelles, we will just sit and watch the weather for the right conditions before we take off. Our visa for the Maldives is good till June 7th.
Update--Yolo pulled up their anchor about 1430 and took off with no Sun but with a lookout on the bow. They avoided the bommies and made it safely out of the atoll and are now heading for Chagos. Somewhere about a two to three day trip depending on your winds and currents.
As for the picture today, this little critter stood near to us as Jason and I stopped in for a drink at one of the local cafes a week or so ago. He kept bobbing his body up and down to (I guess) look more intimidating. Didn't work out so well with us. Cute little bugger.