The winds are changing.
11 May 2015 | Feydhoo, Maldives
Bill/ Cloudy
Well, we got what we asked for, in spades. For many of us, at least those that left Phuket in February, we have, for the most part been forced to motor as the normal winds of the Northeast Monsoon season stopped a bit early this year. The lucky people were those that left in January and while we tried, we had to return to Thailand for a few repairs. We finally got out of there in late February getting us to the Maldives(we didn't stop in Sri Lanka) about March 8th. We sailed as much as we could during the trip but were forced to motor(or we might still be out there) the last three days of the trip. Many boats that came after us had to motor the entire way from Sri Lanka. We complained as did most of the other boats that made the crossing about the lack of wind and being "forced" to motor. Hey, fuel isn't cheap out here in the Maldives at just under $4.00 a gallon. We've been motor sailing throughout our entire stay here in the Maldives. Pull up the sails and start the engine.
Well the Monsoon season has definitely changed and the winds are now running confused. Sometimes from the South or West or in between. A few days ago, we had steady winds(all night) from the North in the mid 30 knot range with gusts into the 40s. We got back to Feydhoo last Saturday late in the morning and the winds started by late in the day. We haven't been to shore since wanting to make sure the anchor was set. With Code Zero off either the stern or the port side, we want both boats to be safe. The winds blew again last night still in the high teens and twenties so I spent another night in the cockpit. A bit of rain off and on but not bad and I had plenty of truly fresh air. Blue loved it as she got to stay out till quite late at night. Today, it has let up so it's only blowing about 10 to 15 and we will be heading into shore to do some more provisioning and seeing if we can find any "fresh" veggies or fruit. Not much of that here.
While here in Gan, I picked up three cases of Pepsi(sugarholic) for the trip to the Seychelles. A nice shop owner here got them in for me. What I found when I opened my first can took me back about 25 to 30 years. When was the last time you saw any kind of pop can with a "Pop Top". You remember those pull tabs that after opening the can peeled right off the can. People used to make curtains out of them. They vanished decades ago, or so I thought. I've got three cases of them, all canned in South Africa. It must be a South African thing as the other cans that I bought that were made in the United Arab Emirates are topped with the now common place "pop tops" that keep every thing inside the can. I couldn't believe it when I saw what I had bought. Anyone out there ever see a pull tab top of pop cans anymore?