North Indian Ocean Passage Chronicles – Thailand to Maldives
06 February 2015 | Uligamu, Maldives
Steve
Route: Phuket, Similans, Ten Degree Channel, Sri Lanka (25-30Nm S), Uligan
Arrival Date: 12:00hrs, 5 February 2015
Total Distance: 1743 Nm
Passage Time: 12 Days; excludes one day stopover at Similan Nr 7
I recently read from someone that 'The hardest part of any sailing passage is leaving the dock'. Well, we had some apprehensions come upon us. This is our first ocean crossing and while we believed in ourselves, our abilities, the readiness of Emerald and having all the required information available to us we shared each others thoughts of the challenges we faced with Neptune and the vastness and solitudeness of the ocean ... and then we smiled, shared a gnarly grin and kicked off our shoes and released the dock lines (raised the hook actually!). In summary we had a first-class first ocean crossing that met all our expectations.
Day 1: 24 Jan 2015 - Phuket to Similan Islands
We left Nai Harn bay at 06:15 for the 65Nm day sail to the Similans where we started early with fresh winds of 18-22kts NE. We put the gennaker (Genny) out and for the first few hours where achieved a steady 8-9kts (SOG). Then the winds died away to < 8kts and we ended up motoring (alternating one engine/hr @ 1500RPM achieving 5-5.6kts) for the remaining trip to the Similans. Our destination was Island 7 (Ko Similan) but as our ETA was getting late (dark) and a good chance we wouldn't get a mooring, due to the dive boats parking for the evening, we decided to turn in at Ko Payam, 6Nm south of Island 7, and arrived at 18:15 at a orange mooring ball. We moored at this exact location about 3 weeks ago, located next to a reef and nice beach that is off limits to tourists. When we arrived we did a snorkel on the hull and the concrete mooring block under us at 6m water depth.
Day 2: 25 Jan 2015 - Ko Similan
O4:00hrs: I was awoken by the anchor drift alarm and after a brief orientation realized we were drifting - toward the reef! I immediately started the engines, removed the mooring line (no weight to it - WTF) and moved away from the reef and into deeper water in the channel and anchored. We thought we had dragged but also thought it odd as there were only 5kts of wind with little swell. With us safely anchored in 20m the panic was over!
So what happened? Its most likely that the 2" mooring rope attached to the concrete block had parted at the rope/concrete interface where the circular motions will create abrasion and eventually cut through any rope. I later examined my track on my iPad (Navionics) for the playback - too close for comfort!
At 0800hrs as we sailed from Ko Payam to Ko Similan we were chased down by the Park Rangers saying we had destroyed their mooring, that it was only to be used by dingies. After some discussion about this they left saying they would return but they never did. My argument to them was that this was a publically colored mooring buoy, it was the same Ranger only 3 weeks ago who said we could use this buoy (!) and that it was unintentional and likely to happen to all their moorings with this type of construction. Do they inspect them or just wait for them to break? Seems negligent. TIT (This is Thailand). I was quite expecting them to return but they didn't before we left the next day.
The rest of 25th Jan was spend at Nr 7 in "Donald Duck" bay on a mooring ball (that was inspected) where we finished our crossing preps including setting out the jack lines, outboard motor removed/seafastened, dingy seafastened and Rose cooked up 3 to 4 days of meals.
Lessons for the day: Check your mooring - completely! And always use an Anchor Drift Alarm.
Day 3: 26 Jan 2015 - Ko Similan to Ten Degree Channel
This is actually our first day of officially crossing. We departed Ko Similan at 08:30 and took a 290-degree heading toward a waypoint at Ten Degree Channel, south of Little Andaman Island. In the morning we had mild seas, a light chop and a steady 15-18 kts on a beam/broad reach. Genny went up immediately and we were soon doing 7.5-8.8kts (SOG). The forecast for the short and long term is indicating good weather, steady NE'ly's and no storm warnings - Nice. The skies are very clear with some non-menacing cirrus clouds about.
In the afternoon we took Genny down as the winds increased to >20kts and put our genoa up while achieving over 7.5kts. A few hours later the wind eased and the Genny went back up! And down again for the night. Such is sailing....
With sunset approaching we reefed one down and began our 4hr night shift starting at 1800hrs. Throughout the night the winds were between 12 and 21kts on a beam reach with choppy seas (no long swells). Clear skies. Barometer 1011-1012Hg.
Received a daily 4-day forecast at 19:00 calling for much the same: fair winds, no storms. We also receive the Met VIII regional text Wx report that highlights the weather in general and announces any tropical storms and cyclones.
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 09 29.735'N; 095 06.255'E
Average speed (SOG): 6.7kts
Max speed (SOG): 9.2kts
Distance over 24hr period: 162Nm
Day 4: 27 Jan 2015 - Andaman Sea to Ten Degree Channel
With a force 5 (Fresh Breeze) and increasing we kept the first reef in the main and a full genoa for most of the morning. Scattered isolated cumulus clouds surround us but they are looking harmless with no vertical developments. The full main was stretched up later and we flew the Genny to give us speeds of >9kts. The winds, up to 22kts, remained quite constant from the NE, and on Emerald at 90-120 degree (AWA).
Tyler observed a few dolphins swimming at our bow for an hour. A good omen.
I did a complete system check of our trusty auto-pilot, engines and saildrives. I noticed that the prop (Flexofold) on the portside hadn't folded and the saildrive (SD60) gears were turning. I had the engine started, engaged it in reverse and then back to neutral which folded the prop and stopped the gear movements. Normally the props fold when placed into neutral and with water passing over them; so need to solve this issue.
Our good weather day was only unmatched by the fresh guacamole, raw carrots and chili nacho dinner in the evening followed by a lovely red sky sunset....red sky at night is a sailors delight.
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 10 03.25'N; 092 31.37'E
Average speed (SOG): 7.0kts
Max speed (SOG): 10.2kts
Distance over 24hr period: 170Nm
Day 5: 28 Jan 2015 - Ten Degree Channel and into the Indian
We are officially out of the Andaman Sea and into the Indian Ocean! The beautiful Deep Blue.
We reached our first waypoint (10 10.9'N; 093 09.5'E; approx 45Nm ESE of Little Andaman Island) at 02:00 and changed course to 260 degrees. This course/waypoint was chosen to take advantage of the westerly moving currents that are expected to aid our speed. However the winds diminished during the night and we sailed along at an average of 5kts adjusting course to maximize our speed. The winds freshened up in the morning and remained during the day at 15-24kts, which along with Genny, helped propel us to over 10kts. Late afternoon the winds diminished some and changed from a 45 degree direction and we tried out a butterfly sail arrangement (dead down wind sailing).
A pod of Dolphins were enjoying bow riding again this morning. And the fishing has begun with lures over the side (well after the dolphins were gone!).
"Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Not long wet and not long dry". At mid day we saw a beautiful example of a mackerel sky that generally indicates an unstable tendency and some high level frontal activity i.e., rain and increased winds later in the day. Fortunately it didn't materialize.
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 10 03.25'N; 092 31.37'E
Average speed (SOG): 6.7 kts
Max speed (SOG): 10.2kts
Distance over 24hr period: 162Nm
Day 6: 29 Jan 2015 - Ten Degree Channel to Sri Lanka 1
We have been giving some thought as to what our reaction would be to any problematic Sri Lankan fisherman that, as we have heard and read, at worse, try to ram you and attempt to board yachts. In almost all cases however they only come alongside to sell you fish and ask for cigarettes and alcohol. But, with any rejection, a few have yelled obscenities and worse.
What would we do?
• Firstly, I understand that most of the fishing is done within 25Nm of land and between the shipping traffic lanes and land. As we are not stopping in at Galle, we will pass at least 30Nm from their southern shores, hopefully well away from most of the fishing activity...and the commercial vessels.
• We have HD radar with MARPA (Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) that allows us to track speed, course and risk assess up to 6 vessels at any one time and if we monitor any suspect vessels approaching we will start our engines, change course and try to outrun them. MARPA should give us a good head start. At night, in this event, we can also turn our lights off and AIS.
• We have cigarettes available to throw over to the good guys but we will not pass any alcohol, as this would just fuel more trouble in my opinion.
• If they try to run us down, say to board, we have prepared a number of sacrificial bundles of floating nylon rope that we can deploy with the hope that it will catch in their props and shut them down.
• If the above doesn't work and they do try to board then there is no holding back on our part!
What would you do?
We're fishing! Haven't caught anything yet .... but not for lack of trying. Today I smeared the lure in fish oil, from those capsules you get in health food stores. Thick smelly fishy 'aroma' stuff; gotta be some kind of pherone for fish; left the whole capsule on the hook. Now, I can't get that damn smell off my fingers ...not for lack of washing!
Wind died down last night to 12-15kts TW and it's a downwind run for Emerald. It was a struggle getting the right sail arrangement with the swell and rolling but we managed in the morning with the Genny up, wing-on-wing with the Main and achieving average 6kts (SOG). It's been a constant 12-15kts all day and evening.
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 08 38.04'N; 088 25.77'E
Average speed (SOG): 5.5kts
Max speed (SOG): 7.5kts
Distance over 24hr period: 137Nm
Day 7: 30 Jan 2015 - Ten Degree Channel to Sri Lanka 2
It was quite heavily clouded last night with some distant lightening and I wasn't sure if we'd be hit by any squalls or storms. The radar certainly picked up the 'red' clouds but you can't gauge their expected intensity at night. Fortunately, real storm conditions didn't materialise. Yes, some rain (nice!) and as a few cumulus's passed over us it gave us some added wind but unfortunately left doldrums in their wake.
As the morning approached, fresh winds of 16-20kts AW appeared, we put the Genny up, maintained one reef in the main and it was good to see the clock at 7-8kts SOG again on a broad reach. There remained a lot of clouds in the skies but we can furl and drop Genny in a few minutes - which we ended up doing! Hs (significant wave height) is approx 1.5m.
Overall, in terms of distance covered, yesterday and last night were our least distance covered at only 138Nm ☹.
Two differing forecasts are calling for stronger NE winds (circa 25kts+) on the 2nd Feb (3 days from today) in the area S and SE of Sri Lanka (where we'd expect to be in 3 days). That with the SW set current could propel us along very quickly. Today I laid out and moused our bridle for the drogue leading from the deck winches, through blocks at the beam cleats and out the aft end to a where it will join the 160m long double braided nylon drogue line, 5m chain and the drogue itself (48" Galerider). Dragging the drogue will reduce our speeds significantly to a comfortable level.
We've printed off a number of common Dhivehi words/phrases (Maldivian language) and put them up in the helm for our daily practice. We plan to spend up to 2 months sailing the Maldives from north to south in the many atolls, lagoons and islands there. We have a few cruisers guides available to us that will assist us when it comes to entering tricky lagoons and anchorages. Good news is that Feb and March are favorable weather periods to visit with a yacht with light NE winds, reduced rain and minimum thunderstorms.
Still no fish! Perhaps we are sailing to fast for them (?).
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 07 40.06'N; 086 04.95'E
Average speed (SOG): 7.0kts
Max speed (SOG): 8.2kts
Distance over 24hr period: 169Nm
Day 8: 31 Jan 2015 - Ten Degree Channel to Sri Lanka 3
It was again a cloudy night with distant thunderstorms safely miles away from our location. We managed an average 7kts with 18-20kts NE'ly winds. Late in the afternoon with increased winds up to 25kts, for an hour, we managed a sustained 10kts (SOG). Swell height is approx 1.5m.
SV Totem (Ms. Behan) organized a HF net (SSB Radio), aptly named 'Jupiter Net', where each of the listed yachts crossing the IO call in at a predetermined time. I haven't had much success in the evenings with clear comms but last night did manage to get through and discovered that SV Yolo, a PDQ catamaran whom we met in Redang last September, were approx 12Nm from us heading for Sri Lanka. As good neighbors, we tried to call them up on the VHF but didn't get through. We think we saw them on our radar though.
Today we took 15 mins to heave-to in 20kts of wind. But with method that I had read from another L450 owner, only uses the reefed main sail and not the genoa/jib. This atypical method worked with some playing about with the helm, but me thinks, it would have been more effective with the 3rd reef in - too much sail up. Still we got Emerald to settle into a 30-40 degree position off the wind nicely and have that magic windward slick. We tried, effectively, the traditional method, with main down and 60% genoa helm lock down, during the storm we had between Redang and Ko Samui last year.
Still no fish!
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 06 36.51'N; 083 51.14'E
Average speed (SOG): 6.3kts
Max speed (SOG): 10.3kts
Distance over 24hr period: 150Nm
Day 9: 1 Feb 2015 - Ten Degree Channel to S Sri Lanka 4
Last night we were consumed with very dark eerie clouds that bought light to fresh winds, little rain and distant lightening. For all its bark there was very little bite...fortunately. Unfortunately, as these cumulus's past us they left lulls behind with very little wind and as a consequence we motored for some 6/7hrs into the morning. We later raised Genny but still only achieved average 5.5kts. This was not in the forecast (no surprise!). We have arrived at our waypoint approx 30 SE of Sri Lanka.
So what do we do all day, you may ask? Surprisingly, the days are busy for the 3 of us and go by rather quickly. There is plenty to do on a yacht to keep busy and, me anyway, likes to keep occupied. We keep a clean ship so we wash away the salt away every other day or so ie floors, decks, railings, etc. Run the watermaker, monitor the SOC (state of charge) from our solar panels (note at times we need to run the engine to maintain - now thinking of a wind generator), sail trimming - is an art and we always seek the optimal here so we monitor and play a lot with this. Maintenance as required though most is preventative rather than from a breakdown (knocking on wood) - I guess cause the boat is quite new. Tweaking....always an eye for an improvement, a safer way of doing it, thinking of the worse case scenario and preparing for that. Fishing....if we catch something! Food and cooking....our main dinner is the highlight of the day when we share a delicious meal. We are quite well stocked so we eat kinda well. We have a few cookbooks onboard so get to try new recipes occasionally. Read, read and read - we now have some 5000+ e-books to choose from. I enjoy technical reading these days. Wash clothing, which we do outside in the pails; we rarely use our wash machine. Rose and Tyler play the Ukulele and harmonica. I play guitar as I have been doing since a kid and now really enjoy being able to have time to practice and improve again. Bet you didn't know I am a collector of fine and vintage guitars....ask me about this!
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 06 36.509'N; 083 51.140'E
Average speed (SOG): 7.3kts
Max speed (SOG): 11kts
Distance over 24hr period: 173Nm
Day 10: 2 Feb 2015 - Passage Around Southern Sri Lanka
It was a lively night and morning in the Indian where we are approx 30Nm off southern Sri Lanka. Yesterday evening the winds picked up to a sustained 20-25kts (TW) and changed directions from NE to N with still smallish 1m swells. This beam/broad reach sailing moved us briskly along at average 9-10kts and up to 11.5kts (SOG) which was assisted a little by the westerly set current around southern Sri Lanka. We put in a reef on the main and during the wee hours reefed in the genoa to 70% as the swells grew, to 2.0-2.5m, to keep the boat comfortable. We surfed too...off the peaks of the swells. And it rained...now I don't have to wash the salt off the decks!
Southern Sri Lanka is a major shipping channel for commercial vessels transiting back and forth between the Suez and SE Asia. As we sailed into this southern area we saw, and our radar saw, many of these ships going east and west. Not surprising, but interesting to note, is that the charted shipping traffic separation lanes, approx 15Nm S from land, are not followed. We sailed 30m south of Sri Lanka and this is well south of separation lanes and there are loads of ships out here to the port and starboard side of us. We managed to maintain good distances of >6Nm of each of these without any significant course change.
I do love our Lagoon catamaran for many reasons but here are two: Even during all last nights wind, speed, swell, Rose's two shampoo bottles remained upright on the outside salon table. Did I say 'stable'? This boat handles very well in these seas with its 18Te under her keel, ease of handling, a good choice of sail patterns for various conditions. I was once skeptical of the open flybridge on the L450 but now a complete advocate of it for tropical sailing. It offers excellent views, visibility and control. We put out the tarps/clears on the windward side and sat snuggly in our perch.
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 05 31.525'N; 081 10.547'E
Average speed (SOG): 6.8kts
Max speed (SOG): 11.5kts
Distance over 24hr period: Nm
Day 11: 3 Feb 2015 - Sri Lanka to Uligan, Maldives 1
The Sri Lankan Doldrums. Many a sailor gets caught in this area of SW Sri Lanka on their way o the Maldives where the NE winds, which flow down each east and west coast, become shadowed by the mainland. We anticipated them but keeping 30Nm of the coast I now see wasn't sufficient. So here we are, with light head winds and large 2m rolling omni-directional seas. Quite uncomfortable. It'll be a few hours of motoring to get us along our way and back into proper winds again.
Intrigue in the high seas! While in this doldrums area we played cat and mouse with a few fisherman. Firstly, at 12 midnight while on Tyler's watch and fishing boat moved up on us, shined its light and then retreated (bizarre). We kept him tracked on radar and over the next 3 hours he was some 12 Nm well behind us. Then I tracked saw a 2nd boat move in and approach very closely this first fishing boat (buddies?), still 12Nm back. Half an hour later the first boat took a course toward us at about 5kts (remember we can track course and speed on our radar) at which time I put a sock over our stern while light (don't need them seeing us), started the 2nd engine and hit 2000RPMs and took a course opposed to him. Which also gets us out of these damn doldrums sooner. Ahhh, but what about the 2nd fisherman? He was taking a course approx 120 degrees of the first fisherman, me thinks, to cover as much area to find us. I was being flanked by these two sohe doldrumsand have 20kts while the closest was some 6 miles away I turned off now my red/green rung lights and was effectively blacked out. Its now 4am and guess what? The winds came back....im out of doldrums and have 20kts on the beam....up go the sails and soon doing 8kts.
And after the doldrums area, the winds did come! Starting at 04:00hrs, on the 280 degree course to Uligan it wasn't soon that we had constant 35kts (TW) on a broad reach and into large ocean swells of 4-5m. Not on the Wx forecast! Exhilarating stuff (No).
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 06 29.100'N; 075 42.808;E
Average speed (SOG): 8.3kts
Max speed (SOG): 12.3kts
Distance over 24hr period: 200Nm
Day 12: 3 Feb 2015 - Sri Lanka to Uligan, Maldives 2
We cruised all night and day toward Uligan with 35-40kt ENE winds and regular gusts to 50kts on a generally broad reach. Swells were 4-5m ... and looking larger when Emerald was on crest looking down (we sit 2.5m off the waterline). We had 2 reefs in the main for the day and were averaging 10kts (SOG) with speeds over 12kts. When night fell we took the main down completely anticipating increased winds and maintained a 40% genoa for good directional control in these large swells on a broad reach. This kept us moving along nicely at 8-9kts. We managed 200Nm over 24hrs from 0830 to 0830.
Emerald surfed down the waves and it was these times when we'd reach over 12kts. The Lagoon 450 handles herself well, its balanced and secure. In the salon and cabins there is plenty of creaking going on as the vessel flexes and can give worry to the unacquainted. We had the covers on helm rolled down (our tent) that kept us cozy and out of the wind and spray. We also spent a few hours manual helming (steering) which really helps to feel the boat in various positions of sail. The hardest working guy on Emerald is Otto, our AutoPilot!
At 08:30 today we are approx 160Nm from Uligan, which puts our arrival in the AM on the 5th of February (minus a time zone change). This is a good period to enter the atoll for the first time. Should we have arrived at night we would have heaved-to and waited till daylight. We shot off a customary email (actually on the 2nd of Feb) to Assad, our agent at RealSeahawk Maldives, to advise him of our ETA. The 5th of February is Martyrs' day, a national holiday, and asked for confirmation if he would be available for the clearances or should we just hold out on anchor. He replied today saying he'd check us in on the holiday. Good lad!
Ritter's chocolate bars! I discovered these German chocolates years ago while living many years in my favorite country, Holland, and today you see them around the world. Good quality chocolate. What I do like though, is that they are just big enough to allow one to overindulge, by about 2-3 squares in the package. And we all like to overindulge with chocolate occasionally, don't we?
Needless to say, we didn't fish today!
Position after 24hrs (0830hrs): 07 02.74'N; 073 16.33'E
Average speed (SOG): 5.5kts
Max speed (SOG): 6.5kts
Distance over 24hr period: 148Nm
Day 13: 3 Feb 2015 - Arrival Uligan, Maldives
The wind quickly died off from 35kts down to mild 8-10kts and we found ourselves motoring the remainder of the way to Uligamu, Maldives. In the morning we started the watermaker and completely washed the boat down to get all the salt off. There is nothing nicer that seeing your yacht clean and non-sticky!
WE MADE IT! 12:00hrs. We entered the atoll and approached Uligamu Island (Ihavendhippolhu Atoll) via the NW channel and called up Customs (VHF16) to announce our arrival. We anchored on the west side of the island at 07 05.228'N; 072 54.943'E in 19m at high tide. Customs advised they'd come out to us at 14:30hrs - good, we needed a few hours to finish cleaning the boat and ourselves. After putting dingy and outboard back in the water we were amazed by the dolphins jumping in the lagoon around the boat.
We met up with Assad, our agent from RealSeahawksMaldives, who came out to Emerald with six fellows (customs, coast guard, immigration) and filled out many forms including the cruising permit. They were super pleasant and we had some good discussions and a few laughs. They did a brief search of the boat and gave us a quick brief of what we can and cant do in the Maldives (not so restrictive). Assad advised us that the Ministry of Tourism is in discussion of changing its policies toward cruising yachts which will be much more attractive - more to come on this later. He then invited us to go fishing tomorrow morning, starting a 6am - awesome- and then a visit to the village with more knowledge chats to come. Stay tuned! First impressions - 10 out of 10!
It's a special day for us to arrive in such a remote and beautiful location. We are very fortunate