And so to La Reunion
28 September 2015
Finally it was time to leave Mauritius as our visas would have been due for renewal shortly. The weather forecast looked good for a departure on Tuesday 22nd September and the 138nm to Le Port in Reunion. We cleared out by first visiting Immigration (ground floor of the Capitainerie) then the new Customs building in the commercial port, and finally back to Coastguard at the Customs Dock in the harbour. All very simple but a bit of a hike and no signage.
We slipped our lines at 1210 expecting 20kts SE wind decreasing to 15kts SE as we approached La Reunion. Well, expectations eh? We got 15-20kts until 0400 on Wednesday morning with frequent squalls bringing gusts of up to 30kts … along with 45 degree wind shifts. This was really frustrating as it meant constant sail tending including going from a beam reach to poled out genoa … and back again … and again. Then the wind died to 6kts so a couple of hours of motoring was required. The wind filled in with dawn and we were making 7.5-8kts with 20-25kts SE wind which contoured around the island as we headed south to Le Port, only for it to suddenly die off with 5nm to go.
We tied up at the arrival pontoon in the old marina at 1230 and Pierre, the Assistant Marina Manager, greeted us. Then things started to happen very quickly. Pierre called Pascal from Starnett Marine with whom we had arranged a haul out so that the well-worn cutless bearing could be replaced and by 1330 we were out of the water. A visit to Andrea at Waterland had his mechanics starting work by 1600. Everything was completed the following day, including replacing the shaft seal and a bottom scrub, and we were back in the water on Friday morning – very efficient.
So, round to the new marina (20 56,37’S:055 17.27’E) and hook up with Susan and Richard who had just arrived, for some grand Turismo in La Reunion, which we believe will be spectacular.