Chagos - First Week

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Thu 20 Jun 2019 23:57
Seven Days in Wet Chagos
 
 
 
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Friday the 14th of June. Anchor set it was time for our routine chores, Bear settling Beez and making a much needed cup of tea, me doing the logbook, mileage, delete current course and build a new one to Madagascar. A shudder as the next journey is indeed my Nemesis, however, we have the support of a wonderful man called Des who has promised to keep the “sting out of the tail” by advising on weather, routing and general information. Course done it was time to shut everything down and take in our surroundings. After lunch we swam around Beez. Bear wanted to scrape and clean the girl’s hull, I snuck off for a snorkel on the reef between us and the shore – all hard coral in good condition with loads of fish including huge parrotfish.
 
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Saturday the 15th of June. Bear jumped up and spent the morning working on Baby Beez, in Gan (Maldives) he had diagnosed a couple of little holes. Gluing done, we now just have to wait for seventy-two hours for the glue to set. I cooked several portions of rice and ten hard boiled eggs. After lunch we went for a long snorkel.
 
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I led Bear over to the patch of reef I had explored yesterday and wow, we saw a turtle. She seemed completely unconcerned by our company and carried on about her business. Along with huge parrotfish, angels, groupers, jacks and another, slightly shy turtle.
 
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Sunday the 16th of June.  This morning after breakfast we sat in the cockpit and went through all the anchorages Des and Nell sent for the west coast of Madagascar. Bear had trouble with his chips in the chartplotter but I had success with the old-fashioned way – paper charts, although I was a bit rusty with the ruler / whizzy thingy combo.....that will show rust, no idea what it is called but I should...... Then the skipper went forward to do the final repairs to Baby Beez, I watched a medium sized lemon shark patrol by. After a late lunch and a few games Bear checked Baby Beez, I think we can semi-inflate and try a test drive. All well and gently inflated, we launched her and on went the big outboard engine, time for a quick service. At five o’clock we went for a test spuddle across to Pepe’s Island and stopped to explore.
 
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The waves on the outer reef were quite dramatic.
 
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As we headed back Bobby suddenly came up from behind us and so low, we felt our hair part. Mmmm.
 
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Beez looking lovely in the last of the days sunshine, Ile Fouquet beyond.
 
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A pretty sunset.
 
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Monday the 17th of June. I couldn’t sleep and at five thirty this morning was sitting on the back shelf listening to an old favourite (audiobook) and watching a bright, bright moon. We had a lazy start watching a Wire in the Blood then got stuck in to cleaning the cockpit and sorting our rubbish. A carrier bag for clean and crushed cans, a soft bag for all paper cut up small and one for anything plastic. Yoghurt pots are washed, cut into strips and poked in an old Sprite bottle. We have to carry all our litter with us, until we get to Hellville, Madagascar.
After lunch we had a comical game of Mex Train Doms, Bear scored 425 in the round fives to zeros to gain a total score of 685 to my 162. Huh and double huh. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with the only other yacht here, Adiejewah. Harry and Maril are both retired GP’s and of course, as yachties are - no shortage of chatter. We had a few bits of drizzle during the afternoon but come evening it rained heavily. Thunder and lightning just before we went to bed. Rain all night.
 
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Tuesday the 18th of June. This morning Bear took to the task of replacing an errant bolt on the boom preventer and scruffed around in his tool shed. It rained until lunchtime and finally brightened up late afternoon. I lost badly at backgammon but had success with Mex Train.
 
Wednesday the 19th of June.  It rained hard all day, all evening and all night. We settled in the cockpit and played through all of our games. Everything now feels damp and sticky, humidity thick enough to cut with a knife. We watched the last two Wire in the Blood and hope it brightens up tomorrow.
 
Thursday the 20th of June. We woke to a very dull, overcast day with a stiff breeze that took the temperature down from thirty three to twenty nine, it actually felt chilly. Tonight we started to re-watch Without a Trace. 
 
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When the sun does put his hat on, we are in such a beautiful place but just now we watch as more storm clouds gather. 
 
 
ALL IN ALL EXTENDED SUNSHINE NEEDED
                      PARADISE IN THE RAIN