Gan to Chagos Day 1 - and we are off again

Caduceus
Martin and Elizabeth Bevan
Tue 19 Apr 2016 03:37

Position           01:02.59 S 073:05.77 E

Date                 1200 (UTC+5) Monday 18 April 2016

Distance run    in 4hrs 15mins 24.8nm over the ground, 26.7nm through the water

Trip total         25nm over the ground, 27nm through the water

To go to           Peros Banhos, Chagos 266nm – 291nm total route distance

 

A good calm night’s sleep, clear skies and a good forecast, but we had one of those yesterday, made for an optimistic start at 0745.  Once again the wind was stronger than expected but overnight the swell had decreased and we were seeing wind between 15 and 20 knots which meant that once clear of the Pass we were sailing well.  And then along came the first of two major squalls for the morning which produced 35 to 40 knots and lashing rain.  We had two of these before midday but we were prepared for them and had most sails in and hatches and cockpit screens closed before they struck.  Unlike yesterday there were breaks in between when life returned to normal in between.  It did involve a lot of sails in and out which kept us entertained.  The noon log recorded the wind as 20 knots on the beam and with not much sail up we were getting along at 7 knots but with an adverse current which reduced our speed over the ground to 6.5 knots.

 

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A grey day passing the flight path approach to Gan airfield, on the way out of the Pass

If as a pilot you see this perspective then you are too low!