position 9:13.0N 66:21.0E

Ocean Rival Journey Log
Adam Power Diana Power
Wed 1 Feb 2023 05:00
Engine on this morning after a good few days without. Wind died overnight and finally with 2kn and sails flopping we had to accept assistance from the iron sail. Forecast suggests it should be better today but tomorrow not much promised again.
Yesterday evening I was cooking dinner when Diana called down to say we had stopped. Disbelieving I looked out of the hatch and sure enough we were stationary having been moving along nicely at 5kn. Then seeing a line of small bouys stretching into the distance both to north and south a realised we were caught in a long line net. It had happened once before off Equador, and then the fisherman cut me free. This time there wasn't a boat in sight but just as I was wondering if it was a pirates yacht trap we started moving again. The keel must have slipped over the top of the net thank goodness.
As it got dark we saw lights on either side of us as we passed through a fishing fleet. The lights continued all night and just once I saw a flashing light indicating the end of the long net. Fortunately no more yacht catching incidents and the boats seemed to have parted each side to allow us through the middle.
We are a long way from any coast- still India just about closest so these must be serious fishing boats with enough storage capacity to make it worth their while.



--