Trick or Treat? ... What colour would Madam prefer?

Serendipity
David Caukill
Wed 30 Oct 2013 22:30

Thursday 31st October 2013.  Indian Ocean,  17.53.0S 66.50.2E 

Today's Blog by David (Time zone UTC +5.0; BST +.4.0)

 

Harumph! - I am pleased to say that Halloween is here, and I am not there.  Well, it wasn’t like it when we were kids!  I have never understood how this pantomime – one which helps define America -  migrated across the Atlantic -  It must have been the ‘power’ of American kids’ television programming  pressurising UK parents (who I know generally have time on their hands that is looking for useful outlets) to part with more of their precious time and money. 

 

I don’t think I was aware of Halloween in the UK until I moved to Islington in the early 1990s; there, if the kids saw you indoors from the street (and they did look over the garden wall too)  and you didn’t answer  the door,  you could rely on part, perhaps most, but certainly not all of  your front door being re-sprayed  - usually in a rather fetching day glow orange.  Anyway, no one is out here to re-spray our topsides today. As I said -  Harumph!

 

Picture Question: What is this?

 

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Australia has an immigration problem.  Economic migrants (posing as political migrants) from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and elsewhere give up their life savings to an intermediary (aka fixer/people trafficker) and embark upon the voyage of a lifetime.  In an earlier Blog, I commented on the hardship that people emigrating to e.g. New Zealand suffered (five months, each in a space about 90cms square an 1.75 metres long with periodic exercise breaks). Well, each of the boats above motored from Sri Lanka – they took nearly seven weeks to get to Cocos Keeling (an Australian Territory – administratively  part of Western Australia).   They ran out of fuel a few miles off when  the authorities towed them into safety, each boat had more than 70 people (yes seventy) aboard.

 

Seven weeks – seventy plus people -   Imagine……!

 

Shame really – for the “migrants” that is.  At its peak, there were 2000 migrants a month arriving in Cocos Keeling (on average, one boat a day). The same was happening in Christmas Island and across the Torres Strait – something had to be done. Now Australia has done a deal with various governments – the ‘passengers ‘ from these two boats are now safely back in Sri Lanka, (presumably minus their life savings.)

 

A couple of nice shots from Cocos Keeling 

 

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Prison Island                                                                                                           The view from someone’s back yard

 

And a couple of wild life shots, too,,,,,

 

 

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The Biggest Cicada I have ever seen                                                                    A lesser spotted Ferry Man hunting for passengers (see Note*)

 

 

Finally, our progress continues. The wind and sea have both been kind to us and we have been making good 180-190 miles a day which  we  would otherwise have been quite pleased with  had we not set ourselves a challenging schedule.  And WHERE is the South Equatorial Current…………?

 

Right now, we are deeply reefed and  it is chucking it down with rain – excellent!

 

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Note * For the Health and Safety conscious among you careful analysis of the photo will reveal a red cut out cable attached to my shorts from the engine (so that if I were to have fallen overboard I have a higher chance of getting back in the dinghy  with my legs still attached).