20:08:263S 57:28:351E Mauritius
Shaya Moya
Don & Susan Smyth
Fri 17 Oct 2014 11:05
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Well here we are in Mauritius after our 13 day
crossing of the Indian Ocean from Cocus Keeling islands.
We arrived on Sunday 12th and were the
fifth yacht in the fleet of 25 to cross the finishing line just outside the Port
Louis Harbour entrance. The leading boat, a catamaran called Nexus, managed
it in twelve days and was followed by Chika-lu, Alpharatz, Celebrate and then
ourselves. We were particularly pleased with our performance but it
was Shaya Moya which demonstrated how capable she is on the big ocean. The
35 tonner just seems to iron out the sea. In speaking to other boats after
we got in we realised how fortunate we were to be on this 56 foot Oyster
and not something else. She is just so capable even in strong winds and
large and awkward swell.
To put it into perspective the tail
enders came in at 8:30pm last night after 17.5 days at
sea.
As we came closer to the island, Sunday
cruises were out on the water around Grand Baie to the north.
    Then as we neared Port Louis there we
some big things about. A massive bulk carrier and an equally impressive American
rig called West Neptune.
In fact we met some of the crew from the
drill at the hotel in our Marina on Sunday evening and they were a loud and
boisterous bunch of guys with some huge examples of American muscle for the
tough jobs on rigs. A fun group who are on their way to Namibia first and
will then move the equipment across the Atlantic to Mexico.
  We received a warm reception from the ARC guys and
almost immediately we were into the paperwork for immigration, customs and port
authority.
  The Le Caudan Waterfront houses our Marina and
besides the two big catamarans we are all berthed in the same area doubling
up in most cases, where two yachts are tied to each other side by side. There
was also a challenge from the Marina to save mooring fees by
dressing your boat with flags. Most have done this and the atmosphere
is very festive and we see a lot of public and tourist visitors taking a look
and photographs.
    On Monday morning Don took himself off to a local
clinic to have an injured arm examined. He had hurt it on the crossing and
after consulting with medical backup at sea on the satellite
phone was told that it was Bursitis in the left elbow. They told him not to
do the drainage on the yacht in case of infection and bleeding. So
they kept him overnight and at 3:00pm on Tuesday had a small op under local
anaesthetic to have the infected fluid drained. He returned to the boat a
couple of hours later and will go back on Friday evening to have it
checked.
  While he was away the three of us carried out
repairs, maintenance and in Toms case a lot of cleaning and polishing. Such
is the condition of Shaya Moya that if there was a Concourse de Elegance or Best
Boat on Show trophy she would win by the proverbial mile. In beautiful
nick.
One of the competitors American Spirit broke a
forestay soon after leaving Cocus. The cable which supports the mast is
vital and without it the mast itself is at risk. They were restricted to
very slow sailing early on and then when they knew they had enough fuel motored
the rest of the way. They entered the Marina last night to a rousing
reception of horns, hooters and a big hand from the other ARC crews, nearly
all of whom had assembled on the dock. As they stepped onto terra firma a shot
of rum, a fruit basket and a special cake welcomed them. Just behind were Merlyn
of Pool the other yacht sailing with them in support. It was an epic moment
and really what the Rally is all
about.
  We did a day tour of the island on Thursday and the
impression is that Ille Maurice has developed significantly in the last 12 years
since I visited last. Its a thriving, modern economy with functioning
infrastruture and services. The people are friendly and is still well
worth a look as a vacation destination.
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