Phuket to Sri Lanka - Day 8
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sun 11 Mar 2012 05:48
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6:19.916N 82:08.869E
March 11, 2012
Another day, another day sail and night motor. We had a
serene sail yesterday afternoon ghosting along in a light 5-8 knot
NNE breeze with at least 1 knot of favorable current. There was a
little trauma last night when the moon didn't arrive on schedule and
Don had to do an hour of his first night watch in complete darkness. We
realized later the moon had done this on purpose just so we could admire our
first completely clear view of the stars. We'd never realized
the moon was so unselfish before - stepping aside like
he did to let the stars be admired for a while. Somehow we suspect
the same might happen again tonight, but for a slightly longer time.
Hopefully the clouds will cooperate and steer clear of the area.
This passage really has been too good to us. It has been
a little hard on the engine (82 hours so far), but Don and I
are holding up extremely well. Usually we arrive at our
destination hollow-cheeked with belts pulled in an extra notch and dark patches
under our eyes. We'll never forget arriving in the Marquesas
after the 17-day sailing romp across the Pacific, dressing for dinner
and watching our pants nearly fall off after pulling them on.
Everyone in the World ARC had a similar experience. Pounds melted off
during that passage. Not so this time. Unless something changes, we
will arrive tomorrow (Monday) morning bright eyed and ready to take on
the Sri Lankan clearing in process (complete with military escort, lots of
officials and lots of paperwork).
Distance Covered:
138 miles. The 1 knot of favorable current helped make
this number more respectable than it might have been.
Ship Watch:
None until we were about 70 miles east of the Sri Lankan
coast. Then the fishing boats started popping up. On his early
morning watch, Don had a couple pursue us - going miles out of their
way to try and sell us some fish. The rest of today and tonight should be
very interesting as we weave our way through the fishing fleet close to the
southern coast of Sri Lanka. We have been advised by other boaters to stay
close to the coast in order to avoid the very busy shipping lanes further
out. Close to the coast is fine, but we are expecting a fishing boat
minefield. At the moment, we are 20 miles from the coast, but closing
fast, so we should be up close and personal with more of the fishing fleet
soon.
Equipment Failures:
None.
Big Events:
Laundry. Yes, a load of laundry was run yesterday
afternoon during our lovely sail, and clothes hung out to dry on deck. Yet
another sign of a calm passage.
Expected Arrival:
Tomorrow morning. We'll send a quick update to the blog
after we arrive.
Anne
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