23:55:5S 051:22:3E

Monday 9th Novenber 2015

 

Route

We will be eighty miles south of Madagascar in two days. Jimmy Cornell (our World Routes Guru) says the strongest current is this distance off, but if the wind blows up go a lot further off, due to big seas. We are watching the weather Gribs files closely. Today the sea is following and the wind is fair. We have the Genoa, ghoster and main sails up and are speeding along at six plus knots. What a difference a day makes! The sun is shining and we haven’t too many cares in the world.

 

Indian Ocean SSB Radio Net

We left La Reunion with five other yachts all with SSB (long distance radios). We contact each other each day at 0300 UTC (GMT) and 1430 UTC on 6227 Khz. We share positions, speed, course and weather information. Plus we have a general chat and a good laugh. For some reason the females on the other yachts keep asking how Bryony is... I think they are concerned that Denis and I are not gentlemen! The nationalities of the yachts are: two British, two Australian, one French and one USA. As we all sail at different speeds, we are already spread out over a hundred miles. We are with the slow boats at the back....we know our place! It is reassuring to know there are others there, just in case and to share weather forecasts and their implications. This is a potentially dangerous passage with two hot spots, one off Madagascar and one off Durban.

 

MIles travelled in the last 24 hours: 148 miles

Miles to Durban: 1229 miles