11:03:3S 115:53:1E

 

Friday 25th September 2015

 

Progress

Three months until Christmas! Or in our case six days we hope. The wind has dropped again and it is slow progress. The wind seems to cycle through twelve hours light, twelve hours moderate during the day, with night hours having more wind.

 

Christmas Island

Named in 1643 by Captain William Mynors of the Royal Mary. Guess what day he sighted it? No one wanted it until 1888, when a survey found substantial phosphate deposits. These are still being mined and exported even today. In fact if the wind is in the wrong direction your boat can be coated in very clingy red dust. Originally Chinese, then Malays mined it, and these two groups make up the majority of the present day population. Now part of the Australian territories it has a detention centre, where they hold refugees prior to making a decision about whether they can stay in Australia. Some people are there years. The Australians are trying to develop it as a tourist centre and a casino has been built, which has allegedly, proved very successful in attracting wealthy SE Asians. I wonder if they do two litre cocktails at budget prices...they can keep the gambling! Apparently a fuel station, restaurants and a shop are in the village, creatively named ‘The Settlement’.

 

Miles travelled in the last 24 hours: 106 miles

Miles to Christmas Island: 675 miles