NORDLYS - Christmas to Cocos Keeling

Christmas to Cocos Keeling

NORDLYS

David and Annette Ridout

Mon 21 May 2007 09:49

Christmas to Cocos Keeling

12:06S 96:53E

Direction Island, Cocos Keeling

21st May 2007

I am not going to bore my readers or myself by reliving the 530nm passage here. Suffice to say it was not comfortable. Cross seas and little wind a lot of the time gave us much sail wear. When the wind did come it preceded a heavy tropical rain shower and after a wetting we were rewarded with no wind at all for half an hour. This happened time after time. Finally just when we had resigned ourselves on not getting in by darkness on Sunday the wind, totally unforecast, arrived from the south south west and with two reefs and only the staysail set we set off at upwards of eight knots. Result we had to heave too for some hours to await daylight on Sunday! Anyway all this is forgotten now. I must point out that the customs and immigration authorities came the six miles across the lagoon to check us in on Sunday morning, did not charge, were politeness itself and proceeded to lead us past the coral into the inner anchor as with the sun in the NE it was not easy to see the way.

I have been reading Paul Theroux's book Dark Star Safari. It is his story of an overland trip he made from Cairo to Capetown in 2001. A journey that was once relatively easy but with the descent of Africa into war, disease, corruption and general sadness it was quite an achievement. It has to be recommended reading, especially his views and arguments about western aid make for interesting discussion. The reason I mention him however is not for this but that when faced with such beautiful and descriptive use of the English language it is for those of us less talented a daunting task to write about any travel. I can only hope that our story and our feelings about the places we visit come across.

One of the lighter moments of our recent passage occurred at dusk. Now those of you who belong to the same Cruising Club as we do will know the rules about flying the burgee at the mast head. This anachronistic rule is one of the delights of the club and one I believe in however faced with long passages our burgee is stowed away to save wear and tear. So far we have not met any members in mid ocean so have got away with this. However the great god who rules over the RCC had obviously decided we needed to be taught a lesson. Four very determined booby birds attempted to roost for the night on our masthead/windex/anemometer. One actually landed but without damage to anything. We shouted, we banged the mast all to no avail. Then Annette screamed in a high pitched voice and they fled. I cannot say I blame them but I was delighted. New anemometers are expensive and not obtainable in the Indian Ocean. In future we will fly the burgee which apart from anything else will make landing on the masthead quite impossible.

We are anchored under the uninhabited 'Direction Island' which lies to the NE of the atoll. Our first visitors were three reef sharks which swim constantly around the boat. 2 km to our south is Home Island, the home of 600 Muslim Malays, the descendents of the original copra workers shipped in as slaves by Alexander Hare. They soon deserted him and chose to work for the Clunies-Ross family. Queen Victoria gave the atoll to the Clunies-Ross family in perpetuity. It has had a chequered history and during the second world war the occupying Ceylon Defence Force troops mutinied against their British Officers. This resulted in the only execution of British Commonwealth troops for mutiny during WW11. Since 1955 the islands have been Australian. The Howard government has put them in a very doubtful legal category whereby they are Australian owned and run but do not count as Australian territory for immigration purposes. All part of the 'keep out the northern hordes at any cost' policy of the present Australian government. West Island is the other inhabited island and has a population of 120 white Australians and the airport. A ferry goes between these two islands. We plan on visiting both.

We hope that a new auto pilot to replace the new but faulty one we purchased in Fremantle will arrive by air. Other jobs have come to our attention and these combined with snorkelling, exploring ashore and paperwork will we are sure happily occupy the next two weeks. For those of you raising your eyebrows at this pace of life do remember we are retired and in the tropics!