10:25.00S 105:40.00E

 

Light winds at the start in Bali saw the fleet drifting across the line. One boat ‘drifted’ across early and was recalled by the committee who gave him the option of re-crossing the line or taking a 3 hour time penalty. Good old Valdo from Bratislava opted to take a 5 hour penalty. That’s the spirit. For this leg we were joined by Brian, formerly of Avocet (the Irish entrant). He’s sailed several thousand miles, is an engineer, a very strong, 27 year old with a great sense of humour and he’s a keen fisherman. All in all, great crew. He’s staying with us until Mauritius when he will return to Australia to pursue job opportunities.

 

The windless weather continued for about a day and then we were rewarded with some great sailing. The swell picked up with the increase in wind which made for very bumpy living conditions but we were achieving speeds of over 10 kts so well worth the discomfort. We were sailing fast but sadly through a fishless desert – not even a nibble on the lines.

 

Within 3 days of our departure we were treated to a fly past by the local apricot-coloured tropic birds as we crossed the finish line and sailed into Flying Fish Cove on Christmas Island. The depth is too great for anchoring so we were rafted up in threes alongside a central boat tied to a large-vessel mooring buoy. We were safely secured alongside a 58ft catamaran which proved to be a good solid platform in the roly anchorage. Our lines snatched back and forth in the swell which was not the most restful but a trip ashore to sample the delights of the local pub ensured a good night’s sleep for all. The following morning Jan made the most of a small mountain which she scrambled her way up whilst Tim and I opted for the more leisurely stroll into the settlement to make the most of the surprisingly excellent supermarket which seemed to stock everything you could want AND duty-free alcohol. Very basic internet facilities were available at the tourist office/gift shop although the area of comfortable seating designated as the wifi area didn’t really work. You had to wander around the gift shop to pick up any signal at all. Still, I thought it was pretty impressive to be literally in the middle of the Indian Ocean and be able to get any sort of signal on land. The Island is famous for it’s crabs and even publishes literature entitled “Driving with Crabs”. There are no advertising hoardings on the Island, just a series of blackboards where chalk messages are written to get the point across. The very active, local tourist board put on a fantastic BBQ for us on our second evening after which most people opted to set sail again the following morning.

 

We left the anchorage with four other boats and crossed the start line for the leg to Cocos Keeling shortly after. There being no official start for this leg, we just took our own timings. Once again we had a mixed bag of weather ranging from 8 kts of wind to 34 kts on our last night. We had good company as we kept in sight of three other boats throughout our voyage. During our last afternoon at sea, the wind picked up so we reefed the main and furled away some of the genoa in order to slow down. Landfall in darkness being inadvisable, we were keen to arrive at first light. Just as the wind started to increase both fishing lines screeched out. The waves had picked up sufficiently to flip the fish onto the surface of the sea at which point Tim and Brian wound like fury and the two dorado just bounced their way on the waves towards the boat and into the cockpit. Effortless fishing. As we were back to bumpy living conditions again, we opted to save our catch for dinner at anchor the following evening when when they could be enjoyed on a level surface and accompanied by a large glass of wine.

By nightfall we were down to 2 reefs in the main, no genoa, rain, waves in the cockpit and still doing over 9 kts. The Skipper’s timing was brilliant as ever and by 0700 hrs we were anchored off Direction Island with a cold beer in our hands. Boat rules – an alcoholic beverage is compulsory after a voyage.