Crossing the Indian Ocean - Days 7-9

IO days 7-9

Indian Ocean Crossing - Update 3

Geraldton, Western Australia to Cocos Keeling

Day 7Begin:  566nm    Miles to go:  433nm

Day 7...already a week at sea. We've shut down the freezer now and are just maintaining the fridge. The freezer's a power hog especially as we climb into the lower latitudes. Even with our solar panels and wind generator, we still have to run the engine a couple of hours each day to keep the batteries charged. All those electronics certainly do suck down the power.

All of our fresh chicken and turkey mince have been eaten now and we're relying on our canned provisions and David to catch fish for dinners. No luck yet in the fishing department, but we are trolling two lines. No chance of us starving ...plenty of food in the larder. We also try to have at least one or two meatless dinners a week ..like Half Way Alfredo, for instance.

The fishing lines get lots of attention from the passing birds. After a couple of fly-overs, they're smart enough to  figure out it's nothing they're interested in. Not all birds are this smart. Boobies are pretty dumb (hence their name) and we've had to unhook many of them along the way...sometimes more than once. They're not fast learners.

The moon rises later and later now. This morning, a lemon wedge of a moon rose just before 0300. Soon her cycle will be complete and we'll sail moonless for a few nights.

Today's on-deck count:     Squid -  2    Flying fish - 0

Day 8Begin: 433    Miles to go: 316nm A circle of dark clouds surrounded us this morning and, for the first time in a week, it rained. We witnessed a good tropical downpour for all of 20 minutes, just enough to rinse the squid ink off the deck, and then it cleared and the day turned beautiful once more. We're becoming quite spoiled with this weather.

No luck fishing although it appears the big wad of plastic debris caught on the end of the line might have accounted for some of the problem. Once cleared, we got one solid hit which even left bite marks on the lure, but no fish for supper.

What a contrast to a week ago! We're barefoot and in t-shirts now and...sweating.  We've definitely found the warm. Do not in any way  construe this as a complaint.

The winds were light today and dead downwind which had us tacking to maintain a reasonable course. It's reflected in our low mileage today. Fresher winds from the SSE are forecast for tomorrow. We're nearing the Cocos now and, like horses getting close to the barn, we're keen on getting there.

Only one flying fish in the scuppers this morning ...slow night.

Day 9Begin: 316 nm  Miles to go: 207nm

As we move further west on our route, the sun rises and sets later. We're sailing into a new time zone: GMT +6-1/2 hours - a 1-1/2 hour difference from Western Australia. The time of day makes little difference to us at sea and since the change is minimal, we'll wait until we arrive in the Cocos to collect our extra hour and a half.

Neptune is teasing us big time these last two days with light, fickle winds. As we get closer to the Cocos and excited about our arrival, he's been holding back the southeast trade winds and sending 3 knot breezes from the ENE and E in their place. We had thought to make landfall in two days, but two slow days in a row might necessitate an extra day at sea. Much depends on the winds over the next two days. So much for plans.

The nights have been as sweet and beautiful as only tropical nights can be. Other than a few errant sprinkles, the sky has been clear and star-studded ...absolutely mesmerizing. Warm breezes play on your face and though we're not moving very fast, it's so very pleasant. The wisp of a crescent moon waits till nearly dawn to rise, allowing the stars to have the night sky to themselves for a change and they take advantage of this monthly opportunity. What a show!

David loaded a new app on the iPad before we left called StarMap 3D. It uses GPS to figure out where we are and the current time and  displays the constellations, stars and planets in the night sky. A compass heading provides the orientation and there's an artificial horizon. We hold the tablet up to the sky and compare it to the real thing ...voila ...all the heavens on display. We're still playing with it to learn more about the southern skies.

Deck count: 3 flying fish; 1 squid or least parts of one and lots of ink.

Continue with us on our Indian Ocean Crossing.

Crossing the Indian Ocean - Days 4-6

Indian Ocean Crossing - Update 2

Geraldton, Western Australia to Cocos Keeling

passage map

Day 4 Begin: 973 nm  -  End of Day 4:  832  nm to go

We're getting on a sched now. Up during most of the day with naps only as needed, eating regular meals and generally enjoying our time at sea. We''re not sure how long the sunny days and fine winds will continue, but we're loving them at the moment.

During our morning deck walk, we found a tiny flying fish in the scupper. He either flew in or got washed aboard, either way there he lay … stranded. He was an itty-bitty guy, no more than 2” (5cm) long, shiny gray and black with gossamer wings, bulging eyes and stiff as a board. Our all-time record for flying fish in one day found in the scuppers was 23 while crossing the Atlantic. They smell awful, so we're not trying to break any records here.

Night watches, though cold, have been beautiful. The stars, especially the Southern Cross, have been brilliant, that is until the moon rises after midnight and steals the show. The moonrise is always a shocker. The sky is totally black and then a loom appears on the eastern horizon and up she pops … dazzling.

The wind switched to SW for awhile today and is now a steady south tending to SSE. Looking at the forecast for the next few days, we're pretty sure we've found the trades … southeast, southeast, southeast.

Day 5Begin: 832 nm  -  End of Day 5: 686  nm to go

Sunrises tend to be quite dramatic the last few days. The tops of the clouds pink up a little in anticipation of the big arrival. Then an absolutely brilliant sphere of dazzling sun rises midst dark clouds and the contrast is startling. It's an artist's rendition of Christ's rising … no exaggeration. Sharp, golden shards of light pierce the clouds and shine back down to the sea in a Hollywood-esque fashion that only Mother Nature's flair for the dramatic can carry off effortlessly.

Beyond super sunrises, I lost my favorite “Good Old Boat” hat overboard. We were tooling along at 8 knots and turning back to fish it out of the drink was never a consideration.

We are officially in the tropics now … when we crossed the 23.5 latitude line known as the Tropic of Capricorn. We celebrated with an extra TimTam with our cuppas. And today, for our ongoing passage entertainment as I was checking out the sails, I noticed the silhouette of a squid caught in the first reef of the mainsail. He was stubbornly stuck to the sail and we had to sort of peel him off. Look at that … calamari, can't get it fresher!

Day 6Begin: 686 nm  -  End of Day 6:  566 nm to go

A dark, sapphire blue sea for as far as we can see under a cornflower blue sky … not a cloud in sight. Days have been glorious. We're 600 nm off the Western Australia coast now and Java is about 700 nm due north. We're more than half way to Cocos Keeling and we celebrated with Half Way Alfredo for dinner.

It's a slow sailing day today. The winds are light and a bit contrary. We only made 120 nm to the good. Quite honestly, it's so beautiful out here, who cares?

We're slowly shedding layers … scarf, gloves and foul weather jackets are stowed away and we're down to one blanket on night watch. We're edging our way to the warm, day by day.  Reading, writing, making plans, eating, napping and chores occupy most of our days and nights. I still do 95% of the cooking on passages, but David usually does clean-up and dishes which limits our individual time in the galley. Needless to say, long passages have their hidden perks for the first mate.

Another flying fish met his demise in the scupper … this one pretty large comparative to the 2-incher who glided aboard the other night. We regularly see them gliding long distances from wave to wave … must be something chasing them. David put out the fishing lines today.

Continue with us on our Indian Ocean crossing.

Formalities - Clearing out of Australia

Just like all those forms and formalities you complete when flying into and out of any foreign country, we have to clear in and out of each country we visit, too. The additional issue is that Nine of Cups needs clearance as well. The crew is cleared in and out by Immigration. The boat is cleared in and out by Customs. Depending on the country, there might be a few more officials involved for clearing in. Australia has AQUIS (Quarantine). Other countries have Health Officers, Port Captains … sometime the list is quite extensive. The forms and formalities can be either simple and efficient or tedious, cumbersome and expensive.  

We're pleased to report clearing out of Australia was a breeze. I called the Geraldton Customs Office in advance to ascertain the correct procedure for departure and what exactly it entailed. It was pretty easy. Debra was pleasant and a fount of information. Once I gave her the vessel name, she was able to pull up Nine of Cups on her computer system immediately. She knew that we'd been diligent in completing our quarterly position reports to Customs for the last three years (good on us, huh?) and that we'd last reported in from Mandurah at the beginning of August. She had a picture of the boat on file. She also knew it was about time for us to leave Australia … three years is the maximum time the boat can stay without being imported. She asked that we send an e-mail to give her a couple of days notice for departure clearance and provide the information she needed to complete her side of the paperwork. They would handle the stamping of our passports by Immigration there as well. I can remember trudging from office to office to get heaps of paperwork completed and stamped. This was as good as it gets.

Since arriving in Geraldton, of course, we've had to purchase and install a new windlass. Beaucoup $$$. Australia is gracious enough to refund the GST (10%) paid on large purchases within 60 days of departure. They'll even credit the amount to our credit card! Customs advised they'd be glad to handle this, too. In advance, we were asked to send copies of our passports, as well as a list of electronic equipment with model/manufacturer and serial numbers via e-mail. They'd handle the rest.

So, early on a fine sunny morning, Brett, the Customs Officer, came to the marina and met us aboard Nine of Cups. He completed all the refund paperwork, stamped our passports, gave us our clearance papers and wished us Bon Voyage. No fees involved! Clearing out of a small port with friendly Customs officers definitely has its benefits.

Thank you, Australia! It's been grand. Next stop … Cocos Keeling Islands ... 1423 nm away!