Chris, my crew for the Indian Ocean, joined the boat in Bali. However, our first task was to sail back to Lombok to clear out from there. This decision relates to Indonesia rules on crew. Officially, you must cruise Indonesia with the same crew you enter the country with. And leave with the same crew. Nobody actually does this despite the potential hefty fines for non-compliance. The trick is to find a port of entry where the officials are more 'relaxed' about regulations. Medana Bay marina act as agents and 'arranged' for a modified crew list. All went well and there was no fine to pay. Just a hefty agents fee (US$200)!
We had not realised it, but it takes minimum three days from requesting clear-out to getting an appointment with customs and immigration. That meant provisioning had to be done in Lombok. This was not easy. Few people in Indonesia own a refrigerator so most supermarkets simply do not sell things which we would expect to find (cheese, fresh meat, etc). We thought we would be living off soya mince, tins of tuna and noodles until we discovered, quite by chance, a store selling 2kg blocks of frozen chicken.
Our clear-out was scheduled for 14th September, but it took until 14.30 to complete formalities. With rain and a strong headwind, we decided to delay departure until the next morning. It was a good decision. Leaving at first light, we had good winds and made fast progress south, reaching the Indian Ocean on one tack.
The first challenge of this passage is how to negotiate the 'wind against tide' situation in the channel between Lombok and Bali. The prevailing strong SE winds blow into a potential 6-7 knot current, which can make for unpleasant, and potentially dangerous conditions. We were fortunate in that we left on neaps and did not see more than four knots of current. Also, we followed advice and sailed close to Nusa Penida island rather than stay in the middle of the channel or close to Lombok. Consequently, for us, it was 'plain sailing'.
After a fast and enjoyable first day sailing the Indian Ocean, the winds became light and variable. Fortunately, we had the benefit of a strong (2-3 knot) east-going current. Our boat speed may only have been 1-2 knots in 6 knots of breeze, but the current allowed us to achieve over 100nm on the second day.
Chris decided it was time to do laundry, including his trousers. Without a backup pair of long trousers, there was no alternative to exposing his ivory white legs to the sun. The preparations were intense. The time it took massaging gallons of factor 50 sun cream onto those virgin surfaces. And I had to go find sunglasses to protect my eyes from the reflections! For the rest, we were treated to a calm, peaceful day, drifting along waiting for wind and some spectacular sunsets and sunrises (see top picture).
Day three was another light, drifting day but was preceded by a barn storming, fast night sail.
We had been eating our way through the 2 kg of chicken we found just before we left. I had done Thai green chicken curry, pasta with creamy chicken and mushroom sauce and chicken marinated in a local spinach, chilli and tomato sauce. But that night, Chris prepared his ‘chicken surprise’. What might that have been? You guessed it: chicken without Thai green curry, cream mushrooms or local spinach, chilli and tomato sauce!
The fourth day we hit the trades. I had imagined some stellar days with good winds combining with the strong favourable current we had experienced. Unfortunately, as soon as the wind arrived, we lost the current. Even so, we logged a 170nm+ day.
The fifth day started off well enough. We had carried the Code0 through the night, making good time. The wind was supposed to drop slightly this morning so, when Chris took over at 08.00, Skipper wasted no time in heading for his bunk. A quarter of an hour later Chris woke me with, “wind is getting up fast”. Sure enough, as we started to furl the Code 0 we already had 22 knots. By the time the sail was on the foredeck, I decided a reef in the main was the priority. As we finished the first reef, the wind hit 27 knots so we added a second reef. We got the boat going like that, tidied up, let out the genoa - and all before breakfast. Before we had finished breakfast, the wind was back down to 15 knots and the boat was wallowing with two reefs. No matter, we decided to relax and leave it. Until the wind dropped to 10 knots. At that point we took out one reef (I did not trust the sky). Sure enough, within 10 minutes we had 24 knots again. We rode it out until the wind dropped, this time with a 30 degree direction swing, forcing a gybe. So that was our morning: gybing, reefing, taking out reefs with a wind that did not know what it wanted to do.
Fortunately, in the afternoon, we had a pleasant sail. Perfect for code 0, but this time we left it in the bag, recovering from our morning’s exertions.
Day six started with pleasant sailing under blue skies. We could have used code 0 but, instead, chose to amble along, soaking up the sun. The afternoon brought the wind more abeam and steadily increased, forcing us to go through the reefs and to reach for the foul weather gear. We spent the evening reaching in 22-24 knots, getting wet as waves regularly came over into Skyfall's normally dry cockpit.
Routing was a little tricky on Day 7. Just 40nm north of our track was a flat calm. However, 40nm south a 25-30 knot wind was blowing. So the wind strength was dependent on our precise track. Of course, we have Predictwind but the 6 models had shown a lot of variation in where the wind was. Anyway, we managed to spend the day broad reaching with Code 0 in 12-18 knots. Jimmy Cornell’s ‘bible’ had also suggested that we would have an unpleasant cross swell for the last two days into Cocos. Not a bit of it. We had a very pleasant sail. We were closing in on Cocos Keeling.
Knowing we would arrive the following day, we set about ‘jobs’. Chris rescued his fishing tackle bag, emptied it, threw away rusty hooks and rubbish, and generally cleaned everything up ready to fish once we arrived. We also located and fixed a slow leak in the dinghy.
With our imminent arrival in an Aussie administered atoll, we wanted to consume our remaining fresh food at lunchtime. No place for noodles today. For starters: sautéed cabbage and onion (with a hint of white wine vinegar). Our main course consisted of quesadillas (to use up the cheese). But we still had six eggs so we followed with scrambled eggs for desert. A veritable feast.
As it turned out, this was unnecessary. The authorities did not want to confiscate anything. They just asked us to keep all food on board and not take anything ashore. And replacing the fresh food was not straightforward.
Cocos Keeling atoll consists of four main islands: West Island (with the airport), Home Island (with supermarket, pharmacy, community centre), Direction Island and South Island (both uninhabited). Yachts are only allowed to anchor off Direction Island.
To provision, it is necessary to dinghy over to Home Island (1.5nm). There is also fresh drinking water available on the jetty for boats, like Skyfall, without a water-maker. The local population is Islamic Malay and, therefore, there is no pork or alcohol available. The supermarket had a good range of non-perishables, some vegetables but no fruit at all. We were told the next delivery of fruit would be in two weeks!
A trip to West Island is more complicated. After the dinghy ride to Home island, there is a ferry service to West Island. People make the trip, either to find duty free alcohol (available at the Cocos club), to go surfing or kitesurfing, or to use the airport. The only issue is that the return ferry gets back to Home Island around 19.30, leaving a long dinghy ride in the dark. Having read Slocum's narrow escape whilst crossing the atoll from one island to another, we were a little reluctant to take the risk. But the lure of sundowners proved too much to resist!
There were several boats I knew in the anchorage. It was good to meet up with Bill (SV Cara Mor) who I had not seen since Aruba, Sorin and Ana (SV Mehalah) who I met in Indonesia and an Estonian boat we rafted to whilst transiting the Panama Canal. We also quickly made friends with Hugh (SV Sea Change) who had been there a while and was keen to show us the best snorkelling spots.
The Rip, as the name suggests, is a channel with a fast flowing current. It is best just before low tide. You get swept past zillions of fish in crystal clear water. There is one spot where the white tip and reef sharks like to congregate.
Direction Island was once home to an important communication station. The cables from Australia surfaced here before being amplified and sent on to either India or South Africa. The Germans found it important enough to attack during World War 1. The raiding party found the atoll undefended and quickly took control. Yet they were true gentlemen. Having rounded up the team manning the station, they set about destroying as much as possible. There was a radio mast for communication with passing ships. When the British saw the Germans planting charges around the base, they requested that it be blown such that it avoided the tennis courts as it fell. The Germans duly obliged!
The island remained an important communication hub until the arrival of coaxial cables in the 60's. This allowed transmission over longer distances and obviated the need for the relay station. There is a Heritage trail around the island with boards explaining the history and how the men who worked there lived. We found hermit crabs everywhere.
Chris was also busy with his fishing gear off the back of the boat. He reckons dawn and dusk are the best times and so it proved.
Our five days in Cocos Keeling were very enjoyable. However, there are two yacht rallies following us (World ARC and Oyster Rally). Everywhere they go, the marinas are fully booked during their stay. So, we had to leave to ensure that we would stay ahead as we cross the Indian Ocean.
On September 27th we weighed anchor to sail to Rodriguez Island. More on that in our next post
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Glad you had a strong start to the Indian Ocean. Hope your next leg is smooth for you and Chris. Thank you for sharing these rich experiences.