At Sea - On route to Durban

Hi Everyone,

 

Well things are good here.  Both boys are slightly better sea-sickwise today.  Today was a beautiful day.  At last the wind has moved off our nose and we can sail again.  We had a brisk breeze, with fluffy white cumulus cloud, white caps and a fairly large swell.  We have pretty much had a roller coaster day, riding over the swell and with the brisk breeze, we are on a 45 degree tilt once again.  We have had quite a bit of water over the deck and hitting the windscreen (or shall I call it a waterscreen!)  We have been visited by quite a few shearwaters (mutton birds) today.  It is lovely to watch them skimming over the waves, just a few centimetres off the water.  They look so graceful. They generally make a sweep past us to have a look at us then hive off and go on their way.  It is incredible to think they can survive in this vast, lonely place.

 

We are now crossing the bottom end of Madagascar and are over the Madagascar plateau, part of the ancient land bridge to Asia. After this, we cross the Mozambique channel then we see the African coast.  Only 900nm to go!

 

Thanks for all the lovely notes we are getting from friends and family.  It is lovely to keep in contact and get news from home.

 

Dimitri says- Well, it’s great to be sailing again, making good speed, 7+ knots, with current of 1 knot against us. Life on a lean , pounding into a sea of 3 meters is interesting- when you open a door, you have to support all it’s weight, when you open a downhill cupboard everything falls out and needs to be repacked, pulling your pants up has that one instant when you can’t brace yourself and need two hands. It’s interesting to hear the comments if the boat lurches just then! Sleeping is like getting a massage, but as the boat falls off a wave (yes, all 20 tons drop of wave and make an almighty splash), your bed drops away, and you land on the (fortunately very soft) mattress! How often? Every 10 to 15 seconds in a bad sea, usually less often! Arti recons it will get us fit for bushwalking as we are always walking uphill or downhill.

 

Cheers for now.

 Arti and Dimitri.