Monday, February 23, 2015

Arrival Maldeeeeves!

It's 7:42 a.m. and the anchor is down in the Maldives! Had a beautiful sail our last night out under brilliant stars and a soft breeze. The water is that South Pacific sapphire blue and we even had the company of dolphins playing in the bow wake for a while! We are waiting for Customs and Immigration to visit Rutea and then we will do some exploring.

All is well aboard Rutea.

P.S. I made a mistake in my last post! I put the rope around a winch! There are no wenches on Rutea!
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At 2/24/2015 1:41 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 07°05.11'N 072°59.37'E

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Sunday, February 22, 2015

Day 5

Wouldn't you know it! 140 miles from our destination, 4:30 a.m. and we pick up the only two LARGE fishing buoys in the Indian Ocean! Yep! We straddled them! One on each side of the boat with a rope running in between them. Each of them thumping the hull in chorus to our forward progression! We furled the genoa and dropped the main sail but still couldn't get them loose with the boat hook or a knife strapped to the boat hook. We decide that Neal is going to have to go into the water but that it would be better to wait until daylight so he can see what is happening under the keel. No problem, dawn comes early on a boat- right??? Well... not this morning! We have once again changed time zones so we have to wait an extra half hour (by our clocks) for the sun to rise. Of course as we are waiting the wind and seas pick up...oh brother! Finally, dawn! Neal puts on a harness and ties himself to the boat. I wrap the line around a cleat and a wench. He jumps into the water and within minutes has both fish floats cut free! Hooray! We furl all of the lines, put away the snorkel gear, deploy the genoa and are now happily sailing at 8 knots in 16 knots of wind!

And if that weren't enough work for one morning, Neal made delicious banana muffins for breakfast! All is well aboard Rutea!

116 miles to go.
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At 2/22/2015 9:40 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 06°23.37'N 076°32.53'E

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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Crossing the Mannar Gulf

The wind forecast in the GRIBs showed that we should have had very light northeasterlies except for one tiny wind flag that showed a light westerly. Of course, as is often the case, the westerly wind prevailed and built all afternoon until we were beating directly into the direction we wanted to go. Fortunately, the wind backed to about 80° off the starboard side but increased in velocity. Soon we had winds in the low 20s and the seas grew accordingly. By night fall, the seas were a solid 3 meters, rolling Rutea at their whim. Although this made things uncomfortable, we were making a solid 8.5 knots SOG and while surfing down the wind waves we'd often see 10 knots and I once saw 11.3. It has made sleeping a challenge. What has added to the melee is that we failed to get our prop folded so it continues to spin, shaking the entire boat but it's especially loud in our cabin. Ruthie sought refuge in the main saloon, sleeping on the settee but that was interrupted also when a breaking wave forced its way through the main hatch, soaking everything, including Ruthie.

Dawn came early and it's always a surprise to see the seas you've been sailing through all night. Sometimes I think it's easier to sail at night because you can't see how gnarly things are out there. Regardless, our spirits remain high, we haven't broken anything and we're making great time. Our meals are a little sparse but I needed to lose some weight anyway.

All is well on board.
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At 2/21/2015 9:12 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 05°50.96'N 079°39.72'E

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Friday, February 20, 2015

Out of the Bay of Bengal and into the Laccadive Sea

Yesterday turned out to be a kick-ass sail and we saw up to 27 knots out of the North. With the genoa poled out to starboard and the main prevented hard to port, we scandalized the mizzen to reduce the rolling. The sun was out, it was hot and only a minimal amount of boat traffic. From time to time a fishing boat will approach us but they're usually friendly with much whistling at Ruthie. They always ask where we're from, apparently our country flag flying from the top of the mizzen mast isn't enough of a clue.

We have now cleared Sri Lanka and we're heading almost due west. For security purposes, I'm deliberately going to omit our destination and current location (the one at the bottom of the post is wrong). The seas are flat calm and there's very little wind. It's hot as we're only a few degrees from the equator. Our provisions are holding up well and the huge bunch of bananas we bought are being whittled down, hopefully yielding enough over-ripe ones for a batch or two of banana nut muffins.

This is my bell ringing. All is well on board.
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At 2/15/2015 7:14 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 08°33.78'N 081°13.70'E

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Thursday, February 19, 2015

Leaving Sri Lanka

With our fuel tanks full to the brim and our water tanks bone dry (we didn't want to run our water maker in the polluted waters of Trincomalee Bay), our departure from Sri Lanka still had its drama. The ten or so boats sharing the anchorage with us were incensed that the Port Authority was going to charge us 'port charges' even though our agents had told us that would be the case. Emails, radio chats and boat-to-boat visits were all centered around this outrageous charge of about US$100. Ruthie and I were non-plussed about the idea, after all, the agents had said there would be a charge. This made us a pariah of sorts in our small sailing community. We paid our bill as presented and left on our own.

It felt good to be on the ocean again, even if the first part is just following the coast southwards. The wind filled in from the NE and we unfurled all of the sails - with the flat water, it was nearly perfect except we had the genset running all day in an attempt to fill our empty water tanks. Generally, we prefer to sail under moon-lit skies but it was not our time of the month so we sailed under a terrifically clear sky with a fantastic view of the Milky Way above. I stayed on watch until midnight and Ruthie watched until 0330. The wind died completely and with an adverse current, we were making less than 2 knots SOG so I started the engine. It remains on now, our water tanks almost full again, our batteries topped up but a wary eye is kept on our fuel gauge as it's long way to the Maldives and getting fuel there isn't easy.

For me, Sri Lanka was a mixed bag. Very friendly people, very mediocre food, some interesting sights but nothing jaw-dropping. I'm glad we came but there are several boats in our Indian Ocean Crossing Fleet that are skipping it altogether. Perhaps I'll post a few anecdotes that have stuck in my failing memory.

Less than 600 miles to the Madlives. All is well on board.
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At 2/15/2015 7:14 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 08°33.78'N 081°13.70'E

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Sri Lanka

Town Bay in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
My cabin smells like smoke.  That's because my clothes smell like smoke.  That's because I took them to the laundry......well- let me back up.

Polonnaruwa
We are in the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka!  A true gem in the middle of the Indian Ocean, just between the Andaman Sea and the Lakshadweep Sea.  There was a terrible tsunami here in 2004 (which is never far from anyone's mind) because the island is quite low except for the middle, interior  highlands, with the rim of the island being lined with exquisite, white, soft sand beaches.  It's a year round paradise- east coast in the south west monsoon season and west coast in the northeast monsoon season.  Ayurvedic Spas, Tea Plantations, Buddhist retreats, world class surfing, Blue Whales, Ancient Ruins  and Big Game Reserves draw tourists from all over the world.  Well actually mostly Europeans, Chinese and Russians but they all have expendable income.  English is the common denominator through which most communication takes place, but it amazes me to hear these Sinhalese native speakers talking in Russian, French and Chinese!
Mark at a Mosque in Colombo

We arrived here (Trincomalee) three weeks ago after an awesome seven day passage from Thailand.  Mark (Mash, Masho, Marco), Neal's bro was with us for the passage and took the 3:00 am to 6:00 am (the squall) watch.  Upon arrival we were greeted by the Sri Lankan Navy, then a Pilot boat  and directed to tie up to a barge where our agent, Ravi, escorted a whole host of officials to check us in and check us out!  Turns out the barge was in a Navy base where we had to pass through several layers of security every time we exited or entered.  Being that we are in Northeast Sri Lanka and the war with the Tamil Tigers was only ended (HERE) six years ago, security is still quite tight and there is a high military presence.  We cope.  Just don't try to go anywhere without your passport.....

After settling in, cleaning the layer of salt off of the boat, finding the central market, locating a fast food take out restaurant and organizing security, we three hopped an overnight, air-con, express bus to Colombo in anticipation of Sri Lanka Independence Day with the NEW President (you knew that, right?).  Turns out that the new Pres is all about cutting frivolous spending and funding the poor people so not much of an Independence Day festivity BUT there was an awesome Poya (full moon) holiday parade- full of monks, initiates, shrines, Buddhas, dancers, musicians and elephants!  Every full moon is a holiday in Sri Lanka!  Awesome!  Except that there are NO alcohol sales that day....  From Colombo Mark went to a Buddhist retreat and Neal and I went south to Galle where we stayed inside the walled city and toured the surrounding countryside.  From Galle we took a second class train....no reservations accepted...where we stood for the first three hours, sat facing backwards for the second three hours and I didn't pee for the entire SIX hours to Kandy!  Buddhist Temples, Relics, Botanical Gardens, Ancient Sites and a Safari, where we saw over fifty elephants from the back of our jeep monopolized the next four days tempered by small guest houses run by families trying to make a living off of the new wave of tourism and attempting to please.  Funny how most of these places think nothing of having to step in gecko poop in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom- or for that matter stepping in gecko poop at any time of the day!
Poya (Full Moon) Day Parade

Sri Lanka is a country where the railroad crossing gates are still operated manually by a family that lives in a small hut RIGHT by the tracks at the crossing bars.  They know exactly when the trains are coming and lower the gate arms so that no tuk- tuk, scooter, truck or most usually a pedestrian, will be smashed by the train.  Unless, of course, you are walking along the track instead of the road as many folks here do.  The median monthly income is $500.00 which translates to $2.00 per hour if you work full time.  There is a beautiful mix of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims all living together and from our mooring ( next to the barge) we could hear the Muslim Call To Prayer (5:00 am), the Buddhist Meta or morning chant, Hindustani music ( for your enjoyment) all played over the village loud speakers followed by an electronic version of It's A Small World After All played by the bread truck.  Wow, eh?  Just wow.  Life is simple.  Low key.  The people are happy, proud, friendly and very, very helpful.
Indian Cobra Naja Naja About to Get Angry

So after the road trip we had a ton of laundry that needed to be done.  The industry around the bay we are in makes us hesitant to make water here so we sent out our laundry to be washed.  Lo and behold, it came back not only washed, but ironed!  When was the last time you wore ironed underwear???  Interesting part about it all is that the laundry is ironed with an iron (no pun intended) iron.  With a wood fire built inside of it to make it hot.......

Leaving for the Maldives in four days.  More then!

R of Rutea