by Judy Handley | May 22, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 208, Year 5: Fantastic Drift Snorkel and Camp Clean-up
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Weather: Repeat–Beautiful Day, Cloudy Evening; SE Winds 15
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
What a great way to start a day. High Tide was at 9 am, so we picked up Ed and Lynne and headed into the pass between Takamaka and Fouquet. This is a narrow pass with sandbars on both sides, and you can only go so far in even at high tide as it gets very shallow, but we went as far as we could and jumped in the water to drift with the dinghy. The current is somewhere between one to two knots 24 hours a day. It never reverses and never slows down, so the only way to see the fish and coral is to drift with the current. I took Mark’s video camera and tried to capture some of the beauty. Most of the footage is unusable as I was moving too fast, but once in a while I could grab on to a piece of coral and hold fast for a few seconds. I got so-so footage of a large and beautiful Emperor Angelfish, good footage of the little Nemos, and a short, but great clip of a turtle that was right under in front of me. He was swimming against the current, so it seemed he was not moving and that allowed me to get the video of him. We went in and out three times and just had a fabulous time. We will definitely do this a few more times before leaving here.
The good news of the day is that Ed and Lynne’s refrigerator compressor is magically working again, so they are VERY happy cruisers. But their almost new AGM batteries just don’t seem to be holding a charge like they should, so today’s project was to take one of their batteries and connect it directly to our wind generator to charge it. In order to do that we had to get under the bed in the aft cabin and that meant moving all the stuff on top that used to be stored in the v-berth. So we decided to move everything back to the v-berth and sleep once again in the aft cabin. It is cooler now, so that should be fine, and we have discovered that it is a much better mattress. All of that moving happened before the drift snorkel and then in the afternoon, Mark, Ed, and I went to the camp on Takamaka and did a major clean-up to get ready for tomorrow morning’s book exchange. Sweeping debris from a large area with a palm fond is a back breaking job, but the camp looks great now and it will be fun to get together with everyone tomorrow. We have a new boat in the anchorage, Galateia, a German boat with a young single-hander named Wolfgang. We haven’t met him yet, but hopefully we will meet him tomorrow.
The bad news of the day is that our friend Robert of Shirena has more serious heart problems than expected. He arrived in Vienna, went immediately into the hospital, and the test results are showing that part of his heart is simply not working due to a lack of blood flow over a period of time. The doctors there tell him his sailing days are over and that he needs a pacemaker and a defribulator with him all the time. So now he and Tina are flying back to their home in Sydney, Australia, to get a second opinion. Shirena seems safely tucked into the marina in Ashkelon, Israel, and they will leave it for the next six months while they are deciding what to do. Right now friends Tom and Nicolette of Katanne are in the marina with Shirena and watching over things. So our thoughts are with Robert and we are hoping that when he arrives in Australia, the doctors there might be more hopeful.
by Judy Handley | May 21, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 207, Year 5: Learning from the Masters
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Weather: Beautiful Day, Cloudy Evening; SE Winds 8-10
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
Learning is a life time endeavor and today we spent some time with Kathy and Richard on Mr. Curley learning as much as we could about Chagos. I said in yesterday’s log that they first came here in 1985 and I think they have been here every year since sometime in the late 1990’s, but I know they have been here every year for the past decade. So they have a lot of knowledge and have gathered photos and information that just isn’t written anywhere. Kathy loaned me four booklets published by Friends of Chagos in the late 1990’s and Mark and I spent a better part of the afternoon scanning those into our computer and printing those pages that I will be using for identification of plants, birds, and fish. I was able to give back one little piece of information. While on Boddam a couple of weeks ago, I took a photo of a dragonfly that Kathy had heard about but never seen. One year there was an etymologist here and she told Kathy that this dragonfly mimics a particular butterfly that is endemic to these islands. So now Kathy has a photo of that little bugger. The one thing I learned that I am most fascinated about is that it is a pink algae and not coral that we are seeing when we walk on the reef flats. This pink algae is a plant that is rock hard and plays a very important part in protecting the reef flats from the pounding waves. So like a kid in a candy shop, I absorbed every little bit of information that I could and will continue to read the information in the booklets over and over. While we were on Mr. Curley we got a tour of their garden. Unbelievable! They designed and built their boat and the transom is big enough to hold their dinghy, or while in Chagos, accommodate a good-sized hydroponic garden of spinach, basil and lettuces of all kinds, silver fern (like Swiss chard), arugula, and on and on. And the plants are huge and healthy. I’m thankful for my little basil and arugula plants, but they are really tiny in comparison. Richard is also planning a full-moon party for the evening of the 27th and Kathy and I talked about having a book exchange at the Takamaka camp the day after tomorrow. So things are getting busy here.
We turned Windbird into a little jail house today. We bought aluminum strips in India to use as security bars in some of our hatches. Unfortunately, theft is a problem in Madagascar, South Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean, so we decided it was time to be proactive. It would be very difficult for anyone to enter the boat through a hatch with the bars in place, so now they are there. There are really only two places in Madagascar that are a problem-one we have to go to in order to check-in and the other we hope to avoid. So now we will feel a bit safer.
Tomorrow morning we hope to snorkel in the pass between Takamaka and Fouquet again, this time with a camera. I just have to get photos of the little Nemos that live there as well as all the other fish. We also plan to spend a great deal of the day on Takamaka, cleaning up the camp and exploring, so it should be a good day.
Today was not such a good day for Ed and Lynne on Constance. Their refrigerator compressor died and they have no back-up. We lost our freezer, but still have our refrigerator. Their refrigerator and freezer were all one unit so this means nothing cold on Constance for months to come. It is doubtful that they can get anything repaired or installed in Madagascar. They have thought about Mayotte in the Comoros as a possibility, so we’ll start checking that out. It is less than 200 miles from Madagascar to Mayotte and yachties sail between the two all the time, so we shall see. Otherwise, it will be South Africa in October before they will have cold anything again. After the loss of our freezer, I am now very grateful for each day that we have refrigeration, but it can go in a minute.
by Judy Handley | May 20, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 206, Year 5: Fantastic Day on Ile De La Passe
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Weather: Cloudy Early with Sprinkles Turning Sunny; SE Winds 10-12
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
Humans rarely visit Ile De La Passe these days and the coconut crabs have taken over the island. At one time you could anchor off that island, but with the new regulations, anchoring there is off limits. This year, only Susan Margaret has visited there in their dinghy until yesterday when Rob and Kate of Aries Tor visited, and then today when all the boats in the Takamaka-Fouquet anchorage invaded and had our pot luck luncheon in the camp there. The island is a little beauty and the coconut crabs are crawling every where. There are big ones, little ones, brave ones, shy ones; crabs that try to get into your backpack and crabs that actually follow you as you move and try to jump on you. The coconut crabs we have seen to date are either small and live in borrowed shells like hermit crabs or are huge, carrying their own armored shell, and stay well hidden in their hidey holes. But in addition to this, Ile De La Passe has an army of ‘juveniles’ who bravely walk around the island. Cut the top off a green coconut to drink the water and as soon as you put the coconut down, you have about twenty little guys attacking the coconut and then along comes one of the ‘juveniles’ to help himself and the smaller guys scatter hither and yon. It was a full day’s entertainment just watching this. In between watching coconut crabs, we soaked in the beauty of the view of the entire Salomon Atoll, chatted with fellow cruisers like we had never seen other people before, and ate a scrumptious pot luck luncheon. There are seven boats here now and the one thing we know about each boat is that someone on board really knows how to cook. All of the offerings were delicious. But I think we were all starved for more than food. Getting together and talking with new people was wonderful. What an interesting group. You’ve already been introduced to Ed and Lynne of Constance, and I’ve mentioned John and Sue of Susan Margaret and the youngsters, Kate and Rob on Aries Tor., but Kea and Mr. Curley are new to the anchorage. In fact, Dominique and Dominique (husband and wife) of Kea just came in this morning. They are from southern France and both speak very good English. Mr. Curly came up from Boddam two days ago and Kathy and Richard are a wealth of information as they have been coming here for years. They have been here in three different boats over the years, coming the first time in 1985. Kathy loves studying the flora and fauna as much as I do and I will definitely be going over to Mr. Curley in the morning to look at their photo albums from their years here. After lunch, John and Susan, the male Dominique, and Kathy and I tromped back through the island to the old well and a beautiful hardwood forest. Late in the afternoon, Mark, Kate of Aries Tor, and I jumped in the water and snorkeled around a reef on the southern end of the island. When we got back to shore, it was late in the afternoon and time to head home. We had taken Ed and Lynne and on the way home, we decided to head into the pass between Takamaka and Fouquet and do a drift snorkel holding on to the dinghy. We did this once, and then twice because it was fantastic. There were schools of fish of different kinds and the most exciting thing for me was that we saw anemonefish. Nemo lives here, too! So I will be going back to the pass at high tide as many chances as I get over the next two weeks. The current moves you along quickly, so I’ll just have to do it over and over and over to get the full effect.
by Judy Handley | May 19, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 205, Year 5: Something’s Fishy
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Weather: Sunny; SE Winds 10-12
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
Afternoon fishing is certainly turning out to be more profitable than morning fishing. Ed and Mark went out this afternoon and Mark came back with another beautiful Wahoo and Ed with a nice, big Yellowfin Tuna. In addition, Mark lost two big fish which put up too good of a fight. I wish I had video of Mark’s rendition of what it is like out there, speeding along at about 15 knots in the dinghy, holding on for dear life, bouncing up and down wildly in the waves, and then trying to get a fish in the dinghy. And of course, both Mark and Ed always get a strike at the same time, so it leaves no one in charge of the dinghy. I might ask Mark to re-enact his version of this tomorrow and try to catch that on video for posterity. Mark’s comment tonight was, “Wouldn’t it just be easier to go to the grocery store?” But the answer is no, because we couldn’t possibly afford to buy the amount of fish we get here, especially not the sushi grade tuna. We are having sashimi for dinner tonight. I am also baking bread for tomorrow’s picnic lunch on Ile de Passe and after sashimi, we’ll have hot bread. Dinners in Chagos are always a bit different since there is no grocery store and the supplies are dwindling, so you eat what you have.
Otherwise, the day was uneventful. We worked on our Outlook contacts again and got through the letter Q today. So we are certainly more than half-way there. We are finding that we don’t have sufficient information entered on many of our sailing friends, so we have to stop and find their boat cards to enter the information. This takes longer, but in the end, we might really have an address book that is up-to-date and usable. Tomorrow, weather permitting; we are headed to Ile de Passe, the island out at the pass which is about two miles from here. There is an old camp there that John and Sue on Susan Margaret have been up-grading. The old camp has a good well and sounds like a lovely place to spend an afternoon, so around 11:30 am we’ll head that way along with Constance, Susan Margaret, Ventana, and Aries Tor. It’s pot luck, so I’ll report on that tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning we will also go over and invite Mr. Curley to join us. This is a boat that spends months here almost every year and Rich and Kathy moved up to this anchorage from Boddam a day or so ago. Tomorrow morning Peppe and Bob of Far Niente will be leaving for Madagascar. The first boat that left for Madagascar this year, Nepenthe, is now in Mayotte having alternator problems. They were never planning to stop in Madagascar as their destination is Tanzania, but Far Niente is headed to the anchorages on the northwest side of Madagascar, so we will look forward to reports from them as to the passage and the anchorages. In only fourteen days, we will be headed that way.
by Judy Handley | May 18, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 204, Year 5: Plugged In
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Windy
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
Today was a computer day. I have been sitting on the settee looking at a computer screen ALL day. I did do a laundry in the early AM, but that was it. The Pacific Marlin was anchored here for the day but didn’t visit any of the boats. But I only knew that because I was hanging out the laundry. Otherwise we stayed inside being busy, busy getting our contact lists in sync. Mark has a computer, I have a computer, and we have a back-up computer. I make changes on my computer and Mark the does on his and then we don’t know who has the most up-to-date information. So we went through one contact at a time comparing notes. We quit that job at 2:00 pm to have a late lunch and we were only through the letter ‘J’. So we will have to spend another morning finishing that job. Mark then went over to Constance to help them set up the navigation program, Maxsea while I spent my afternoon transferring emails that I want to keep from one computer to another. These were jobs we planned to do while here, but it seems such a shame to spend such beautiful days inside. Maybe we’ll wait and finish the job on the next rainy day.
by Judy Handley | May 17, 2010 | Chagos, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 203, Year 5: In Search of Roosters and Wrens
Date: Monday, May 17, 2010
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; Winds SE 10-15
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
Compared to last night’s great get together, today was very slow and quiet. Mark installed a new version of MaxSea, the navigation software we use, on our back-up computer. He wanted to see how it works before installing it on the main computer, but he likes and will update the Acer later. We also spent a good chunk of the morning working on routing for the next few months. We are trying to get some idea of when we will realistically reach Brazil next spring. So we checked the logs of friends who traveled from here to there this past year and compared their timing to our projections. Basically, it looks like we will arrive in Brazil in early March. I also worked on naming photos. I’m trying to learn what I can about the plants here so I can name them properly, but we have very little information. But still I enjoy searching through the books we do have and get very excited when I find the actual name of a bush or a tree.
In the afternoon we took a walk down the middle of Takamaka. We have walked around it, but today we were in search of roosters and little wrens with red heads. John of Susan Margaret has seen both, but we saw only chicken scratchings in the dirt and no little wrens of any sort. We did find stands of old and young Banyan trees with their aerial roots falling to the ground from heights of about 80 feet. Sometimes only the huge trunk bases of trees were left and you could easily fit five or six people in the hollow trunks. We found grassy clearings surrounded by bushes and small trees of various types, but mostly we found groves of coconut palms with years of fallen coconuts and palm fronds forming a tangled mess. When we tried to get back out to the beach, we were met by a solid wall of greenery, so we walked along the ‘wall’ until we found a little clearing that led us to the camp on Takamaka. From there it was a short walk back to the dinghy, but because it was high tide, we were wading in water instead of walking on a sand beach. We hadn’t walked far when we heard the unmistakable squawk of a Red-footed Booby. We looked up and there was a mother on a nest with the youngest baby we have seen yet. It was just a ball of white fuzz but eventually it became curious and stuck its little head out to see who was visiting. If this little guy falls out of the next at high tide, he’ll be in the water, so I hope he holds on tight. The nest is just a smattering of twigs that you can see through, but it is enough to provide a platform for mother and baby. What a joy it is to see these beautiful creatures. For me it has been one of the highlights of our time in Chagos. When in the Galapagos I bought a t-shirt that said, “I Love Boobies.” And I do-especially the babies. (Mark says he does too!) There they were blue-footed, here they are red-footed, but both have very cute babies.
Last night we read the grouper feed in the evening, so Mark and Ed tried to catch one of the groupers that we know live on the reef in front of Windbird. No luck. So if we are going to have our picnic lunch of grilled fish on Ile de Passe it looks like we will have to go out there, fish outside, and hope we catch lunch. If not, we’ll all return a bit hungry, so here’s hoping.
