Day 81, Year 5: Ready for the Indian Ocean Adventure
Date: Friday, January 15, 2010
Weather: Mostly Sunny Day; ENE Winds 15-20
Location: Patong Beach, Phuket Island, Thailand

We had one more exhausting day getting ready for our Indian Ocean adventure (I’ll call it the IOA.). We started with an early morning engine check of all fluids-oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, and starting battery water. I baked bread, made yogurt, fried salmon cakes, and boiled eggs, while Mark took down the back awning and tied things down on deck. Then we made a quick run to town for more water and beer, and were ready to go to town by 2:30 to see the movie Avatar–fabulous. So we are now as ready as we are going to be for the IOA. Cochin is 1500 miles from here and it will take us about two weeks to get there. We will be traveling with Ed and Lynne on Constance and a multitude of other boats that are already out there and more that are leaving every day. The frontrunners, Shiva, Shirena, and Wild Card have arrived safely in Uligan in the northern Maldives and there are at least twenty more boats on their way. Not sure exactly which boats are going to the Maldives and which ones are headed to Cochin, but we soon shall find out. We loved Avatar and it was the perfect movie to see before starting out on a passage that has the possibility of being a little rough at times. Now that we’ve seen the movie, we’ll just gather our forces and fight back!

Donna and Gerry of Scot Free came sailing in here early this afternoon, so we had one last farewell dinner together, along with Constance. Gerry finally talked to Todd of Salmonberry who now tells him that he left the charts on his motorbike in Patong Beach where both charts and bike were stolen. Todd never did return to his boat in Ao Chalong, so finally Donna and Gerry gave up and left. I’m not sure we have heard the end of that saga, but Donna and Gerry just want to put it behind them. We plan to leave around 8 am in the morning, so it is time to head to bed and get one last restful night’s sleep at anchor. After that, sleep comes in three hour stints until we reach India.