Jume 01, 2007
Bonjour Everyone,
Half way around the world we've discovered Isle Rodriguez. Well, actually, people have lived here since the fifteenth century so we really can't take credit. That didn't stop some of those olden day explorers but we'll just say it's a new discovery for us. It's such a very cool place. We would love to be able to visit often but man it's a long trip, no matter how you get here! It's turned out to be one of our favorite places in the world.
Rodriguez is a very small island, about 10 miles long and 4 miles wide. Half as "big" as Catalina Island. It's situated in the middle of some of the most consistent trade winds in the world. Completely surrounded by an extensive coral reef, there are only a few places where all but the smallest, flat bottomed boats can come to shore. They have a whole fleet of them; little fishing boats with just one sail way up in the bow, and no keel. Most, but not all, have been modernized by the addition of a small outboard motor. Small sailboats drifting in and out from the shores sure adds to the scenery. Not that anything is needed. The island is a cornucopia of awesome scenery. The weathered, rocky shorelines, fringing reef, white sandy beaches, pine covered mountains, rolling hills; they've got it all!
Port Mathurin is the largest town on the island and seems to be where most of the people live. A quick dingy ride to shore and you are right in town. After tying the dingy up we exchange bonjours with many of the people who sit on benches or lean against the rails on the town wharf; a local hang out. From there it's an easy and interesting walk through the small narrow streets lined with colorful houses and shops. To la boulangerie for fresh baguettes or le magasin where they sell everything from groceries to tires. There are a couple of excellent restaurants in town offering French Creole dishes. Lots of savory sauces and fresh, local meats and seafood. Jimmy loves the octopus, a local specialty. Du Quai is our favorite restaurant, where the food is always delicious and everyone's very friendly.
Saturday mornings they have a huge market. All the local farmers come to town. So many fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables! It's hard to choose. They have slaughter houses open during the market. Very, very fresh beef, pork and chicken. You want steaks? They're cut to order right then from a huge slab of beef. Pork "chopped" and trimmed while you can still (almost) hear the poor guy squealing! Huge chicken legs and thighs; the eggs themselves are so large they don't fit in our plastic egg carriers (that's a first!). All local and all excellent.
We explored the island via bus, scooter and foot. Walking along the shoreline; cruising through the mountains; lunch in the small village snack shops; a picnic on the beach; good times. The most wonderful memory of Rodriguez for us, however, will be the people. Everyone is so warm and friendly and helpful. From the first day when we tied alongside the tug at the quay to check in, till we waved goodbye to our friends on the town wharf as sailed away we felt welcome. We've visited a lot of beautiful places in the world. Rodriguez is certainly one of the most beautiful but best of all are the people....they are what make the difference.
Take care of yourselves. We'll be in touch soon.
A revoir,
Jim and Barb
S/V SpanishStroll
Rodriquez Island
May 18, 2007
Bonjour Everyone,
Just as we predicted, we hit the S.E. trade winds at about seven degrees south. The winds were steady, 15 to 20 knots, and the South Equatorial Current kicked in from the east. Almost perfect conditions. We made about 120 miles a day for the rest of our crossing. With the steady winds, our new wind generator kept our batteries plenty charged. Even watched a few movies on the way. Strong steady winds, unfortunately, also tend to result in steeper seas building and they were at least 10 to 12 feet for the last couple of days. Became a little uncomfortable but it was because of the winds that we were able to sail in a more southerly direction and head for a small island, Rodriguez, about 330 miles east of Mauritius.
We had heard from other cruising boats along the way that Rodriguez was beautiful and friendly, and that we should stop there if we could. We checked in yesterday. Alright so far. The officials were all very nice and check in was painless and free. The inner harbor, where you anchor, is carved out of the reef. It's very protected from the swells, but the wind is still strong enough to keep our generator (and us) very happy. Not only are we happy because of the electricity, but winds tend to keep the flies and such moving on by. We pulled away from the dock and anchored at about 01:30 pm local time. After a nice big lunch on board we napped for the rest of the day and night. After thirteen days at sea, it's nice to conk out and not have someone always up on watch and running the boat. It is a little cooler here. Our location is almost 20 degrees south of the equator. Last night we both wanted a sheet to curl up under. Right now at 10:30 am local time, the temp is only 81 degrees.
We've been working on French during our crossing because Madagascar will have mostly French speakers. We were surprised yesterday to learn that the people here speak Creole French and English. We'll be able to practise with them. Deux biere s'il vous plait.
Port Mathurin at Rodriquez Island will be our home for the next couple of weeks. We are getting a slow start this morning but have checked out the island through the binoculars and like what we see. Jim just pumped up the dingy while Barb made muffins and after a quick bite we'll head for shore.... and our next adventure!
Take care of yourselves. We'll be in touch soon.
A revoir,
Jim and Barb
S/V SpanishStroll
At Sea
May 05, 2007
Hello Everyone!,
Our visit to the Maldives turned out to be short and sweet. Leaving Thailand later than we should have; running into the transition period between monsoons and causing us to use way too much fuel, made us a little leery. We were afraid that if we hung around too long, the Southwest Monsoon would really settle in and the west winds and east setting currents would force us back to Sri Lanka! ARRGGGHHH!
What a beautiful little country the Maldives turned out to be. At least the small little atoll that we visited sure is. Addoo Atoll is only 41 miles south of the equator. We expected wild weather; lots of rain and thunder and lightening; especially after our other equator experiences; but it is just beautiful. A little hot, but actually dry with a light breeze, about like summer in Torrance. We don't know if you're familiar with atolls but they're formed when an island with a coral reef around it slowly sinks into the ocean. After the island is gone only the reef remains with a protected lagoon in the center. The shallowest parts of the reef gather the coral sand as it washes to and fro; eventually trees grow and they turn into beautiful islands, flat and only a few feet tall. What they've done here is connect the five main islands that form the west side of the atoll together with causeways so you can travel the eight and one half miles from the south end to the north end by road. Willie DeVille describes one atoll in his song "Flamingo" as "a string of precious little pearls at the end of the world"...that's a perfect description of Addoo....and that's it for the geography lesson ;]
We anchored off Gan Island in the small natural harbor formed inside the reef that connects it to Feydhoo Island. It was interesting just to sit on board and watch the people going by on the causeway. There was excellent snorkeling right off the boat. A very healthy reef with lots of unusual and colorful fish. We took advantage of the cool, clear water to give the Spanish Stroll a good bottom cleaning. Gan Island used to be a British RAF Base before the islands gained their independence. Most of the buildings are still intact and being used as stores, shops, a bank and post office; with a large portion housing a resort called Equator Village. Very lush and tropical.
North across the causeway it's a short walk to the town of Feydhoo where most of the people live. The streets are very narrow and made of coral sand. Many of the houses are made of coral rocks cemented together like bricks. It's very tidy with lots of coconut and banana trees. The people are Muslim and like in Malaysia a little subdued. They're really friendly you just have to smile at them or say hi first. Almost all of the women wear the traditional dress; covered from head to ankle. Hot as it is; some of them are covered with dark or black cloth! The entire atoll (and probably the country) closes down several times a day for prayer. The sing song sound of prayers being broadcast from the various mosks in unison can be eerily beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset. Alcohol is forbidden and so are dogs (unclean). We won't take our religious freedom in America so lightly in the future.
We refueled and re-provisioned from one end of the atoll to the other. We rejuvenated ourselves with the rest and relaxation that we didn't find in Sri Lanka....and on May 3rd at 06:15 UTC we weighed anchor and set sail. The winds are still light and we are still fighting that pesky current, but once further south we should run into the South Equatorial Current and the South East Trades ... and together they'll take us to Mauritius Island just east of Madagascar. It's about a three week trip. Wish us luck!
Take care and we'll be in touch soon,
Jim and Barb
S/V SpanishStroll
Maldives
April 20, 2007
Hello Everyone!,
With no wind and only four gallons of diesel fuel in our tank we were relieved to arrive at Galle Harbor, Sri Lanka. That lasted until we were cut off outside the bay by a military patrol boat (fully armed) and a small (20 foot) skiff with a machine gun on the bow. We were directed to anchor and hire an agent over the radio ($200 U.S.) before entering the harbor. After four hours the arrangements were complete and with two navy officers onboard we were escorted through the submarine barriers by the patrol boat and more skiffs with machine guns. We were instructed to tie up to a huge concrete ships quay protected from our boat by tires. The navy officers were demanding alcohol and tobacco the entire time they were on board. The harbor area, being military, is surrounded by a high concrete wall with gun towers every few hundred feet, machine guns bunkers set up everywhere and an infinite number of the those little speedboats. We had to go through a heavily armed check point on foot to get in or out of the harbor.
Although it rained almost constantly, we were determined to find the "good" in this place and walked all over town. Galle, with its bustling narrow streets, shops, and open fish markets is situated across the street from the bay where colorful boats line the shore. It's a beautiful place with an ancient feel to it. We visited the factory where they process gem stones, make jewelry, lace and beautiful batik wall hangings. The old Dutch fort originally built in 1605, which is really a walled city, was interesting to explore. Unfortunately many of the people are extremely aggressive and didn't give us a moments peace. They seem to see us as $ signs only. We met very few people since our only refuge was back in the harbor area behind the concrete walls. Bringing anything, including diesel fuel, into the harbor is difficult since it has to be bought and delivered by your "agent" (more $) after being approved by the military. We got lucky and were able to buy a fifty five gallon drum of fuel from another boat (the only other boat) who had bought too much.
At about eight pm every night they began detonating depth charges in the harbor to discourage enemy divers from attacking. Tired after five sleepless nights of depth charges and the sound of the Spanish Stroll being bashed on the tires of the quay we were finally fueled up and ready to go. After checking out and convincing the naval officer who sat in our boat demanding a "present" that he was not going to get one we were on our way. We motored the first two days (no wind) through some of the busiest shipping area in the world while being assaulted by intense lightning storms and we were so happy to be out there!
Dropping further south and changing our destination in the Maldives from Male to Gan we avoided the ships and lightning but entered the Equatorial Counter Current which gave us 3 1/2 knots of current and 10 knots of wind right on the nose. With our boat doing 5 - 5 1/2 knots over water we were actually only doing 1 1/2 - 2 knots over ground with a long way to go. Once again we were doing fuel calculations and considering other destinations! Crossing the equator Barb tried a new approach. After our two previous crossings we know Neptune can't handle his alcohol so this time she made a nice pastry. Instead of alcohol we gave him a piece of oatmeal raisin bar and a shot of coffee. No kidding, within hours the wind died and the current slowed and although we only speeded up to 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 knots we could see we would make it with a few gallons to spare. The ocean laid down flat as a lake and about fifty miles out we caught a mahi mahi , a wahu, and a tuna all within a few hours!!! More dolphins than we have ever seen (total!) escorted us in to the atoll while doing flips and jumps we've never seen before; where they shoot straight up and do three or four spiral spins before falling back in!!! Sheer happiness!
Addu atoll, the southern most atoll in the Maldives, is beautiful. We're anchored in a small bay just off the town of Gan. Between the dolphins and the officials, we received a very warm welcome. Palm trees, white sandy beaches. Ahh! back in paradise with a fridge full of fresh fish ;]
Take care and we'll be in touch soon,
Jim and Barb
S/V SpanishStroll
At Sea
April 03, 2007
Latitude: 04 03 N
Longitude: 82 03 E
Hello Everyone!,
The Indian Ocean is so awesome! We highly recommend it! The water is such a beautiful deep blue color..and we've never seen so many dolphins! Over the last 12 days we've enjoyed many beautiful sunsets, sunrises and moonlit nights. Incredible. It's been so calm we've been able to barbecue....excellent for the mahi mahi Jim caught a few days out.
A couple days ago we were approached by a small fishing vessel from Sri Lanka. It's always a little spooky to have a boat approach out in the middle of no where. The six guys on board were just hoping to trade for some cigarettes or booze. They didn't attempt to board and were very friendly and happy and thanked us when Barb snapped off a bunch of pictures of them and their boat.
We've been tweaking our sails constantly, drifting under our spinnaker and just bobbing along for the last week or so. The wind is very light and variable. Mostly from the west... of course, that's right on our nose. The last three days we've only gone 100 nm total. Still have almost half our fuel, but not enough to motor 700 miles to the Maldives. Don't want to find ourselves drifting aimlessly at sea..
Guess we will visit Sri Lanka after all. Changed our course and fired up the Yanmar this evening. Only 150 nm to the Port of Galle on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. We'll top off our fuel and the location should give us a better angle for our southward journey. May eventually get to the Maldives. In the meantime.... we are looking forward to our unplanned adventure in Sri Lanka!
Take care and we'll be in touch soon,
Jim and Barb
S/V SpanishStroll