Monthly Archives: June 2016

9. Indian Ocean

Heading Home

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For a week I did almost nothing but clean the inside of the boat. Plus a little time at the pool, and checking out the nearby restaurants, and half a day of riding around with the Maggie crew to check out the anchorage at Grand Baie. A week wasn’t quite long enough. I had hoped to empty every locker and clean inside. Didn’t get that far. But I cleaned the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the counters, the fridge, the freezer, the settee cushions, the heads (and replaced the diaphragm and valves in the port one). I threw out every bit of food that I thought might go bad or get bugs. I threw out some that I’m not even sure what it was (mysterious looking stuff labeled in mysterious languages). I gave a few items away to the security guards.

I showed our “guardian” – Xavier – how to start the engines, and the starboard one was very reluctant to start. He arranged for a mechanic to come this morning before I left. But of course with the mechanic here, it started right up. Xavier will call him again if he has problems when he comes to give the engines some “exercise.” Xavier also volunteered to spray our tiny ants while I’m away. He seems to know his stuff and be very helpful, which makes it easier to leave the boat unattended. No Regrets and I have been taking care of each other; I’m reluctant to leave her alone.

I planned to leave at 11am for the journey via three buses to the airport. But it was 1pm before I had everything put away and closed up. No matter — my flight leaves late at night so I have all day to make my way there. The bus service is not simple or quick. Yesterday Xavier raised his eyebrows when I told him I was taking the bus, and he quipped, “You better leave now!”

The first bus arrived right away. I was armed with Goggle Maps to see where we were, plus a list of all the stops on the route, up to my stop. I thought I was prepared, but… It was surprisingly difficult to match where we were with the name of a bus stop. Most of the stops have nice rain shelters, but no names on them. And of course you can’t simply count stops, since the bus may not stop at all of them. When I thought we were close, I asked the ticket-taker, who said he’d let me know. Stop after stop went by… Apparently they added a dozen stops not on my list-from-the-internet. He didn’t steer me wrong — when he told me it was my stop, we were in the expected town.

Next I had to walk to the town roundabout to get my second bus. But the town doesn’t seem to have a roundabout! I asked, and two people assured me I was going in the right direction, and the bus stop was just ahead. My next bus was #163, but only some of the buses showed numbers! So I asked another person waiting. “You can take any red bus, but not an express.” Sounded reasonable, but when I started to board a red bus and asked the ticket-taker to confirm the destination, he looked at me like I was crazy, and said no, it doesn’t go there. Then someone directed me to the next bus approaching — an express…#163. That worked.

When I got off after 3 stops, I confirmed that I wanted #198 to get to the airport. Yes. At the stop there was one other person waiting, so I asked if I could get #198 to the airport at that stop. Yes. But after several minutes he said, “To the airport? You need to be on the other side!” Normally I’m very good with my sense of direction, but that doesn’t help much with meandering bus routes.

On the other side I again checked with a person waiting. Yes, you want #198, but it will say Mahebourg – it may not have a number. Many buses went by. Finally a #198. But it didn’t stop! I asked my friend, “Do I need to jump in front of it to get it to stop?” He replied, “It was full.”

Many more buses went by, and along came one for Mahebourg. My friend indicated I should take it. But the ticket-taker said it doesn’t go to the airport; it goes to Magnien. Well, whatever. It was rush hour(s), and I figured I should take what I could get, and figure it out when we get “there.” At the next stop there was a huge crowd. The bus had a sign: Capacity 65 seated, 5 standing. We packed everyone in — to the point that it was nearly impossible for anyone to get out at the next several stops. Everyone (or at least most people) were smiling about it.

I didn’t know it until we got there, but Magnien is where the airport is. As I exited I saw a sign for the airport in 2 kilometers. Figured I’d just walk. But I didn’t want to walk along the highway, and I saw several people walking down a paved path through the sugarcane, so I ventured there. After 100 meters or so I saw a man getting into his car, so I asked if I could get to the airport via this path. No. But he was driving to the airport, so please hop in! The airport was just a stone’s throw over the sugarcane, but it started raining at that moment, so the ride was appreciated. Naturally he dropped me right at the international departures door.

So it only took three hours to get here, and cost about $4 instead of the $60 to take a taxi. Now I have 5 hours before I board, but at this point it’s like I’m on the escalator — just letting it carry me along for the next 30 hours to Boston.

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Condos for sale. Moor your boat right outside. Very protected and secure.

 

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Premises include restaurant and pool.

 

9. Indian Ocean

Le Caudan Marina, Mauritius

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For me, Mauritius has been primarily about getting the boat to a safe place so I can come home, arranging to come home, and getting things ready to head to sea again at the end of August. We are currently parked at a “marina” at the glitzy downtown waterfront. The marina is not expensive, but then again it isn’t much of a marina. It is a small boat basin with concrete walls. Initially we were told there was no room for us here (despite Jimmy assuring us that they were “expecting” the BPO boats). But it is so close to the Customs dock that we walked over and identified a space on the wall, and got the okay to tie there. Occasionally a swell gets in here, primarily from passing ships, which makes it scary to be tied to a concrete wall. After the first night we rafted to another boat, which is far better. But I still didn’t like the idea of leaving the boat unattended here while I return home.

So we took the bus to a private development 15 miles south, that has a marina where sometimes the homeowners sublet their slips on a well protected floating dock. Very secure. Not much in the way of amenities; no showers. And far more expensive than where we are now. But I will feel much better about leaving the boat there. We have arranged to do so, and we will move there in two days. We have hired the “guardian” that Mauritius law requires if the skipper leaves the country. I have jumped through the hoops posed by Immigrations to get the letter that allows me to fly out (took three trips to their office, and once again our boat stamp turned out to be essential). Oh, and I changed my flights so I can come home in time for the family July 4th gathering.

We have arranged to have our damaged daggerboard fixed while I am away. We talked with a sailmaker about fixing our broken spinnaker sock. That didn’t work out, so we are going to use the sock from the old parasailor. We gave the torn spinnaker to the sailmaker, because they said they use the material to make bags and other items. Happy to be rid of it and know that the material will be reused. We talked with a battery company, and decided not to try to replace our batteries here. We took our nonworking computer to a shop; they say the motherboard is shot; they copied all our files off the hard drive. I’ll have to replace the board or the whole machine while home.

We changed the oil in both engines — a job that shouldn’t be difficult, but it is; and messy. We cleaned the stuck valve for the starboard head, and plan to service the port head tomorrow. We repaired a broken support for our cockpit floorboards. After we move the boat (and Tim leaves the next day), I will be doing a lot of cleaning. And attempting to eradicate our infestation of tiny ants. I’m hoping if I can remove or seal up all foodstuffs, and clean as thoroughly as possible, and then maybe spray nasty chemicals around just before I leave, that possibly they will be gone when I return…

So…we haven’t seen much of the island of Mauritius. We are in a city, but the well-guarded high end waterfront section, not the REAL city, which is teaming with people and vehicles. Our “tours” so far have consisted of our bus adventure, and walking through the city to get to Immigrations. I don’t much care about sightseeing here, but I know there are some nice places, and I feel like I’m not doing the country justice. I guess that’s why we visited the delightful part of Mauritius that is called Rodrigues! I also feel a little bad that my new crew coming in August won’t have time to see much of this island. But we will have some fun in the French island La Reunion, which is only an overnight sail away, and Luc will be there with a slate of activities!

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Approaching Mauritius

 

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Approaching Port Louis

 

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Clearing in at the Customs dock

 

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Rafted to Keyif in the marina

 

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Our view

 

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This boat has an all women crew from the Indian navy. I’m told that the skipper did a solo circumnavigation.

 

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I like that the working waterfront is visible across the way from the touristy waterfront.

 

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In addition the the restaurants, bars, food court, crafts shops, banks and boutiques, there is this.

 

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Also some interesting art

 

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And performances

 

9. Indian Ocean

Approaching Mauritius

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Tonight is our third and final (barring surprises) night of this hop from Rodrigues to Mauritius. The passage has been pleasantly uneventful. We had a steady 20 knots for the first half, and we did an easy 6 knots with just the jib. Today the wind went lighter, and we flew our small spinnaker. Tonight the wind has nearly died, as predicted, and we are motoring — probably for the remaining 80 miles. Easy going. Beautiful night sky.

It makes one think, this being our last night at sea. Tomorrow we will be clearing in and getting settled. Then TC’s priority will be to get on a plane and be gone. Tim will have a week to help with boat tasks, and then he’ll be gone. I have another 3 weeks to deal with boat tasks, and then I’ll be gone. I won’t spend another night at sea for two and a half months. For Tim it will be over 6 months.

Mauritius is a major stop on our map. I consider it the two-thirds point of the circumnavigation. Eight time zones away from home. About 127 degrees of longitude. I look forward to taking a break — a summer in Maine. Following that will be an exciting adventure, getting to Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Town. And from there it feels like a walk in the park back to familiar waters. (I may have to eat these words later!)

The most uncertain moment of this hop was actually a crew thing, and it occurred an hour before we cleared out with the authorities in Rodrigues. I should have seen it coming… It started three days before on our island tour by minibus. We were all piling back into the bus after a stop. Tim was climbing into the back as TC got in the front and closed his door…on Tim’s hand. Tim made a lot of noise about it, though he wasn’t really hurt. I’m not certain if TC even knew it happened. Probably he did, and he decided it wasn’t his problem that Tim put his hand somewhere that it shouldn’t have been. He said nothing. The incident seemed to pass, but it came up again a day later — Tim saying to someone else how there was no contrition on TC’s part. At this point I should have seen the similarity to what happened a year ago with Bill. But I let it pass.

As we prepared to leave, Chris dinghied over from Tom Tom to say goodbye, and he jokingly brought up a sensitive topic, asking who signs the papers for the authorities — who is really the captain…? While I was responding that it was purely a matter of convenience that I sign the papers, TC apparently was making comments about my being the real captain, and something disparaging that I didn’t catch about Tim being old. Chris departs, I go below, and then I hear Tim shouting at TC…repeatedly calling him an asshole…and adding that he understands why women don’t stick around with him… I hold my breath wondering what happens next. TC is hurrying silently to his cabin. After a minute I sneak a peek in his direction. He appears to be packing his gear! Oh boy! It’s not that we need him to get to Mauritius, but we have assured the police and immigrations that we are departing with the same crew that arrived. We won’t be allowed to leave without him until he purchases a plane ticket out of the country. Plus, I will be stuck with the aftermath…Tim’s one-sided story, starting with the hand in the door and no contrition.

I wait a few minutes, hoping everyone is cooling off. Then to the pilothouse where Tim is, and ask what happened. He vents, and he seems to relax some about it. Then I stick my head into TC’s cabin, and suggest that he ask Tim what set him off. To my surprise and relief, he cheerfully says that he will. A few minutes later I hear him going up and saying, “Can we clear the air?” And we all get through it. I didn’t hear any “contrition” about the car door though, so that may come up again. But the two of them seem to have gotten on well for the past three days. So many aspects to sailing…

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Someone asked a question about the boats I’ve mentioned, that aren’t in the BPO rally: Gaia, On Verra, Tom Tom, Convivia, and others. Sailors tend to form their own “rally” when not in a formal one (or when the formal one has only two boats in the vicinity). A radio “net” started, as several boats agreed on a time and frequency for staying in communication. Others hear of the net, and join. A “net controller” volunteers to coordinate the radio traffic, which gets tricky as the boats fan out, and some cannot hear others. When boats check in, they report their position plus course, speed and wind conditions. And when someone could be in trouble, like Tom Tom with a broken forestay (and Gaia’s autopilot and engine both failed), everyone looks to see if they can assist. There are about a dozen boats currently tuning in to the “Indian Ocean South Net.” We are the furthest west of the lot; the first to Mauritius. So we will be letting the rest know what we encounter regarding formalities, mooring, etc.

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A common question is what do I do to pass the time on a long passage. My answer has usually been that I love to just watch the waves roll by and enjoy my surroundings. But not so going across the Indian Ocean. A small dose of the waves was enough, and we generally wanted to stay inside the pilothouse. I read five thriller/mystery novels (probably as many as I’ve read in the rest of my life)! They became my “drug” to transport me to another world.