Day 14 Arrival to Rodrigues Isl. “I See Land”
We are currently 30 miles off the coast of Rodrigues Island and hope should arrive in 6 hours. Once again we will have to go through customs, health, immigration, and check in with the port master. I am hoping for a market and a burger right off the dock for this evenings activities. I am also excited to report that we caught a Maha Maha last night and ate fish again after 6 days. I never felt so full off that protein. Now we have the challenge of piloting through the harbor entrance with little to no information, should be good fun. Slow as she goes to the finish line of our 2200 nautical mile passage from Cocos Island 14 days ago, safety first.
Current Position: 19deg 32.8min S, 63deg 52.0min E, 00:25utc, COG 288deg-M, SOG 5.9, WS 14kts, WD ESE, Swell >1meter, Depth 610 meters, Sunny
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 13 Passage to Rodrigues “another wheele has fallen off the Cart”
At around 22:00 Ben was trapped in the bathroom. Yes that’s right the door hardware broke and Ben was trapped until he crawled out the side door. After a half hour of work I managed to get the door open and discovered that the internal hardware was broken. I replaced it with a different door hardware but in the process the door slammed shut on my bicep pinching my skin into the door and frame causing a large blood blister that I can now add to my list of injuries. THe good news is the door hardware works now. But the fun events were not over for myself. I was awoke by Sarah because my alarm failed to work and she said that a squall was coming and I should come on watch. The squalls came and the wind would change by 30 degrees to the north then swing to 30 degrees to the south with wind speed from 8 knots to 30 knots. So far in the last 3 hours we have made 6 nautical miles of headway. Yes, I need a BEER!
Position Current: 23:54utc, 19deg 08.9min South, 66deg 07.7min East, SOG 6.9kts, COG 290deg-m, Swell 2 meters, Sunny, ws 19kts
Day 12 Passage Rodrigues Isl “Wheeles Falling off the Cart”
Well it has been one of those days and mornings. Last night we lost another winch handle in a squall, but the good new is it was a old one. But the worst thing is that our Raymarine Autopilot has stopped working correctly despite what the manual instructs. So lite wind sailing will have to be done by hand again o well. I also lost another fishing lure. The only good news is that I fixed the galley stove knob and can turn the burn on with the little black knob and not with my finger tips. The ocean today has decided to be very overcast and packed full of heavy rain squalls with 30 knot winds. After rolling out of my bunk to the floor I decided to just go back to bed and got hit by a ice cube tray, I am not sure why they are stored in the V-berth. LIfe at sea today is very sucky!
Current Position: The Indian Ocean! 23:45UTC 18deg 43.6min South, 68deg 44.2min East, SOG 7.7KTS, COG 268deg, SW 20 to 30 kts, Rain, Swell 2 to 3 meters, 2 days remain
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 11 Passage to Rodriguies “Squalls 30+kts”
We had a very exciting night with wind speeds up to 45 knots true and mixed in squalls with 12 meter swells. We are all doing well onboard and we are making great time with 3 to 4 days left. Our biggest challenge in this strong wind is eating in the cockpit. Every time I tried to get food from my bowl the wind would blow the food off my fork and the ocean would add salt to my dish yum!
Current Position: 18deg 27.3min S, 71deg 09.2min E, COG 274deg-M, SOG 6.6kts, WS 30kts, Swell 4 to 8 meters, Depth 3279 meter
Thank you,
Jacques
Day 10 Passage to Rodrigues Ils “Cought a Bird”
Well I lost two fish and my gear again, but caught a bird that we let go. The bird flew into the fishing line this time and that seems to be all that we can catch. The trade winds are blowing pretty good now and will for the next 48 hours reach 25 to 30 kts. The increased wind is building up our swells and make life onboard one rolling bumpy unconformable mess in 4 meter swells with mixed in 10 meter swell for fun. Like always we will continue on and hopefully the weather will chill out. Everybody is in there groove now or trying too. But between loud banging waves against the haul and violent pitching waking us every few hours or minutes we are doing very well. Just need a little fish.
Current Position: 01:42UTC, 17deg 49.0min South, 73deg 44.2min East, COG 276deg-M, SOG 8.4kts, Depth 3480 meters, Swell 5 to 10 meters, Sunny, WS 30kts
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 9 Passage to Rodrigues Isl “Live The Dream CALLED LIFE”
As I have been sailing for the last two years around the world I have a large amount of time to reflect on issues that I have chosen to address. Some subject are for personal understanding of the world and things that effect me and how to deal with it. Others are subjects that have been enlighten to myself through self study and reading subject matters on science, theology, anthropology, and just human interaction among the international people I meet. On this particular occasion I am pondering my future for when I return to western world in just a few short months in February 2015.
Our consciousness mind begins with a thought that cannot be expressed in language so we think about it for a long time before sharing it. These thoughts consume our time and we began to mold a idea into wards of what it is. The idea of what will make us happy, rich, or just better off. If you don’t follow this idea it evolves into what we call a dream. A one day act that will finally pull us out of what ever is not making your true happiness complete. We label thoughts as ideas that transform into dreams when they don’t happen or seem unattainable. Lets face it dreams die everyday just like the falling stars that we wish upon. We shrug and just go on about our business and hope that one day something will happen to allow us a second chance at life. But really life is a journey not a destination so live it the way you dream it because the final destination rich or poor is back to dust of this earth.
Current Position: 06:29UTC, 17deg 30.6min S, 76deg 01.0min E, COG 276deg-M, SOG 7.9kts, Depth 5840 meters, Swell 2 meters, Sunny
Thank you,
Jacques
Day 8 Passage to Rodrigues Isl. “no fish”
Well we are finally below a 1000 nautical miles to go. Things are going well, Cary made a great fried rice with Bacon Spam yum!Still have not caught any fish for 3 days now and we are all getting a little sad about that. Hopefully with calmer seas and less wind we will have a better chance at catching some fish. The weather is getting colder and I now have to put my storm Jacket on when on watch at night which is pretty sweet, its also nice to sleep in my bunk with out sweating. Look forward to eating some real food.
Curret Position: 16deg 40.6min S, 79deg 33.7min E, 22:41utc, COG 272deg-M, SOG 6.4kts, Swell 2 meters
Thank You,
Jacques
Day 7 Passage to Rodrigues Isl. “1000 NM to Go”
As we descend down the latitude lines of the globe our warm tropical air is beginning to become cool. Last night the air was around 70 degF and made everything feel very damp onboard. Besides everything inside and out of Dragonsbane being covered in a fine film of salt it now has a very damp feeling which makes everything you touch feel oily. We are looking forward to fresh dry sheets, cloths, and a fresh water wash down once we make it to land. As of right now we are half way there and 1000 nautical miles from the nearest land.
Current Position: 16deg 09.5min S, 82deg 12.7min E, 22:37UTC, COG 260deg-M, SOG 6.6kts, Swell 3 to 4 meters, WS 20 to 28kts ESE
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 6 Passage to Rodrigues
Not to much to say but the winds have died down to 20kts and is now on our stern. The swell is a little less 2 meters but is causing us to rock alot based on the new wind direction that change over night. All is well onboard.
Current Position: 00:49UTC, 15deg 30.0min SOuth, 84deg 34.4min East, SOG 6kts, COG 266-m, Swell 2 meters, WS 20kts ESE, Cloudy
Thank you,
Jacques & Crew
Day 5 Passage to Rodrigues “Strong Winds”
During the night the winds were blowing up to 30 knots and continued to blow at 28 knots with 3 to 4 meters swells. The wind is right on our beam and the wave continued to bash up against us making watch’s a very wet and salty experience. I decided to turn Dragonsbane a little to the north so we could absorb the waves hitting the haul. As I slept in the forward V-berth the waves would hit with such force the interior wood panels would make a cracking sound. Dragonsbane is doing great with the current hammering from the Indian ocean and we are making good time. According to the forecast it looks like the winds will lesson and the swells should go down. I am having a great time and we have about 11 to 12 more days till we step on land.
Currrent Position: 14deg 46.3min SOuth, 86deg 58.5min East, COG 254deg-M, SOG 7.1kts. Sunny, WS 20 to 30kts, Swell 3 to 4 meters
Thanks,
Jacques & Crew
Day 4 Pasage to Rodrigues Is. “Wet Waves”
Once again the wind direction is in our favor for speed and comfort. Ok maybe not comfort but we are moving at a steady 7.7kts and Dragonsbane is not pitching as much. The problem with the wind on our beam and the waves more on our forward quarter is that the waves shoot over the deck. That means that all the deck hatch’s must be closed and the temperature inside Dragonsbane is 100 degrees F and rising through out the day. It makes everything a little bit harder to do as you just sweat all day long till about midnight when its cool enough to really sleep. On a good note we caught a another small Maha Maha and one got away after the hook ripped out, but I did get his upper lip.
Current Position: 14deg 02.8min South, 89deg 36.8min East, 01:10utc, COG 265deg-M, SOG 7.7kts, Sunny, Swell 2 meters
Thank You,
Jacques
Day 3 Passage to Rodrigues Is. “Fish On”
The good news is that this morning I caught two little tunas but enough for a good dinner and Sushi rolls. Yesterday was exciting because the swells were large enough that you could sail down into the trough like you were driving down a city block looking at swells on both side of the boat. It was like sailing in tunnels with 4 to 5 meter swells. The wind was up and down between 20 to 30 knots and we all got knocked around the inside of the boat. I suffered a pretty big lump on my back after I fell into the edge of the galley rail. We are all looking pretty black and blue but making it across the Indian Ocean all the same.
Current Position: UTC 22:53 13deg 12.3min South, 92deg 26.3min East, COG 250deg-M, SOG 6kts, Swell 2 meters, Sunny
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 1 Passage to Rodrigues Island “On the Ocean Again”
Well we are underway for a long passage to Rodrigues Island. So far things have been good and the sea is lumpy as normal and the wind is around 18 to 25 knots with mixed in squalls of rain. We tried catching a fish yesterday but one popped off and we had to keep bring in the fish line because the booby birds kept trying to eat our flasher. We are all looking forward to a fish and some protein but for now its rice, beans, and noodles.
On another note our Garmin chart plotter ran out of mapping so I had to wire up my PC computer with CMAP charts to do our navigation with. It should be interesting using my computer instead of the chart plotter but really its about the same thing, you just don’t have the charts at your finger tips. Along with my computer software I am charting our progress on paper navigation charts as always but doing much more often to make sure we don’t bump into anything.
Current Postion: 12deg 09.6min South, 94deg 29.9min East, COG 252-M, SOG 7.6kts, UTC 00:53, Swell 2 to 3 meters, Squally weather
Thanks,
Jacques
Off to Rodreguiz Island 1989 Naticaul Miles Away
After five wonderful days of swimming, and playing in the lagoon off Direaction Island, Cocos Keeling we are make Dragonsbane ready for our 16 day passage to Rodreguiz Island. It should take 16 days to sail across this stretch of the Idian ocean. As always I will post my updates via SSB for you to follow along.
Thanks,
Jacques
Made It To Cocos Keeling Island
After 3 days 8 hours we made our 529 nautical mile passage to Cocos Island. We had a great sail underway and ran down lots of large 4 meter swells with mix squalls. We are in the lagoon anchored off Direction Island swimming off the back of Dragonsbane. Once again we have to figure out the area and see what to do as we relax for the next four or five days before we sails to Mauritius. It should take us 18 days to sail to Mauritius depending on weather and wind angle. So off to the rum first!
Thank you,
Jacques
Day 3 Passage to Cocos Keeling Island
As the wind blows we sail fast to Cocos Island but I don’t think fast enough. We still are riding out the 3 meter swells and averaging 7kts but our wind direction is not helping us. We have to jibe 20 degrees to port then jibe back 20 degrees to Starbroad losing 4 miles in each jibe. So with that in mind we will be arriving in Cocos Island around 20:00 hours tonight. But there is a chance we can still make it in time for the sunset and we will make it into the anchorage, we will see. 57 nautical miles remain.
Current Position: 23:53UTC, 11deg 57.5min South, 97deg 45.9min East, COG 280deg-M, SOG 7.7kts, Swell 3>meters, WS 25kts, Over Cast
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 2 Passage to Cocos Keeling Island
Had a fun day of big 3 to 4 meter swells rocking us all over and strong winds pushing us along at 7 knots. We also got lucky with a nice Maha Maha fish that I cooked up and served with corn bread. As usual it was fun getting your butt kicked around the galley as you cooked up a meal. Currently we are on track to arrive in Cocos Island at 18:00 but I am hopping to improve that time because I cannot enter the lagoon at night. The conditions of the lagoon are unknown to me and therefore I will have to stay out in the ocean for one more night, time will tell.
Current Position: 23:44utc, 10deg 57.1min south, 100deg 29.9min East, COG 259deg-M, SOG 7.3kts, Swell 2> meter.
Thank you,
Jacques
Passage to Cocos Keelling Island Day 1
Underway again and on a true offshore ocean passage. After sailing out from under the shadow of Christmas Island we were welcome to solid 2 meter swell with 3 to 5 meter rolling swells mixed in for fun. The big swells heaved us up toward the sky and then gently lowered us down to earth. Gave us a bit of sea sickness but we are all doing well today. We are making good time averaging 7 knots and should arrive Friday night or early hopefully. I really hate having to heave-too outside the island waiting for the sun to come. But if it happens that way I will just slow our progress to arrive Saturday Morning. Other then rolling seas and great speed the cooking has turned into a bit of a combat cooking situation. Its at least entertaining watching Ben cook last night. He only lost his cookies once but his curry chicken turned out great.
Current Position: 00:02UTC, 10deg 56.8min South, 103deg 7.8min East, COG 256deg-M, SOG 7kts, Swell >2 meters, Sunny Skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Off to Cocos Keeling Today
After a great time at Christmas and enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the local community we are off to Cocos Keeling. It is 527 nautical mile sail and should take us less then 5 days to complete. right now we have a stiff 25 knot breeze that should send us off in a hurry. Looking forward to some heavy wind sailing and see how we preform. Updates on a daily bases as usually.
Thanks,
Jacques & crew
All the wonderful carbs on Christmas Island.
Yup, made it! That is to Christmas Island
Yes, with a fist full of Gin and scuba goggles fitted to my head we are at the Island they call Christmas. I haven’t seen Santa or Reindeer but did see a Buddhist alter and a mosque. Form my view point of shore I can see a Jetty and our good friends from Calico Jack. Tomorrow we will hike to the top of this island and look out into the ocean from which we have sailed. Then Cary and I will descend to the lower 40 feet of ocean with scuba tanks to see what lays beneath its turquoise surface and maybe hug a shark! Till then keep your head up!
thanks,
Jacques and crew.
PS sweet shoot of a sea bath on the Indian Ocean.
Day 12 Passage Christmas Island
We are currently 157 nautical miles from Christmas Island and looking forward to getting off the boat and going for a run. Right now the wind is being a bit light and not very helpful after two days of rolling from beam to beam. Other then calm sea’s and sunny days not to much to tell. All is well onboard.
Current Position: 1:10utc 10deg 41.7min South, 108deg 10.0min East, COG 260deg-M, SOG 5.3kts, Sunny with rain on the Horizon.
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 11 Passage to Christmas Island
Good news everybody the high pressure system seems to have dissolved into a uniform east trade wind and we are now doing 7 to 8 kts down wind. We have 300 nautical miles remaining and should arrive Friday morning if we can keep sailing at 6 kts. It looks like the Indian Ocean will be full of surprises as we continue west to South Africa. Other then that, we had a great spinnaker run all through the night and kept up 6 kts in 3 to 4 knots of apparent wind. Now we fish again for some sushi.
Current Position: UTC22:18, 10deg 48.8min South, 110deg 40.0min East, COG 270deg-M, SOG-6.8kts, wind 11kts, Sunny Skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 9 Passage to Christmas Island
Yesterday I downloaded a weather grib from my SSB radio to my computer to review current weather conditions that exist ahead of our current position. Currently there is a large low pressure system that is dipping down from the equator like a sharp knife. The barometer reading forecasted for the low pressure system is to be 1008MB. Currently the ship barometer is fluctuating between 1014BM and 1010MB witch is astonishing thing to witness. What is more amazing is that on the Pacific ocean the barometer readings would only change by decimal points not whole numbers. Currently as we approach this low the barometer will drop 5 whole bars. Once we are at 1008MB we will be in the middle of the low pressure system and the wind will be a mix of swirling directions and light, but less then 24 hours later a very big high pressure system is charging its way up from the southern Indian Ocean. It is indicated as a barometer pressure of 1020MB with winds 25 to 30 knots clocking from the south to the east direction as it moves by. Currently we have 463 nautical miles to go and ,hopefully we will be at anchor on Christmas Island when this high pressure system runs by. If not it should be lots of fun and get out your board shorts as we will be surfing the 3 meter swell it bring. As for our crew and systems onboard Dragonsbane all is well.
Current Position: UTC 21:33, 11deg 20.1min south, 113deg 26.6min East, SOG 7.4kts, COG 289deg-M, Barometer 1014MB, partly cloudy, Swell 1.5 meter and growing
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 8 Passage to Christmas Island
What an exciting night we had last night. Starting at 01:30am the wind picked up to 18plus kts and we had to get the spinnaker down. We had been running down wind with the spinnaker for almost 15 hours averaging 7 knots in 8 to 12 knots of wind. When the wind picked up as a cloudy front rolled in over head the wind conditions were border line for our current sail pattern. As Ben eased out the pole sheet on the windward side Dragonsbane naturally turned up in the 18kts of wind and caused her to lay down into the ocean. Quickly instructed to turn the helm down wind and pop the leeward sheet all the way off the primary winch, Dragonsbane popped right back up. The spinnaker now flogged out in front of us. Ben snapped on and ran forward to pull the spinnaker sock down and did so. Nothing like a good dose of excitement early in the morning. After switching to a poled jib sail and no main we all settled in for the night. My shift began with company from Sarah as we had the joy of weaving the needle through a maze of 4 ships deadhead in a obvious shipping lane. Its not always fun playing chicken with such large ships but we managed and only came within 0.3 nautical miles to one of the four ships. The rest were easily passed by 1 nautical mile and you had to struggle to see the night watch crews “just kidding”.
Current Position: 21:31utc, 11deg 31.8min South, 115deg 55.4min East, COG 283deg-M, SOG 6.2kts, Swell 1 meter, Cloudy Skies,
Thanks,
Jacques
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