Pamina38 Weblog

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Seeing a display of nature for the time can often be unforgettable experience. However, seeing a p henomenon  when you have no idea what you are witnessing is unnerving. Describing it, having no parallels, is confounding . A few days into our Indian Ocean crossing, we saw something extraordinary with 3 nights remaining. The passage had been terrific. We were making up for a late start from Opua in early July, and intended to cross the Indian Ocean before the cyclone season. We sailed to Vanuatu - first Tanna and then on to Port Vila. Leaving Vila on 21st July, we left our destination open, waiting to see what the conditions would bring. The first few days were fairly bumpy, winds on the beam in the 25kt range with awkward swell.  We arrived at the Torres Strait at the Pandora Passage (named after the ship sent to recover the Bounty mutineers, which foundered in the straits) mid-morning on Aug 1st. The 8 hours until dusk were quite easy, as winds were light and we were sailin...

The strange sea phenomenon we saw in the Indian Ocean (see the Journal entry from Aug 2006 “3900nm, 27 days at sea”) has been observed many times. For example, this account in from June 1854 in the same part of the Indian Ocean : June 1854. South of Java . Aboard the American clipper Shooting Star . Captain Kingman reporting: "The whole appearance of the ocean was like a plain covered with snow. There was scarce a cloud in the heavens, yet the sky...appeared as black as if a storm was raging. The scene was one of awful grandeur; the sea having turned to phosphorus, and the heavens being hung in blackness, and the stars going out, seemed to indicate that all nature was preparing for that last grand conflagration which we are taught to believe is to annihilate this material world." and " August 13, 1986 . Northwest Indian Ocean . The entire sea surface took on an intense white glow which was not unlike viewing the negative of a photograph." from http://www.sci...

Two weeks into our passage from Nonsuch Bay , Antigua to the Azores , we had less than 300nm to Flores and about 400nm to the main harbour, Horta. We were relying on weatherfax for short-term forecasting and listening to Herb Hilgenberg, a Canadian weather expert who was routing some near-by boats via SW radio. That evening (Sunday), Herb advised that a low pressure system was expected to form over the Azores by the middle of the week, bringing wind to 45 knots from the North West . A day earlier this had been forecast to bring wind in the 25kt range – quite an increase. With strong winds forecast, we ruled out heading to Flores as the habour is small, and would be upwind in a gale. The winds would also be gale force around the time we got to Horta. Not liking the changing forecast for a system due to form in only 2 days time, we reluctantly diverted to the NW, to wait for the low-pressure to form and then move east. Still wondering if we had done the right thing, we tun...

When we left St Helena in early March, we had several options for our destination: - Ascension Island about 700nm - Forteleza , Brazil about 2000nm - Fernando de Noronha , Brazil , about 1700nm - Tobago about 3,500nm. Ascension was ruled-out after a few days’ sailing as we were only getting into the passage at this stage and it seemed easier to keep going. We began to have some problems with the SSB around this time, which meant poor contact with Petrel and La Familia who were doing the same passage. Winds were light, but consistent, and we were making fairly good progress towards the equator. We hit the doldrums around 2S, 34W. Light winds, one large thunderstorm during the day followed by electrical storms at night. Listening to Herb on Southbound 2, we heard that the ITCZ (aka the doldrums) extended to about 4 N. Not having enough diesel to get to 4 N, we spent a few days sailing due North in light winds changing from twin sails to...

We arrived in St Helena early on 24 th Feb. St Helena rises, as Darwin promised, like a fortress from the sea. The first view of the tall volcanic cliffs and sparse vegetation hides a lush interior of rolling hills. The interior is dotted with pretty cottages and the occasional Georgian house with cows grazing in green pastures – not unlike rural England . Interestingly, this similarity extends beyond the landscape to the building style, culture and people. Politically, St Helena is a British Protectorate and its inhabitants enjoy full British Citizenship. Most islanders we spoke to had lived and worked in Britain for many years and many still had children working overseas (including in the Falklands Islands and Ascension Island ). Architecturally, Jamestown, the only town on the island, with its with many brightly painted buildings, beautifully kept public garden and old parish church is considered one of the best preserved Georgian towns. In terms of...

South Africa cannot be described as a cruising destination. There is plenty to see and do on-shore, but the objective of most boats is to get around Cape Aghulas without getting caught in a strong south westerly. The route from Richards Bay is via Durban , East London , Port Elisabeth and Mosselbaai. Of these it would be possible to leave a boat for a long stay in Richards Bay , Durban or Port Elisabeth. However, for whatever reason, the marinas are not always well organised and generally don’t take bookings. Richards Bay The options for cruising boats are - the public quay in the small craft harbour, - - the Tuzi Gazi marina in the small craft harbour and - Zululand yacht club which is the most pleasant place to leave a boat. Durban A well organised, secure, protected marina. Water but no electricity. They don’t take bookings, but the staff are helpful. There are two yacht clubs – the Point YC and the Royal Natal YC who give free membership to visitors ...

Bazeruto to Richards Bay (10th Nov to 13th Nov) When the wind came round to the north, we set off on the last 500NM to Richard’s Bay, South Africa. As we all had to time our departure for high tide at 5.30am, we set off together and sailed in close proximity with other boats for the time since crossing the Atlantic in 2003. Rather than rely on our SSB net to catch up on each other’s position, we could now see the other boats and chat on the VHF. Not only did this make the passage more sociable, it also made it that little bit more interesting as the boats kept an eye on ‘the competition’. Pamina did well: having started as the last boat to leave the anchorage, we nudged ahead of the fleet (including Eagle Wing – an historic moment!). We took an outside line from Punta Zavora to Punta St Lucia, which (by good fortune) meant we avoided adverse current and were able to make our course as the wind shifted to the south, unlike the boats closer to shore. Our arrival into Richard’s Bay once ...

We started out sailing the rhumb-line from Cap St Andre to Richards Bay, but when a south westerly of 25kts was forecast we decided to divert to Isla Bazeruto in Mozambique. It was a good decision, as the forecasted winds increased to 35kts. Having had light winds for most of the passage, we knew we would still be at sea when the winds came, but were hoping to duck into safety before the worst of the winds arrived. During the night before our arrival we had 10 hours of wind in the 25-30kt range. We put-up the storm-jib for the second time this year – more to save some wear on the ageing Genoa than because the conditions necessitated it. We made good progress overnight, sailing at 6-7kts, and arrived at the cape at the north of Bazeruto at 9am on Monday 6th November, an hour before the flood-tide. Having made it to Bazeruto ahead of the worst winds, we were initially relieved but then surprised by the unpleasant conditions inside the bay - there was little shelter from the strong southe...

We arrived in Nosy Mitsio on 10 October and anchored off a long sandy beach that stretched across a large bay. At first glance, Nosy Mitsio does not appear inhabited, as the main village is in a neighbouring bay and there are only two settlements hidden by the shrubs beyond the beach. There are no roads, vehicles or traffic and from what we could see neither electricity nor running water. It was a wonderful spot to rest and dry-off after our cape rounding. The golden beach, deep green water, red earth and dry heat made us feel we had arrived in Africa. We stayed two nights at Nosy Mitsio and then headed south to Nosy Be (“Nosy” means island in Malagasy, “Be” means big) to meet with our friends. We sailed along the coast, making two stops at Nosy Sakatia, a small resort island off the West coast of Nosy Be, and overnighted at Nosy Tannikelli, just outside the entrance to Nosy Be. At Tannikelli we had rendezvoused with Eaglewing whom we had not seen since May 2005 and had been trying to ...

We greatly enjoyed our two weeks in Chagos. Now our preparations were completed and all we needed was some decent wind before heading off for Madagascar, our last stop in the Indian Ocean before arriving in South Africa. For the last two days, the winds had been light and in the south. We always want at least a couple of days with good winds in order to get a good start. On the third day the winds filled in as forecast and we were off on Friday 29 September. We left the anchorage off Takamaka Island and sailed quickly across the atoll for the pass. While I was standing on the bow as a look-out to check for coral, Henrietta put out the fishing-line. Before we got to the pass we hooked and landed a large trevally. About an hour later as we sailed south along the outer edge of the atoll, past the Saloman Islands, we caught a yellow-fin tuna. This gave us a great start on fishing and meant we could take in the line for a day or two. For simplicity's sake, our gear is basic, and not ver...

We arrived in Chagos on 16 September, after a pleasant if slow passage from Cocos Keeling. Due to the light winds preceding our arrival we missed Eagle Wing and Petrel whom we had been 'chasing' since leaving NZ by only a few days. They had stayed 6 weeks in the atoll and delayed their departure to meet up with us, but left for Madagascar in a good weather window before our arrival. Chagos is an island group that marks the middle of our Indian Ocean passage. The group is a British Indian Ocean Territory, whose indigenous population was re-located. Part of the island group is now leased to the US who maintain a large base on Diego Garcia, in the south of the group and the rest of the group is administered by a British representative located at the base. Diego Garcia is off-limits for yachts, even in a genuine emergency yachts are discouraged from approaching the base (assistance will be "considered"). Chagos is famous amongst sailors as being home to a semi-permanent c...

We left Cocos on Monday 4th September, having spent nine wonderful days enjoying the cruising life: snorkelling, sundowners, beach barbies and the odd chore. We were sad to leave, as Cocos had quickly become one of our favourite anchorages. Cocos is a 'fork in the road' for cruising boats in the Indian Ocean, as it is here that boats must decide whether to sail the northern route (via Chagos and Madagascar) or the southern route (via Rodriduez/Reunion/Mauritius) to South Africa. The distances for either route are roughly the same, however Chagos lies at 5� South, which puts it in the ITCZ (the doldrums), while Mauritius lies firmly in the trade winds. We chose to take the Northern route, mainly because Chagos is famous amongst cruising boats as being home to an almost permanent community of long-term cruisers who have 'colonised' the otherwise no longer inhabited atoll, often returning year after year or even settling for long periods (up to 18 months or more). At this ...

We were looking forward to our arrival at Cocos Keeling, as we had heard fantastic reports and were almost wondering how it could live up to its reputation. Cocos was discovered in 1604 and was often visited by sailing ships in subsequent years as it is located close to the trade-wind route from Australia to Europe. Its relatively wide entrance pass (1nm) meant that sailing ships could enter easily. The island was first settled in 1826 by the Clunies-Ross family who arrived to set-up a copra plantation and proceeded to settle the island with Malay labourers. As with all atolls, the islands are barely visible until you are quite close as there is little more to see than beach and palms. At the entrance to the lagoon the depth changes from ocean depths to tens of meters very quickly, with dramatic changes in the water colour. Darwin, in "The Voyage of the Beagle" (1831-1836), described the scene on entering the pass as follows: "The shallow clear and still water of the lag...

On our approach at Christmas Island, we were struck by the rugged beauty of the island - lush rainforests, clear green waters and only few signs of development. Admittedly, the most visible sign of such development is the large Phosphate Works Ship Terminal that dominates the harbour at Flying Fish Cove. Most reports fail to look beyond the obvious and fail to mention that over 60% of the island is natural rainforest protected by the Australian National Parks with many isolated beaches, clear waters, excellent snorkelling, and rich wildlife, including many unique species. Culturally, Christmas is interesting - the population is 70% Chinese, 20% Malay and 10% Caucasian (mainly Australians and Kiwis). Even though the different ethnic groups live in different villages, so that the Chinese live mainly in Poon Saan, the Malay in Kampong and the Caucasians either in Settlement or Silver City, Christmas seems multi-cultural and islanders mix easily in public - in the shops, restaurants and on...

Port Vila to Christmas Island Leaving Port Vila on 21st July, we left our destination open, waiting to see what the conditions would bring and how we felt. The first few days were fairly bumpy, winds on the beam in the 25kt range with awkward swell. It was almost a week before we got clear of the ITCZ conditions (squalls, rain, clouds) and saw some sunshine. At this stage we were only a few days from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea where some friends on "Rolling Home" were heading. Port Moresby has a surprising good reputation for being a safe harbour and a good place to reprovision, however with the wind improving, we decided to keep heading westwards. We reached Pandora Passage (named, presumably, after the ship sent to recover the Bounty mutineers, which foundered in the straits) mid-morning on Aug 1st. The 8 hours until dusk were quite easy, as winds were light and we were sailing "fast and free". At sunset we began the SSW leg through the "Deep Water" ...

The Torres Straits is where we leave the Pacific Ocean. Having entered via one of the man-made wonders of the World (the Panama Canal), we leave it by the Barrier Reef, one of Nature's wonders. We entered the Strait at Pandora Passage having come south of Eastern Fields. We then left East Cay to starboard and went between Laxton and Brown reefs where we joined the Deep Water (DW) Passage. The winds were in the normal 20-25kt range from the SE, so we were close hauled for the next 10 hours or so, until we got to Kircaldie Reef. Sailing was fast however as there is no swell to absorb speed. We were often over 7kts - even when fairly well reefed. There was very little shipping: we saw two ships between Eastern Fields and Pandora Passage and two more within the straits - one eastbound, one westbound. However we did see many fishing boats at night (the normal story - just 2 on Conor's watch, 11 on Henri's!). These were mainly in the vicinity of Stephens Is and Campbell Is. In th...

We were not sure what to expect when the invitation to attend a circumcision ceremony was extended to us on our arrival in Tanna. From talking to locals over the next few days we gathered that the custom is for all boys in the village to be circumcised, following which they spend two months in the bush away from the village looked after by their grandfather. If they approach the village during this time to collect food, their approach is announced by loud horns to warn all women to remain indoors. Their eventual return to the village as "men" is celebrated with the circumcision ceremony. Of the many ceremonies that the Ni-Vanuatu celebrate (for example. first shave, first menstruation, marriage etc) the circumcision ceremony is possibly the most significant and extravagant. It is customary that the boy's family provides food and drink for the whole village and neighbouring villages - in practice this means that the preparation may start years in advance with the purchase ...