Author: svtrance

Saturday, October 23, Day 1 -10am we departed Titan Marina waving goodbye to friends we made. At the last minute, Falbala decided not to go, but will wait a few days for the high pressure system to pass. Trance is faster than them, we hope to be past most of the strong wind as it rises north.

The day was a pleasant sail cruising just above 7knots. 1-2 ft waves. For dinner I made chicken cacciatore over rice.

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Sunday October 24, Happy Birthday Autumn!

168 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. Still cruising just over 7 knots 1-3 ft waves.

We passed the cargo ship Theben , it’s 656ft long, heading to Reunion. Our closest point of approach was 1.1 miles. This is the fourth ship we’ve seen, the closest one to us.

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We had the code 65 sail up all day. The forecast was steady with light to moderate winds 10-12knots, we decided to keep her up all night. After the sunset, around 8pm, the waves increased a little (3-6ft.), causing the sail to frequently collapse, then she fell in water. This is the fourth time this sail has fallen down into an ocean. The swivel at the top of sail is sewed to the sail and the stitches broke. Dan was able to get the sail out of the water, tied it down for the night.

Monday October 25, Day 3 – Total nautical miles traveled 311, 143 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

This mornings job, spread out the sail to dry, then roll it up and put it away in its sail bag.

The spindle that furls the sail from the top was sewed to the straps. The brown color is oil that leaked out of it.

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Tuesday October 26, Day 4 – Total nautical miles traveled 482, 171 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

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Our chocolate tradition continues. This brand is made on Reunion Island and is the the most popular chocolate there. Tuesday and Thursdays are chocolate days!

The equatorial current splits around the northern end Madagascar. We are in a northerly breeze on the southeast corner of the island and riding in about 3 knots of favorable current with the wind. Averaging 8-9 knots of speed over ground, occasionally hitting 10 knots. Both the main and Genoa are triple reefed. After midnight the wind and waves calmed down considerably.

Wind is coming! We are in a hurry to get around the bottom of Madagascar before the forecasted strong southerly winds develop. As a result we had the engine running overnight to help keep the sails at the desired pace of 7 knots minimum as the winds were light.

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Wednesday October 27, Day 5 – Total nautical miles traveled 655, 173 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. A high pressure system is crossing the bottom of Africa is bringing strong winds up the Mozambique Channel, the water between Madagascar and Africa.

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The big wind has arrived! Forecasted wind from the high pressure system is 25-35 knots. I’m sure that’s what we have (we were unable to get a replacement part for the broken wind indicator in Reunion Island). Sails are both triple reefed, cruising 8-10 knots with 2 knot of adverse current, 12-14 ft waves. We bore away 30 degrees from rhumb line to alleviate boat heal. Not a pleasant sail. It was a horrible 18 hour sail!

In preparation for this wind, Monday I made a cold tuna pasta salad in anticipation we were not cooking, that’s what we had for dinner. When the seas are rough I basically refuse to cook. Plus I think it’s too dangerous to have an open flame when there is this much movement of the boat.

Thursday October 28, Day 6 – Total nautical miles traveled 853, 198 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Welcome to the fun house! That’s what this ride feels like. Pick up the fun house toss it around while squirting a fire hose at it. Speed over ground 8-9 knots, sails are more than triple reefed, the waves are still 9-12 feet, glad I don’t know what the wind speed number really is! By 8pm, the high pressure system had past along with the high winds.

New time zone GMT+2 12:15 pm in Richards Bay, South Africa, 6:16am in Philadelphia, Thursday.

Friday October 29, Day 7 – Total nautical miles traveled 1030, 177 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Pleasant day with warm sunshine. Winds are 10-15, the “left over” big waves have subsided leaving rolling waves at longer intervals.

The nights have been quite cool, temperatures in the high 60’s. We’ve been wearing long pants, sweatshirts and socks with boots!

Chili for dinner, topped with an aged British Cheddar Cheese to warm us up!

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Saturday October 30, Day 8 – Total nautical miles traveled 1191, 161 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. Wind 15-20 knots, cruising speed around 8 knots.

As predicted, at 6pm the wind shifted from northeast to southeast. The main and staysail are in tight, for motor sailing, the breeze is light and at our nose. The wind is forecasted to go south. At this point, we are 137 miles from the destination.

Sunday October 31, Day 9 – 🎃 🦓🦒🐘🦏🐅🦛Day 9 – Total nautical miles traveled 1354, 163 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

We successfully crossed the Agulhas current flowing 2 knots where we were. A waypoint was set north of our destination while crossing it, to avoid drifting too far south and have to sail north against it.

Agulhas current is a warm water current that runs south along the east coast of southern Africa, and is the Western Boundary Current of the South Indian Ocean. It is narrow about 60 miles wide, and fast moving averaging 0.5- 2 knots per hour can reach as high as 5 knots per hour. It is one of the largest western Boundary Currents in the world.

Arrived at the “wall”, International Quay at Tuzi Gazi 4:30 pm. Confined to the boat till after a negative COVID test. There are two other boats on the wall and a submerged sailboat. Total trip time 8 days, 8 hours, 1411 nautical miles traveled from Reunion Island.

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Richards Bay started out as a small fishing village located in the KwaZuku-Natal province. Named for Admiral Sir F. W. Richards, a commander of a Britian Naval Division. Formally known as Mhlathuze lagoon he renamed it after himself. The bay was used as a temporary harbor during the Anglo Boer War of 1879, opposition to British rule was a cause of the war.

Richards Bay has the largest export coal terminal in the world. 65 million tons are exported every year from the KwaZuku-Natal province.

KwaZuku-Natal is close to several World Heritage sites and Big 5 game parks. The Big 5 are Elephant, Rhinoceros, Leopard, Lion and African Buffalo because they the most dangerous and considered an accomplishment by trophy hunters to bring them home.

South Africa became an independent nation in 1961.

Wednesday October 20, farmer’s market day!

Thursday October 21, Happy Birthday Danielle!

On the Indian Ocean crossing we discovered two water leaks in the boat which turned out to be coming in from chain plates. Standing rigging (shrouds and stays) which hold up and secure the mast, are connected to steel strapping attached to the hull. This support system is called chain plates. Dan, with my help, removed the cover plates on the rail, dug out the old material, then replaced with new. This product is flexible allowing for movement. A three day job!

Friday October 22, final trip to the Carrefour for provisioning. Customs should arrive on our boat tomorrow morning,

Saturday October 23, departure day. After 24 days on this beautiful island, it’s time to sail west. We are off to Richards Bay, South Africa. This 1,350 nm passage is expected to take about 10 days… and will complete our Indian Ocean crossing.

If you’d like to track TRANCE during the passage, click this link (sometimes requires a refresh to see the map view): https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Trance

Note: On this page, there will be periodic blog post entries along the way.

You may send an email message while we are at sea to: trance@myiridium.net
Note: text only email message, i.e.: no attachments, no photos, no signature images, etc.

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Wednesday October 13, produce shopping at the farmer’s market this morning in preparation for leaving within the next 5 days. We also turned the boat around, stern in as we are having a few areas welded tomorrow, this way the equipment needed can be on the dock.

We found out later in the day that they don’t allow welding in the basin. We’ll have to take Trance over to the municipal dock around the corner, where it is allowed.

Thursday October 14, Trance got welded today. We had three stainless steel welds that failed when crossing the Indian Ocean, the stern pulpit at the gate, the wind generator mount and the mount that lifts the dinghy motor.

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After the welding was completed we returned to our slip in the marina. The welder had fabricated two stainless steel plates for us, these we put on the bottom as extra stability for both the wind generator and the the radar mounts. I did my first “lazarette dive”, to pull down the wires for the wind generators as Dan attached it to the pole.

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Friday October 16, We attended a going away party for Yann who is leaving on in his little red boat, Monday for Richards Bay, South Africa. Everyone brought hors d’oeuvre, drinks and there was some home brewed beer also. We met lots of wonderful sailors. The party was on the dock by the public boat work area. When it started the rain the tables and people moved under a large catamaran that was on the hard.

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Saturday October 16, Dan went to the top of the mast with help from Didier, to re-thread the Genoa halyard that broke. Our spare halyard used to do this has too much friction for me to to hoist Dan, so we always need to find someone stronger to help. Next time the mast is lowered this issue will be investigated. Our to do list almost completed!

Sunday October 17, together with Magaly and Didier, we drove to an observation point, high on the north side, for the volcano Piton de la Fournaise, 8632ft high. For the past 10 years it has erupted about every 9 months, the last was In April 2021. It is the most visited attraction on Reunion Island. When we arrived the cold fog and mist rolled-in leaving the crater unseen.

There are several educational hiking trails throughout the caldera, as well as tent camping areas.

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Monday October 18, waiting for a weather window to sail to South Africa. There is not much wind here right now, but too much predicted wind 7 days out near South Africa.

Tuesday October 19, Road trip to Saint-Pierre to La Saga de Rhum. The Isautier rum museum and factory. We took a self guided tour of the museum ending at the tasting room where we sampled various rums.

In 1845, the Isautier family business was created. It is the oldest rum distillery and oldest business on Reunion Island, producing award winning spirits in international competitions around the world.

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Sunday October 10, The Cirque de Mafate is a caldera, a large cauldron like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. It was formed from the collapse of a large inactive shield volcano the Piton des Neiges. It is 10,069 feet tall, the highest point in the Indian Ocean. There are over 90 miles of hiking trails in the cirque. Together with Magaly and Didier we hiked a short trail to a lookout.

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Later we all went to the Le Jardin des Tortues, The Turtle Garden. It’s a private collection of turtles and tortoises. We even fed the large tortoises.

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Monday October 11, Magaly and Didier invited us to dinner on their boat. She cooked an authentic French meal for us. For starters, there was Quiche Lorain, Flammiche and Escargot cooked with butter and garlic served with Kir, a French cocktail, a combination of Crème de Cassis topped with Bourgogne Aligoté, a white wine. The second course, Salad with Duck bacon and Rocamadour cheese on baguette slices. Beef Bourguignon was the main course, served with a 2018 Montagne-Saint-Emilion, a red wine blend. For dessert we brought Strawberry Tarts, served with their 1999 Loupiac Chateau des Roches, a dessert wine.

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Tuesday October 12, we met Yann Quénet. A French sailor who is circumnavigating in s/v Baluchon, a 4 meter (13 foot) boat he built. Hyperlinked to his name is an article about him. When in Panama, his boat was too small to transit the canal, so it was transported across by land.

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Saturday October 9, a day trip to Sainte-Suzanne.

First stop the Bel-Air Lighthouse. Built in 1845, it was the first and still is the only lighthouse on the island.

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Next stop, La Vanilleraie Plantation. Vanilla planifolia, a species of vanilla orchid, is the primary source of vanilla flavoring. This plant is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. First introduced in Reunion Island in 1819, however they struggled to thrive because the bees that naturally fertilize the plants do not exist on Reunion. A method of hand pollination was discovered and is still used today. With this discovery, Reunion became the leading producer of vanilla in the world in the late 19th century, exporting 200 tons. Today there are more than 30 vanilla farmers.

Vanilla pods are harvested when a yellow color appears on the bottom of the tip. To prevent the pods from splitting and loosing their flavor, they are blanched in 149 degree water for 3 minutes. A basket is used to immerse the pods in water. Quickly drained pods are placed in storage chests lined with blankets for 24 hours to make them sweat. This steaming process stage will make the color change from green to a chocolate color. Drying the vanilla begins outside with sun drying for about two weeks, the pods are then placed on racks indoors for 2-3 months. The dry vanilla pods are then placed in teak storage chests for a year to mature.

Sizing the length of vanilla pods, less than 14cm are considered inferior, classical lengths 14-19cm and gourmet is a minimum of 20cm.

Depending on where vanilla is grown, the flavor is different. Mexican vanilla is more of a chocolate flavor, Reunion has a prune flavor and Madagascar has a dry tobacco flavor.

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La Cascade Niagara, The Niagara waterfall is formed by the waters of the Sainte-Suzanne River. At a height of about 82 feet, it flows into a pool where you can swim. A popular site for picnics, it is located in the middle of sugar cane fields.

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Sundowners with Aure’Lie and Gilles, they are on a sailboat across from us on the dock.

Thursday October 7, trip into the capital, Sainte Denis. In search of the Camara shop to see if they can fix my Nikon or maybe buy a replacement. Their web site indicated the camera body I was interested in was in stock, only to find out it was in stock in Paris.

Next stop the Tourist Center. We picked up a map of Saint Denis, asked what places they would recommend us visiting. The car was parked and we went for a walk.

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Friday October 8, Falbala arrived this morning! Great to see them again!

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In the afternoon we took another trip to the Carrefour grocery store and took Magaly from Falbala with us.

Thursday September 30, it’s great to back on land again! shortly after docking at the Marina Titan in Le Port, customs officers arrived at the boat. I had previously completed required forms and sent to them via email. This check-in was the quickest ever. Passports stamped!

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Reunion Island has no Indigenous peoples. It was an uninhabited island until 1646 when a group of mutineers fleeing from Madagascar arrived. 20 years later, the French arrived with slaves. Around 1715 there was an economic boom, as a result of coffee exports. In 1763 the population was 22,000 total inhabitants – 4,000 whites, 18,000 slaves. 1796 brought the end to slavery in the Southern Hemisphere. Then in 1802 at the end of the French Revolution, Napoleon re-established slavery. 1807 brought floods and cyclones destroying coffee plants, then sugar cane became the popular crop. 1848 brought the end of slavery, again. 1870 there was an economic crisis with the opening of the Suez Canal, ending the desire for ships to stop at Reunion Island. March 19, 1946 colonialism ends, and Reunion officially becomes a French Overseas Department. The official currency is the Euro, 2013 population 850,000. Today the island is approximately 36% African, 30% European, 30% Indian, 4% Asiatic.

Midmorning we walked to the other side of the basin where there are a few marine stores. Always in search of boat parts!

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the area. Everything was in French, but chef was kind enough to help translate for us. Google translate would not identify the handwritten chalkboard menu.

For dinner, we walked to a tapas bar, Bistrot à l’abordage, for drinks and food.

Friday October 1, laundry day. We actually found a coin operated laundromat! Lately we’ve used laundry services, as that’s what was only available. On our way there we stopped at A laVille du Port for raspberry croissants.

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At the laundromat, I met a woman named Florelle. She was very helpful interpreting the signs. The machines take tokens rather than money, you buy tokens from a coin exchange machine on the wall. We had a lovely conversation via google translate. She grows the most beautiful hibiscus and orchids!

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Saturday October 2, boat washing morning, to get all the Indian Ocean salt off! Later we walked into town with wagon in tow. Destination the grocery store. Nothing we really needed, just wanted to check it out. We did pick-up a few items; eggs, juice, lunch meat, wine. Almost all stores close 1 or 2 hours at noon for lunch.

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Sunday October 3, stores and restaurants are closed on Sundays, so it was quite a lazy relaxing day. A few boat projects for Dan, I spent a good amount of time investigating different blog templates. I wanted to add a sidebar with archived posts by months. I like the new layout, looks best via a computer… hope you do too.

Monday October 4, Le Rebelle arrived here in Le Port this morning.

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A good resource on what to do when we arrive anywhere, is a stop at the Tourist Information center. We picked-up several pamphlets and maps.

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For lunch we stopped at La Petite Brasserie. I had a Caesar salad (leftovers for dinner), Dan had raw tuna. The presentation, service and food was excellent!

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Tuesday October 6, we picked-up a rental car, we’ll have it for at least week. Dan drove to marine store to purchase the bulky items too big to carry, like 160 feet of rope for new Genoa sheets.

Later we drove to the mall, where there is a very large Carrefour grocery store. Larger than the one Papeete, Tahiti!

Wednesday October 6, every Wednesday morning there is a fabulous farmer’s market across from the Paroisse Sainte Jeanne d’Arc church.

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Later we repaired the bimini tear. It is difficult to remover the canvas panel to machine sew it, since we would have to remove the third solar panel. As a result, together we hand sewed it.🧵

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Friday September 24, Day – 15, Total nautical miles traveled 2572, 178 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. 53 days at sea since leaving Fiji.

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We’ve noticed some drips of water inside the cabin, we believe are due to the chain plates. The shrouds which are wires that hold up the mast are connected to “chain plates” that are secured to the hull of the boat. At this connection point there is caulking sealant to keep water from seeping down into the hull. We should have had them resealed in Fiji.

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Oh that wind! We are in the middle of a compression zone between a South Indian High and a Low, winds at 20knots gusts to 25+.

*Sourdough Notes* last night I started the Levain, mix and stretches this morning then baked a Belle loaf.

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Saturday September 25, Day – 16, Total nautical miles traveled 2763, 191 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

For dinner we had mashed potatoes (instant), green beans and smoked pink salmon. It’s easier eating from a bowl on a moving boat.

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Sunday September 26, Day – 17, Total nautical miles traveled 2952, 189 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Strawberry pancakes for breakfast, using dehydrated strawberries.

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Monday September 27, Day – 18, Total nautical miles traveled 3125, 173 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Another new noise, this one resulted in me screaming. It was a loud thud, the wind generator fell off the mount. Another failed weld. The platform attached to the arch broke. Luckily Dan had attached a bungee cord to the tail to keep it pointed at the wind as the waves were making it spin, thus not working properly. This bungee cord prevented the unit from falling into ocean. However it tore the sunbrella canvas of the Bimini. On our passage from California to Hawaii, 13 months ago, a weld broke on the base of the support bracket resulting in the unit ending up deep into the Pacific Ocean $$$$.

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For dinner, smoked salmon patties with fried potatoes.

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Oh my the stars, the Milky Way, the Southern Cross!!!

Tuesday September 28, Day – 19, Total nautical miles traveled 3308, 183 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

And another sound heard. The Genoa fluttered like we needed to adjust course, the numbers all looked good. Then we realized the halyard broke! With life jacket and tether on, Dan attached the spinnaker halyard to Genoa, we raised it back up. In about 15 knots of wind, and 3 meter waves.

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On the menu for dinner, bow tie pasta tossed in sun dried tomatoes, onions and chicken.

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Wednesday September 29, Day – 20, Total nautical miles traveled 3476, 168 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

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New time zone, Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, GMT+4, 12:15pm Wednesday, 4:15am Wednesday in Philadelphia.

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Dinner was, well I saw this recipe that looked so good. It was a barbecue chicken pasta salad. However, the only ingredients on the boat were the pasta, chicken, corn and BBQ sauce, this was an improv version.

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Thursday September 30, Day – 21, Total nautical miles traveled 3619, 143 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. 59 days at sea, days on the boat, since leaving Fiji.

Arrived at La Reunion Island, 8:00am, at Port de la Pointe des Galets, 3637 Total trip miles. 20 days, Averages 182 miles per day, 7.6 knots per hour boat speed.

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Friday September 17, Day – 8, Total nautical miles traveled 1299, 187 (3 days in a row, same distance) nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. 46 days at sea since leaving Fiji.

A new time zone today, GMT+6. Same as Dhaka, Bangladesh. 7:30am Friday, 9:30 pm Thursday in Philadelphia.

Since departing Indonesia 8 days ago, we’ve had big winds, over 20knots gust even higher (based on observations)and big waves 9-12 ft with swells where the water breaks at the top like a surf. At least once a day a wave has crashed into the cockpit, basically like we’re sailing a washing machine. We’re on the edge of a Pacific high pressure system.

A 981 ft cargo ship past by going the opposite direction just under 2 miles away, became hidden behind the waves. To be honest, I’m not enjoying this passage at all!

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*Sourdough Notes* baked a Belle loaf, mixing ingredients requires 4 hands so things don’t spill. Dan additionally requested banana bread, this also is a two person task.

Saturday September 18, Day – 9, Total nautical miles traveled 1476, 177 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

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Sunday September 19, Day – 10, Total nautical miles traveled 1649, 173 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. The gray areas below represent areas we did not download maps for, or there are no downloadable maps as it’s just water, no islands.

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Monday September 20, Day – 11, Total nautical miles traveled 1831, 182 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Finally a little relief from the wind and especially the waves, blue sky and sunny too.

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For dinner, I cooked a chicken breast and shredded it, adding some Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce along with potatoes fried in Wegmans basting oil (yes, I have a little left!)

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Tuesday September 21, Day – 12, Total nautical miles traveled 2019, 188 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Cookie bar baking day, one tray of chocolate chip, the other oatmeal raisin. Another 2 person task. I lined the cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.

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New noises need investigation. Dan found a loose nut on the autopilot, that fell off while tightening it, falling deep in the lazarette. I was able to find a new one in the box of nuts and bolts.

We are heading a little south for a few days to avoid the waves and high winds from a Pacific low system that is skirting west just north of us. Low pressure systems can develop into cyclones.

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For dinner we made Burrito bowls; chicken, black beans, roasted corn, salsa with Mexican spice over rice.

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Wednesday September 22, Day – 13, Total nautical miles traveled 2209, 190 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. Still big waves and wind, ugh!

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Thursday September 23, Day – 14, Total nautical miles traveled 2394,185 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

It’s already been a fortnight, looks like 5 more days of this wind and waves. The plus is our speed.

New time zone GMT+5, same time as in Karachi, Pakistan. 1:30 pm Thursday, 4:30 am Thursday, Philadelphia.

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For dinner we made a vegetarian chill, using a dehydrated yellow pepper and some celery, topped with cheddar cheese. In the summer of 2019, I purchased a dehydrator to dehydrate vegetables and some fruit specifically for long passages, this being one, of our journey. They add an extra special added flavor when all the fresh produce has been consumed.