Sailing Trance

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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

• 

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!

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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!

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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!

• 

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.🧵

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

• 

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.

• 

• 

• 

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 $$$$.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For dinner, smoked salmon patties with fried potatoes.

• 

• 

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.

• 

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

• 

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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!

• 

*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.

• 

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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!)

• 

• 

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.

• 

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.

• 

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

• 

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!

• 

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.

• 

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.

Friday September 10, Day – 1by 7:00am we were off the mooring ball.

We “flew” out of the Lombok Strait with 3+ knots of positive current, reaching 12 knots speed over ground a few times.

While leaving Marina del Ray, we observed well over a hundred of these boats in the distance. At first, we thought it was early morning racing. Yet, as we passed by closer, we realized these 1 and 2 person “spider boats” were all out fishing.

We are using a weather person, Des Cason who is based in South Africa, to cross the Indian Ocean to South Africa. Once a day we email him our position, boat speed and course over ground. Dan created a group text to him including s/v Falbala, sailing from New Caledonia and s/v Le Rebelle who departed Lombok a day before us.

We are all within a day or so of each other at this time.

Saturday September 11, Day – 2, Happy Birthday Kevin!

142 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

For dinner I made a one pot meal of potatoes, onions, red and green peppers, garlic and beef. Sautéed in olive oil with salt, pepper, Rosemary and Thyme.

Sunday September 12, Day -3, Total nautical miles traveled 324, 182 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

The vang broke this morning. A vang is the block and tackle system that prevents the boom from rising up. A quick release shackle on the end of a pulley broke. Another salty rust casualty. MacGyver Dan to the rescue.

For dinner I used the leftover beef from yesterday, added a can of beef broth, 1/2 can water, a small can of each carrots and corn and a can of stewed tomatoes cut up, Italian seasoning and extra rosemary. Once it boiled I added Orzo pasta.

Monday September 13, Day – 4, Total nautical miles traveled 529, 205 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours! That’s 8.54 nautical miles average per hour, that a personal best!

15 Flying fish landed on the boat overnight. We think they are attracted to the bow lights like bugs.

*Sourdough Notes* making a Belle loaf this morning, started the Levain last night at midnight, the end of my watch.

Also baking chocolate chip cookie bars, per request from Dan. Bars are less work as I can only bake 6 cookies at one time.

Early evening we received a radio call from Australian Birder Force, probably because we are within 20 miles of Christmas Island, an Australian territory.

Tuesday September 14, Day – 5, Total nautical miles traveled 738 , 209 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours, another personal best! The sailing conditions have been perfect!

We are in a new time zone, same as Jakarta, Indonesia GMT+7, 8am Tuesday, 9pm Monday in Philadelphia. Now Trance is physically half way around the world.

Wednesday September 15, Day – 6, 44 days at sea. Total nautical miles traveled 925, 187 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

It’s been gray and cloudy, windy yet no rain. We saw blue sky today, first time in 4 days. With increased wind, but don’t know much. There are more white caps and bigger waves, with ripples on the water. The wind was howling through the rigging. The ocean is angry. We rolled in staysail and double reefed the other 2. Our speed is still high 7 to low 8 knots. Our weather router says this pattern should last about 3-4 days.

Thursday September 16, Day – 7, Total nautical miles traveled 1112, 187 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Saturday September 4, We made it! Confined to the boat, maybe for the duration while we are here. The country may reopen September 7, but then we’ll need 8 days of quarantine and 2 COVID PCR test $$ before we can go ashore. The plan is to depart around September 10. Our timeline is centered around cyclone season in Indian Ocean, which begins in November. We’ll sail to Reunion Island from here then on to South Africa.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Eron from the marina stopped by our boat, he took our trash and laundry. We arranged with him to get fuel next week. They will also provision for us, we’re working on a list.

Cleaning day. We freshwater rinsed the salt off the boat deck. Also washed the galley floor and wood floor in the salon.

Our friend Judy we met at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, asked about my sourdough bread, here’s the story.

While in Sitka, Alaska, we met this couple who saw our “Seven Seas” flag flying on our boat, as they too we members. She was telling me about a book she wrote, “Sourdough, A Beginner’s Guide For Vegans”, under the pen name of Iris Blume. I had never thought about making bread as we basically were coastal cruising at that point, stores were never far away.

I did a little research and created a sourdough “starter”. It failed, but I was still determined. I found an online class from the “Sourdough Schoolhouse” based in British Columbia, Canada. They offered at that time a free trial online zoom class, which I took in Anacortes, Washington while getting the boat repaired. Our sail to Hawaii was rough, while feeding my starter one day it spilled all over the counter. That was the end of that.

When in Maui, I googled sourdough starter and found Maui Artisan Sourdough. I contacted him as he was in Lahaina and so were we, and arranged to purchase dehydrated starter from him. I purchased the Sourdough 101 course from “Schoolhouse”. It’s been great! They have a closed Facebook group for enrolled students and also offer call in sessions with questions. There are also videos with the process. They offer other classes you can take like pasta and pastries, I most likely will do that when we return home.

The tropics have a few challenges as sourdough bread making is temperature dependent and it’s very warm there. I’ve had adjust my bulk fermentation times shorter and even refrigerate the dough for an hour to slow it down. I bake the bread now in 9 x 4 loaf pan as Dan likes that shape better than the round loaf. Now I typically bake a loaf per week or so.

Sunday September 5, fuel arrived unexpectedly in the morning, we thought it would be delivered during the week.

• 

• 

Sail repair #1, the staysail. Patches were add to two places where Genoa sheets, when the Genoa was poled out, chaffed on the sacrificial sunbrella on the staysail. Lesson learned, keep the lazy sheet looser. The second was a 62” strip along the edge of the foot of the sail. Not my neatest job but functional. There is a slight burr on the sewing machine hook, caused by needle breakage, this often results in skipped stitches and or the thread fraying. I have filed the hook many times.

• 

• 

With the wind picking up, we kept the sail on the deck, we will wait to repair the other two sails for less windy day.

Monday September 6, dinghy chaps repair. Wow, this took all day!

• 

• 

• 

First two patches were added to cover a couple of tears. We then cut strips of sunbrella and added about 4” to the depth on the sides. Shock cord was added at the bottom so it goes under the gray bumper lip. When purchased, the cover had Velcro glued to the vinyl to hold it in place, which came “un-glued”.

Tuesday September 7, completed our shopping list for the marina. I could get used to having a personal food shopper. Hope they select good items, we tried to be very specific. Also, our laundry was returned all clean a folded so nicely.

We met another boat here, they are from France who also know our friends on Falbala. Lionel and Yamile on s/v Le Rebelle. They were sailing here from Raiatea, French Polynesia when Indonesia closed and were unaware of the situation. After much effort to convince immigration to let them in, they gave up. Plan to leave here Thursday for Reunion Island.

Shirley Carter in her little yellow boat s/v Speedwell of Hong Kong, arrived here today. It was good to see her. She departed 3 weeks before us from Fiji.

• 

Wednesday September 8, Sail repair #2, the Genoa. At some point the leach line broke, it’s a line within the leach of sail to minimize its flutter, the leach of the sail has been fluttering horribly. The sail was lowered, Dan reattached the line, in doing so had to make a cut on the edge of the sail. We stuffed part of the sail through a hatch, put the sewing machine on the bed, to add a patch to cover the cut. Better than lugging the machine to the deck for a small sewing job.

• 

Sail repair #3, the Main. The wind calmed down just long enough we decided to drop the mainsail. Stitching along a large section of the tape on foot had come out. With the sewing machine on the deck, that area was resewed, with Dan adjusting the tape as I sewed. Then we reinforced the tape on the entire foot of the sail, sewing the length of it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our groceries were delivered late afternoon. Funny how things get lost in translation. On my list I had 5 kilos of bread flour, we received 5 kilos of bread crumbs. Dan wanted a few bags of potato chips, at least they texted us a photo, it was of french fries, like fish and chips, I guess? Dan added cookies, they bought crackers. Not sure about children’s shampoo and many bars of soap, that probs belongs to someone else or to the person who did the shopping.

• 

Thursday September 9, Immigration stopped at our boat in the morning. They wanted to see our exit papers from Fiji as well as boat documentation, COVID vaccine and health documents. Very friendly guys, said the county may reopen Monday, the 13th.

The bananas we received yesterday were very ripe. Today I baked 2 loaves of banana bread.

• 

In the morning we’re departing Indonesia for Reunion Island. It will be about a 3600 nautical mile journey.

Tuesday August 31-Day 29, today we parted ways with s/v Ohana. They need to stay in Indonesia till the end of September as they are waiting for medication for their daughter to arrive. It was a pleasure getting to know them, hopefully we’ll meet up again in South Africa.

Departed our anchorage by 11:00am heading out to the Timor Sea then west towards Lombok.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

*Sourdough Notes* started a Belle loaf this morning, baked it at night during my watch. It’s nice and toasty down in the cabin!

Wednesday September 1-Day 30, Total nautical miles traveled 3543, 130 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

• 

• 

• 

Thursday September 2-Day 31, Total nautical miles traveled 3802 , 129 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Officially now sailing in the Indian Ocean!

• 

Friday September 3-Day 32, Total nautical miles traveled 3954, 152 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

6pm we picked up a mooring ball near the dock. As we sit here we hear the sounds of prayers in Indonesian over loud speakers, loudly echoing across bay, in this Muslim country.

3999 nautical miles, 32 days, 7 nights we anchored, our passage from Denarau, Fiji to Marina Del Ray in Lombok, Indonesia.