Everything Happens For a Reason

While we were frustrated and stuck in Padang for almost three weeks waiting for our new boat batteries to be delivered our mates on s/v Destiny set sail from Lombok to the Seychelles. We had buddy boated with Steve & Anna from Fiji to Indonesia and we had plans to leave around the same time as them en route for the Seychelles so, while we waited and waited they had already a 2 week head start on us.

Thank goodness we waited! S/V Destiny ran right into a dangerous low pressure system south of Cocas Keeling that punched constant 35+ winds and much higher gusts, unimaginable confused sea state and sustained wave heights at 5 meters. Destiny arrived safely in The Seychelles after almost 40 days of very rough conditions.

Thank goodness we waited!

What do you do when you are 22 days at sea?

I have been asked what we do onboard during a long passage and I often say “we are actually quite busy” but never really gave it too much thought to what we actually do so, here it is.

 First of all we keep a strict watch schedule of 3 hours on 3 hours off so, someone is always in the cockpit. When we aren’t adjusting sails Martin is checking our course, getting weather updates and navigating. We also have to do daily checks on the lines for chafing and other boat maintenance tasks are constant.

 During the day I have a “schedule” that includes exercises and stretching, working on the computer; editing videos, writing and working on a few “snapfish” projects. We always have a book to read; Martin has a Nook and I have a Kindle so there is no shortage of great books in our libraries. We fish on the calm days which will take up an entire afternoon when we catch a fish; cleaning the fish and the mess it makes onboard then dividing it up to vacuum seal ready for the deep freeze.   In the afternoon we start preparing dinner early at around 3:00-4:00 and eat at 5:00pm so the dishes are done and everything is packed away before our night watch schedules begin at 6:00pm. During the afternoon we listen to BBC podcasts I have downloaded from Spotify which is a great conversation/ debate starter and breaks up the monotony.

 I don’t count the days at sea; I count the nights because they are the longest and the most challenging of the watches. At night we have to keep a more diligent watch; not just for boats but for squalls you can’t see coming. I find the strain of checking the horizon particularly tedious when there isn’t a moon lit sky. On the other hand a clear star studded night on the open ocean has its own rewards. If I had a dollar for every wish I made on a shooting star during this passage…I could buy us a round of beers at the Seychelles Yacht Club $$$$$

After a fast four weeks in the Seychelles getting the steering wheel fixed and struggling to get our fridge repaired; we left before we had to go through the “boat import” process & without our fridge getting repaired. Off to Tanzania now… we are both excited to get to Africa.