Current Position: 12 05.569’S 96 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: This entry corrects the last two which listed the longitude as 98E (it is 97E). I timed the arrival to the Cocos perfectly. I had pretty good sailing weather the whole way, avoided the unpleasant weather that arrived last night, I am told this is the first sunshine that has been seen here in weeks (the nice female APF official said “it’s been pissing down rain forever”), and I am here for the weekly ferry tomorrow. Unfortunately the ferry is experiencing mechanical problems and its visit to DI today has been cancelled. Mike on WhiteMalkin has ordered a boat to go to the West Island to get fuel and I am going to join him about 12:30 to do some shopping. The boat picked five of us up about 1:00. I had helped moving everyone to White Malkin in my dinghy. The trip to West Island was very wet. We were all soaking wet by the time we got there. The boat captain then took us shopping in his truck. The co-op store closed at 3:00. The West Island only has a permanent population of about 140 people, although another 100 visitors/workers may be on the island at any given time. Fresh produce arrives every two weeks by plane (unfortunately tomorrow) and a supply ship comes every two months. Nonetheless, the store was pretty well stocked and it had a small bakery. I was even able to pick up a few pieces of fruit. The three 5.80 racers visited a shop while Mike and I filled water containers, then I went with another driver to the dock to get the boat and unload supplies. The others went for fuel. Once everyone/everything was onboard, we took an even wetter trip back to Direction Island. On the way back, pelted by the spray, I mentioned I needed a beer. The captain of the boat produced a jug of Kracken rum and it was passed around. The captain took us the pier at Direcrion Island, everything was unloaded, then three of us were taken to Mike’s boat. Mike slipped and hit his head transitioning from the transport boat to his sailboat, producing quite a bit of blood from his scalp. It was about 5, but Christian (one of the 5.80 racers) and Mike insisted we have a beer before going. A long video was made where the three of us shared our experiences sailing. Finally, about 45m before dark, I insisted we had to get going. I transported the racers and their supplies to their boats, took Mike his supplies, Anne it back to my boat just before a storm hit at dusk. It felt like a long day, which will be repeated tomorrow when I take the dinghy to Home Island.
Comments: This entry corrects the last two which listed the longitude as 98E (it is 97E). I timed the arrival to the Cocos perfectly. I had pretty good sailing weather the whole way, avoided the unpleasant weather that arrived last night, I am told this is the first sunshine that has been seen here in weeks (the nice female APF official said “it’s been pissing down rain forever”), and I am here for the weekly ferry tomorrow. Unfortunately the ferry is experiencing mechanical problems and its visit to DI today has been cancelled. Mike on WhiteMalkin has ordered a boat to go to the West Island to get fuel and I am going to join him about 12:30 to do some shopping. The boat picked five of us up about 1:00. I had helped moving everyone to White Malkin in my dinghy. The trip to West Island was very wet. We were all soaking wet by the time we got there. The boat captain then took us shopping in his truck. The co-op store closed at 3:00. The West Island only has a permanent population of about 140 people, although another 100 visitors/workers may be on the island at any given time. Fresh produce arrives every two weeks by plane (unfortunately tomorrow) and a supply ship comes every two months. Nonetheless, the store was pretty well stocked and it had a small bakery. I was even able to pick up a few pieces of fruit. The three 5.80 racers visited a shop while Mike and I filled water containers, then I went with another driver to the dock to get the boat and unload supplies. The others went for fuel. Once everyone/everything was onboard, we took an even wetter trip back to Direction Island. On the way back, pelted by the spray, I mentioned I needed a beer. The captain of the boat produced a jug of Kracken rum and it was passed around. The captain took us the pier at Direcrion Island, everything was unloaded, then three of us were taken to Mike’s boat. Mike slipped and hit his head transitioning from the transport boat to his sailboat, producing quite a bit of blood from his scalp. It was about 5, but Christian (one of the 5.80 racers) and Mike insisted we have a beer before going. A long video was made where the three of us shared our experiences sailing. Finally, about 45m before dark, I insisted we had to get going. I transported the racers and their supplies to their boats, took Mike his supplies, Anne it back to my boat just before a storm hit at dusk. It felt like a long day, which will be repeated tomorrow when I take the dinghy to Home Island.