Current Position: 19 40.838’S 63 25.225’E; Local Timezone: UTC+4; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: 5.2 kt; TWD: 133; Distance to Waypoint (Rodrigues): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 13671 nm; Engine Hours: 265; Estimate Fuel: 50+14+50;
Comments: The boat went from zero-to-sixty, from being practically becalmed to hull speed in a couple of hours as I passed through the sheer line. Fortunately, I was expecting it and was ready. I went from being concerned I would not make the port before dusk tomorrow to the very real possibility I will need to shorten sail to arrive after dawn. At 12:30, the wind is blowing from due S. It is supposed to be blowing from 135-140. If the wind backs, it will slow the boat down as I move from a close reach to a broad reach. Also, it probably will not be necessary to shorten sail as the boat would be less likely to be overpowered (less heeling). So, I’m holding out for a bit before trying to round up in this weather to furl the sail. Almost on cue, at 12:45 the wind backed to 155. Even though I was in a 28 kt gusts, the boat did not feel overpowering. However, I was wrong about the boat slowing down. That would have been true is the boat had not been heeled over in the close reach because it was overpowered. In the near broad reach I find myself surfing at nearly 8 kt. I will wait until dusk and see how much further I have to go before make the decision whether to shorten sail for the remainder of (overnight) passage. I am reaching deeper and taking a beating 2h before dusk so I broad reach the first half of tfe night, when the wind is supposed to be at its strongest. It is 17:30, about dusk and I have 80 nm to go. If I am to arrive at dawn, I must average 80/12=6.7 kt. Since I have been averaging 6.4 during the strongest wind, it seems unlikely I will arrive before dawn. With somewhat decreasing winds, I am more likely to average about 6, making it 80/6=13.3 or about 7:00. Right now I am on a course of 220. I will continue that for 1h, then change the course to the waypoint at 265. I should be on a broad reach by then, giving a more comfortable ride for the night. At 19:00 I changed the course for the waypoint at 171. I got up at 21:00 to adjust the windvane. The wind was blowing 28 from 135. As expected, the speed had increased and it had backed. I am 60 nm from the waypoint and averaging 6 kt on and still expected to arrive about 7:00. The ride is a lot smoother now that I am in a broad reach. By 23:00, as expected, the wind was a little tamer, blowing 18 with gusts in the low 20s. The sky had cleared quite a bit and the sea is well-lit by the full moon. I was about 45 nm from the waypoint, on track to arriving about 7:00, but I am slowing down a bit as the wind does as well. At midnight I downloaded long-range AIS data because some vessels I expected were not showing up on my AIS, even though I knew they had to be in range. Indeed, two 5.80 racers were ahead of me and would be arriving this morning with me. One of the items on my pre-arrival checklist is to practice speaking so I can call on the radio. After several weeks of silence, my voice breaks up when I try to speak. At 3:00 I was 25 nm away and had drifted a bit S, so adjusted the course to a deep broad reach. This slowed the boat down significantly, while sailing against a current, to 4.8 kt, putting an arrival time around 8:00. Sunrise will be about 5:20, giving me plenty of time to get the boat ready (inflate the fenders, rig the mooring lines, raise Q flag, etc.). It is 4:00 and both of the 5.80 racers are heaved to outside the port. They should be moored by the time I get there. I will be in a deep broad reach, almost a run, for the last 20 nm to avoid having to tack. This slows me down, but I don’t want to arrive before 8:00 anyway as I imagine the offices won’t be opening before then. I was contacted by the port authority at 4:45 on VHF 16, 17 nm out, with the usual questions and ordered to drop anchor outside the port until given permission to enter the port by the Harbor Master. At 5:06, 15 nm out, I spotted the island. The wind was blowing 17 from 144. When I was preparing the boat for arrival, I noticed the second reefing line had broken. I repaired it and brought the reef back in to get ready to drop the sails. It is 8:00 and I have wrapped around to the leeward side of the island. The wind is still blowing 18 a half mile offshore. I am about a mile from the Western Pass into Mathurin Bay. I can see the masts of the boats at anchor. I contacted the port authorities. When I first contacted them, they told me to anchor. Now they want me to tie up to the jetty. I was not ready for that, so had to fish out my dock lines and inflate my fenders offshore. By 9:00 I was in the bay and headed for the channel to the jetty. I was accompanied by dolphins for the first time since Tahiti. I was ties up to the jetty by 9:30, with the help of locals who helped with the lines. It is always a challenge as this is a commercial jetty and it very tall … too tall for me to throw the lines and jump up myself to secure them. I was visited by the health official first, who gave me a clean bill of health and allowed me to take down the Q-flags I was then visited by a group of five individuals who seem to represent different departments. After a pile of paperwork, they were most interested in my prescription drugs. They went through my med kit and examined the prescriptions. I then went ashore a visited immigration, who stamped my passport. I went to an ATM to get money to pay the bill and by the time I was back customs was there. They confiscated my speargun which is being held at the police station until I leave. I then had to find the place to pay the bill. I went to the wrong place first, which I only discovered after waiting in line for an hour. After I found the right place, I paid the bill and was supposed to take the receipt to the health department. When I got there the official I needed to talk with was away for lunch, dominant to lunch myself. When I returned I was given the paperwork Inwill need later to check out. The whole process took about five hours. Everyone was very pleasant. The bureaucracy is just a way of life here. I leaned the supply ship will be here Friday, which means tomorrow I need to clear out and go to the anchorage, which is not particularly conveniently located. On a very positive note, during my walk around taking care of paperwork, I found a terrific abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Comments: The boat went from zero-to-sixty, from being practically becalmed to hull speed in a couple of hours as I passed through the sheer line. Fortunately, I was expecting it and was ready. I went from being concerned I would not make the port before dusk tomorrow to the very real possibility I will need to shorten sail to arrive after dawn. At 12:30, the wind is blowing from due S. It is supposed to be blowing from 135-140. If the wind backs, it will slow the boat down as I move from a close reach to a broad reach. Also, it probably will not be necessary to shorten sail as the boat would be less likely to be overpowered (less heeling). So, I’m holding out for a bit before trying to round up in this weather to furl the sail. Almost on cue, at 12:45 the wind backed to 155. Even though I was in a 28 kt gusts, the boat did not feel overpowering. However, I was wrong about the boat slowing down. That would have been true is the boat had not been heeled over in the close reach because it was overpowered. In the near broad reach I find myself surfing at nearly 8 kt. I will wait until dusk and see how much further I have to go before make the decision whether to shorten sail for the remainder of (overnight) passage. I am reaching deeper and taking a beating 2h before dusk so I broad reach the first half of tfe night, when the wind is supposed to be at its strongest. It is 17:30, about dusk and I have 80 nm to go. If I am to arrive at dawn, I must average 80/12=6.7 kt. Since I have been averaging 6.4 during the strongest wind, it seems unlikely I will arrive before dawn. With somewhat decreasing winds, I am more likely to average about 6, making it 80/6=13.3 or about 7:00. Right now I am on a course of 220. I will continue that for 1h, then change the course to the waypoint at 265. I should be on a broad reach by then, giving a more comfortable ride for the night. At 19:00 I changed the course for the waypoint at 171. I got up at 21:00 to adjust the windvane. The wind was blowing 28 from 135. As expected, the speed had increased and it had backed. I am 60 nm from the waypoint and averaging 6 kt on and still expected to arrive about 7:00. The ride is a lot smoother now that I am in a broad reach. By 23:00, as expected, the wind was a little tamer, blowing 18 with gusts in the low 20s. The sky had cleared quite a bit and the sea is well-lit by the full moon. I was about 45 nm from the waypoint, on track to arriving about 7:00, but I am slowing down a bit as the wind does as well. At midnight I downloaded long-range AIS data because some vessels I expected were not showing up on my AIS, even though I knew they had to be in range. Indeed, two 5.80 racers were ahead of me and would be arriving this morning with me. One of the items on my pre-arrival checklist is to practice speaking so I can call on the radio. After several weeks of silence, my voice breaks up when I try to speak. At 3:00 I was 25 nm away and had drifted a bit S, so adjusted the course to a deep broad reach. This slowed the boat down significantly, while sailing against a current, to 4.8 kt, putting an arrival time around 8:00. Sunrise will be about 5:20, giving me plenty of time to get the boat ready (inflate the fenders, rig the mooring lines, raise Q flag, etc.). It is 4:00 and both of the 5.80 racers are heaved to outside the port. They should be moored by the time I get there. I will be in a deep broad reach, almost a run, for the last 20 nm to avoid having to tack. This slows me down, but I don’t want to arrive before 8:00 anyway as I imagine the offices won’t be opening before then. I was contacted by the port authority at 4:45 on VHF 16, 17 nm out, with the usual questions and ordered to drop anchor outside the port until given permission to enter the port by the Harbor Master. At 5:06, 15 nm out, I spotted the island. The wind was blowing 17 from 144. When I was preparing the boat for arrival, I noticed the second reefing line had broken. I repaired it and brought the reef back in to get ready to drop the sails. It is 8:00 and I have wrapped around to the leeward side of the island. The wind is still blowing 18 a half mile offshore. I am about a mile from the Western Pass into Mathurin Bay. I can see the masts of the boats at anchor. I contacted the port authorities. When I first contacted them, they told me to anchor. Now they want me to tie up to the jetty. I was not ready for that, so had to fish out my dock lines and inflate my fenders offshore. By 9:00 I was in the bay and headed for the channel to the jetty. I was accompanied by dolphins for the first time since Tahiti. I was ties up to the jetty by 9:30, with the help of locals who helped with the lines. It is always a challenge as this is a commercial jetty and it very tall … too tall for me to throw the lines and jump up myself to secure them. I was visited by the health official first, who gave me a clean bill of health and allowed me to take down the Q-flags I was then visited by a group of five individuals who seem to represent different departments. After a pile of paperwork, they were most interested in my prescription drugs. They went through my med kit and examined the prescriptions. I then went ashore a visited immigration, who stamped my passport. I went to an ATM to get money to pay the bill and by the time I was back customs was there. They confiscated my speargun which is being held at the police station until I leave. I then had to find the place to pay the bill. I went to the wrong place first, which I only discovered after waiting in line for an hour. After I found the right place, I paid the bill and was supposed to take the receipt to the health department. When I got there the official I needed to talk with was away for lunch, dominant to lunch myself. When I returned I was given the paperwork Inwill need later to check out. The whole process took about five hours. Everyone was very pleasant. The bureaucracy is just a way of life here. I leaned the supply ship will be here Friday, which means tomorrow I need to clear out and go to the anchorage, which is not particularly conveniently located. On a very positive note, during my walk around taking care of paperwork, I found a terrific abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.