Tuesday, September 8, 2009

20 Days and 3000 Miles

          It has been 20 days since we left Mumbai and we have covered over 3000 Nm so far. Not too bad! More or less what was expected. Though we still have over 2000 Nm to cover once we get in the Westerlies and start making some Easting. As I was making my position report in the evening, I realised that despite covering almost 80 Nm through the day, the distance to Fremantle had remained constant at 1900 Nm miles since morning! It may actually start increasing if we don't make any easterly progress soon! Well such are the ways of Sail boats! Covering these 3000 miles also means that Mhadei has sailed over 10,000 miles in her brief service with the navy since 12 Feb 09. Thats 10,000 miles in less than 07 months with hardly a whimper! I think the credit entirely goes to her builder Ratnakar Dandekar and his team at Aquarius Fibreglas, Goa. I hope atleast now the "Great Indian Bureaucracy" will relent and pay up the rest of the money due on the boat!
          As we near the Tropic of Capricorn the seas have calmed a bit and the wind has reduced. At the cost of coming down in speed a little I am still keeping the two reefs and stay sail on through the night just in case the wind decides to change its mind and starts blowing again. While we have done sail changes and reefing at night it is always avoidable & uncomfortable, specially now that it has also started getting cold. I think we are away from the opperesive tropical heat till next year! In fact henceforth the sun will be welcome, as I discovered this morning when I saw a cloudy sky and remarked to myself that its going to be a cold day and it would have been nicer if it was a clear sunny day! 20 days back I would have said the exact opposite!
          The covering of the 3000 miles passage was duly celebrated with an impromptu recepie of Corned mutton garnished with Onions and Gherkins. When the cook decided to serve the same fare for dinner because he doesn't like wasting food, the Skipper had had enough and decided to wash it down with some soup first followed by the last can of Phoenix Beer from Ile Maurice from the last trip. No more beer on board till Freo but a good stock of South African Vines and Cognac for the special occasions!
          The improvement in weather was also celebrated by the screening of the movie Chicago! One of the crew's all time favourite! Since morning all that has been watched are the promos & and behind the scenes sections etc. The actual screening is scheduled on completion of this blog when the battery charging will be over, the engine cut off and there will be silence on board to enjoy the fabulous soundtrack!        

14 comments:

Nandini said...

Hey! Glad u finally got a chance to watch the movie! Think of us when you are watching the movie!

pracs said...

Hey whenever you get few free seconds i request you to click some pictures of the wild(at times) sea and yourself,not seen you since long.


take care

Unknown said...

Ditto Nandini's comments. Great going and keep it up.

Unknown said...

Hi Dilip,
It seems your boat has decided to do circumnavigation from other direction!! Hope you settle your differences with her soon. I agree we haven't seen you since long. Try clicking yourself.
Happy sailing!

Meeta

Mugdhaa said...

Hi Dilip,
Mahdei sure is a female in the true sense.
Apne isharo par aap ko ghuma rahi hai :)
Seems like a good detour.Good Luck !

Unknown said...

Heyyyyyyyyyyy

Beer , mutton, movies. ?? Good sailing.

Wish we could have been there.

Requesting you to send your snaps, but of course not with your white beard.!!

SUBIR said...

Hi,

As a show of solidarity, I appeal to all the readers of this blog to watch the movie "Chicago" within the next few days at their convenience.

One always falls short of beer irrespective of how much one carries - Demand always outstrips supply !!!

Take care....

Unknown said...

the lady has decided to assert herself . as always , one would never take her for granted.we are following you and get to see your ladies mind in the pin marks.
noted your comments about our babus with sadness.
keep it up

chatty said...

The babus rule the waves...do they even care.... try the timer function on your camera dude...people are desperate to see the real you after 3000 miles and 20 days ...

Swati said...

I think its a capacious boat indeed if you can grow vines in it :D

swati raje said...

Best of luck to the skipper Donde for the experiments from cook Donde.

swati raje said...

suttereBest of luck to the skipper Donde for the experiments from cook Donde.

chatty said...

HI good the timer button works ..yes! now try taking pics of the birds and the bees and any other form of marine life using sports settings. ...

the satiated look on your face says it all...and you deserve it

Anonymous said...

Great stuff. Would have loved to meet you in NZ. I have been sailing NZ waters for about 20 years.
Satish