Another good day with decent progress towards the destination. The 15 to 20 kts South Westerly wind made us head straight for Fremantle at a steady 7 to 8 kts through the day. Unfortunately that seems to be dying as I write. There is a Cold front couple of hundred miles to the South causing gale force winds, the swell created is rocking us nicely, unfortunately there is a huge High pressure system advancing on us from the West which will stop all wind. So we are going to have a deadly combo of swell and light winds. Really bad for the boat!
Had a surprise visitor this morning in the form of a large fishing boat. I was on deck repairing some of the blocks that had got deformed due to the wallowing in the "Coldrums" when suddenly on the port beam saw this large fishing boat, less than 100 yards away! I had been working on the deck for over an hour, making trips to the mast etc but just didn't notice him till he was that close! It is the first ship or boat of any kind sighted since over a week and I had grown complacent about keeping a watch as there was no one to watch for nor did I expect to find anyone over 1500 Nm from the coast away from shipping lanes. Will need to start being more careful again. With the winds dying out, tonight seems to be another night of frequent trips out to take in or ease the main sheet. It is quite cold now so every time I go out I need to be dressed in warm clothes with shoes and by the time I get out of them and get in the sleeping bag it is time to go up again! What an exciting way to spend a night!
10 comments:
How do you recognize whether they are friendly or hostile? Are you equiped to take care of yourself from modern day pirates?
God keep you safe, wish you a great trip round the world
Best Wishes,
Col A Sunder Rajan
Wish you could have welcomed the surprise visitor!!
Less than 100 yards! thats really close! But definitely reassuring you of `touch of humanity'! Wishing you safe passage with great experiences and abundance of sea knowledge that you would gather to enlighten fellow seafarers like us! Its nice to read the experiences posted by you. My children are keeping track of it.
Capt HS Sapre
Watching your 'sagar parikrama' progressing is truly exciting. The path speaks for itself. You are taking the rough with the smooth very well and can only admire your equanimity. Wonder whether you had any interaction with the sailing boat - nationality, what were they up to etc. Or do you just avoid and move on? Just thoughts. Move on and achieve your goals with the Mhadei. Best wishes are with you.
We Indians and specially the Indian Navy veterans are proud of you. Hope to see you (or talk with you when in USA).
Best wishes, God speed.
Cdr Kujad Jani, IN (Retd)
New Jersey, USA
It is indeed a matter of pride for the Service community in particular and the country at large that you have embarked on this epic voyage. Our thoughts are with you. God Speed and best wishes....
Maj Gen S Sunder
Hi Dilip,
Really proud of what you have set out to achieve.Wish you fair wind and following seas.God Bless.
Rear Admiral Patham.
[Jaydeep]
Well you can't really recognize if they are friendly or hostile till it is too late! Considering the arsenal modern day pirates carry not sure any Yacht would be capable of defending against them! All you can do is stay away from the Piracy prone areas and hope for the best.
[Prabir Goswami]
It was a fishing boat so I presume they were fishing in International waters. Not sure of nationality but i have seen boats of similar design and construction flying Japanese flags at other places. Usually at sea you just go your way unless you need some help! The main concern being collision avoidance.
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