A memorable Christmas!

This year we are bringing up the rear as far as Christmas goes with the rest of the world barring Polynesia, Hawai and Alaska having already passed on to boxing day as I write. One can be a little flexible with dates at sea, specially so close to the date line and alone. Jessica Watson, the youngest solo circumnavigator, sailing 600 Nm ahead of me and the closest human being at this moment confirmed that she was planning to celebrate Christmas on 24 Dec, local date, as it would be 25 Dec at her home in Australia. Deciding to follow suit on Mhadei, some excellent cake, so thoughtfully handed over just before departure by Mrs Fitzgerald of Lyttelton, was cut and devoured for breakfast. A good lunch and dinner should logically have followed but with Mhadei bouncing around in 30 kts winds the cook wasn't really feeling upto something elaborate. He did make up for it today though, serving some excellent Thai curry with dried prawns and hot steaming rice. No prizes for guessing the desert! Christmas cake naturally! And so shall it be so for the next couple of days!

          Looking back, it was just two years back on this day that we had a little ceremony at the Aquarius boat yard to start the construction of Mhadei. I had barely made it to the yard having had my car smashed up a few days back while attempting to drive down to Goa from Mumbai. The building contract was yet to be signed and Ratnakar flew down the next day to Delhi to sign the contract with the Navy! It may sound funny now but I had never seen a boat being built, Ratnakar had never sailed or worked with the Navy, I dare say the powers be at the Naval Headquarters who were paying for the construction had no idea about either! Warship construction and dinghy sailing yes but Yacht construction and Ocean sailing most certainly no! And here we are, two years later, merrily sailing half way across the world as if it is the most normal thing to do!