Cocos Keeling-Paradise for some.

Pristine white sand beaches and a rainbow of brilliant blues.

After the dry plains of Kakadu in the northern territories of Australia and 2 weeks at sea, we arrived in a blissful anchorage in a group of islands which define the term 'tropical island paradise.'

Barefoot bliss.

Cocos Keeling is an archipelago belonging to Australia 2000 miles off the west coast of that continent. It is populated by a Muslim community descended from the original inhabitants who arrived in 1826.

The first intrepid gentleman settler was one Alexander Hare who wished to escape the tame confines of civilised England and arrived in Cocos accompanied by a harem of 40 Muslim wives!

Keeping one wife happy is difficult enough!

A few years later, a Scottish seaman, John Clunies-Ross arrived with his wife and children, also seeking paradise in the tropics. Clunies- Ross and Hare clashed immediately. Hare ended up on the losing end of the fray and was banished  to  Prison Island. His  wives abandoned him and returned to Home Island where they were integrated into the lives of the Clunies-Ross family and the sailors who had accompanied them to the islands.

The descendants of these colourful gentlemen are charming  people leading charmed lives. Their community is heavily sponsored by the Australian government  but they are industrious and peaceful and the islands are totally free of crime....no doubt the fact that they are devout Mulsims and commited tee totallers has something to do with the peace and order that prevails .

Al and Stephan from Luna of London: Not a beer in sight!

We had a marvellous time in Cocos. We were escorted into the anchorage by a school of dolphins and as our anchor settled in the clear water, a pack of white tipped reef sharks appeared under the boat...apparently harmless but very curious. 

We swam and snorkelled, (in spite of the sharks), dawdled on the beaches and shared barbeques on deserted Direction Island with fellow yachtsmen. 

Happy wife, happy life!

We were reminded of just how blessed we are when a  fishing boat, probably no bigger than Legend IV, was towed into the Archipelago by the Australian coast guard. On board this boat were 80 refugees from Sri Lanka, men, women and children who had paid for a passage to Australia hoping to find a better life for themselves.

They had been at sea for 5 weeks and had only 8 litres of fuel left on board. In essence they were lucky to be picked up by the coast guard. The islands are surrounded by reefs that would have ripped the boat to pieces if they had run out of fuel and ended up drifting onto the coral islands. 

The sad part was that they were flown out of Cocos back to Sri Lanka virtually immediately. Back to the lives they had been so desperate to escape with only a nightmare ocean voyage to show for their investment and their desperate optimism.

Two fishing boats anchored in Cocos Keeling...both recently the home of desperate asylum seekers crossing the oceans only to be sent back home. The boats are impounded by the Australian government.

Other, more fortunate yachts, leave  signs to mark their passage through Cocos and sail away to other wonderful destinations..hopefully fully aware of how blessed we are.

We would have loved to stay in  Cocos for far longer than we did  but home is beckoning and the cyclone season in the Indian Ocean is looming so we lifted our anchor and headed west to Mauritius after just a week...escorted out of the islands by the most enormous sea turtle we have ever seen!

Legend IV heading for home..Cocos Keeling receding into the distance, Al about to launch a customised fishing buoy ( not a bowling ball!) for luck.

The Indian Ocean- counting our blessings.

Many miles have pave passed under Legend IV's keel since out last blogging opportunity.

Our view every evening..the long night watches lie ahead...3 hours on and 3 hours off..plenty of time to meditate.

Over 4500 miles and 25 days  at sea ...12 days to Cocos Keeling  from Darwin and then another 13 days from Cocos Keeling to Mauritius where I now sit on the veranda of a 5 star hotel, loving the feel of Terra firm under my feet and the attentive service of the Mauritian waiter.

Bicycle helmet comes in handy when managing the spinnaker pole on the foredeck. I manage the lines that keep it from falling it on his head...perhaps he doesn't trust me!

Almost a month of my cooking rather makes both of us very appreciative of the chance to relax in a restaurant where the fruit and veg are not 4 weeks old and the plates are flat. A plastic bowl is our crockery of choice while we are at sea. The bowl keeps the food from landing in your lap as the boat lurches through the swell.

Examining the last sweet potato in the veg drawer..  4 weeks old and growing strong

The Universe chose to be very kind to us on Legend IV on these passages. We enjoyed every moment of both trips.

Singing the blues..or singing in blue..move over Jimmy Buffet!

We deserved a break though. On Legend I, the Indian was our unkindest ocean...our self steering broke in rough weather after a week at sea and the 2 of us hand steered for 14 days non stop into Mauritius.

Legend I at anchor.. the only place that she didn't give us a hard time

Al and I swapped places  at the tiller  every 2 hours night and day for 2 weeks. During your 2 off hours you had to sleep, cook, navigate, try to maintain some semblance of order on the boat and somehow keep your spirits up.

It was a tough trip, the seas were rough and we were frequently drenched by big waves as we sat miserably in the cockpit.

Not quite an Indian ocean pleasure cruise 1988. Doing my best to keep a smile on my face .

And yet, when I look back on that trip, I see it as one of the best 2 weeks of my life .We were exhausted but we kept each other going. When one of us was up, the other was down and visa versa...certainly a recipe for a marriage that can stand the test of time. Pain is a good teacher!

Its also a gift to be able to push yourself to what you thought were your limits physically and emotionally and then to push yourself a little further..And of course the fact that I weighted less than 50kg when we arrived in Port Louis was the biggest gift of all!

Still, I was certainly glad not to have to repeat that exercise, character building though it may have been. At one stage we had a slight scare in the midst of the champagne cruise that we were enjoying on Legend IVwhen a tropical low started developing to the north of us...that means big winds...and big waves..not a place you would want to find yourself in any boat at sea...even an Oyster.

Hand steering for pleasure on Legend IV. Al piloting us into Mauritius.

Alan screwed down the floor boards..just in case we turned turtle...that's boat speak for being turned upside down. And I put my black pearls in the grab bag..that's the bag you pack in case you have to abandon ship in a hurry!

There should normally be other important things in the grab bag..like water and food and flares to attract the attention of passing ships..but  the pearls might cheer me up in the life raft and I will be a glamorous if somewhat thirsty when we get rescued!

The potential cyclone petered out and we continued our journey in high spirits keeping our minds sharp  by playing Scrabble (we have to prestick the tiles to the board to stop them from sliding all over the cockpit) and reading poetry to each other.

Bet no one out there thought Al had a poetic bone in his body!

Filled the freezer with Magnum ice creams when we left Australia. Great comfort food to keep your mind off potential  Cyclones.

Waltzing Matilda?

Al and I are leaving Australia tomorrow. We're off to  Cocos Keeling, 2400 miles away and about 14 days from Darwin where we are now based.

No place like it for the next 2 weeks and then more!

The fridge is full to overflowing, the freezer is jam packed and Al has a new guitar which he plans to master on the way back to South Africa. Watch this space and wish me luck!

We have had a wonderful stay in Oz. The people have been marvellous..in fact I think I've said that about virtually every one of our destinations so far...people must be marvellous all over the world..probably another secret of the Universe.

The time I have left on the Internet  is minimal so I'll keep this blog to the high lights of our trip down under.

                                               The Halfway Party in Hamilton Island

                               What an amazing bash! A weekend full of Oyster activities.

                           A champagne evening at the Iconic Hamilton Island Yacht Club.

 Best bib and tucker to do justice to the inspirational architecture of the yacht club..a building that speaks to a sailor's soul..google it! 

          A race to Whitehaven Beach and back..no wind so the colourful sails were out in full force.

Whitehaven Beach..sand so pure they used it for the lens of the Hubble Telescope!

                                        A Dark and Stormy Rum picnic on the beach

Oyster Owners lift Mount Gay caps to celebrate their successful semi circumnavigation.

And the piece de resistance on the final evening of the Halfway party weekend, fireworks as the evening descended and waitrons emerging out of the sea dressed in diving gear with the starter platters...crayfish and oysters of course! Oyster outdid themselves once again!

Seafood directly from the deep..full marks for presentation

No comment!

From Hamilton Island I left the boat  for 3 weeks to help Nicole get organised for her new life in New York.

 

"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere..." Nic reckons her life should have a soundtrack!

 The two of us flew to the Big Apple  and spent a week getting her settled in her dorm at the Pratt Institute of Design in Brooklyn. After her first day of lectures she was grinning from ear to ear..."what a joy to spend all day studying the things you absolutely love!"

Nics corner of her dorm...probably hasn't looked anything like this since I left!

The trip involved  a circumnavigation within a circumnavigation...flying from Sydney..and a wonderful evening with Puccini at the Opera house...to Cape Town to New York, to Dallas and then to Brisbane...

And then on to Cairns where Al had been waiting patiently..

Aussie fun ..helmet was a legal requirement..not a fashion statement!

From Cairns Legend meandered up the Barrier Reef...beautiful scenery and beaches but lots of things along the way that can kill you..sharks, jellyfish and crocodiles  so not much swimming and snorkeling!

Aussie predators are legendary...good idea to keep your feet out of the water!

We crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria with absolutely no wind for 5 days..

but good fishing...

Once we finally got to Darwin we took a break from the boat for a few days. 

Al surveying the Aboriginal rock art...probably just humouring me and wishing he was back on the boat!

We hired a 4 x 4 and drove to Kakadu National Park where the scenery was a world away from the seascapes we have been enjoying for the last 8 months.

Wallaby peering into our tent...not quite one of the big 5 but very entertaining.

Nice tent though!

Can't keep a sailor away from the boats!

But he might be tempted to lift his sights...

                                                Took a trip down the river to look for crocs

Plenty of them out there!

 

Say no more..some Aussie wit said it all...

                                                 No shops but a new hat anyway!

Not quite Thumbelina!

The Pacific Ocean is now behind us and the Indian  awaits...won't be long before we're home...wonder if the guitar will make it!

Australia..back to civilisation?

Our first port of call in Australia was Mackay, a small mining town in Queensland. It was out first brush with Australian bureaucracy ...very polite but all pervasive!

As we arrived we were visited by the obligatory customs men in boots. Some of these men were actually Shielas ..also in boots though.


Instead of viewing us with suspicion and keeping an eye out for the possibility of baksheesh as we have encountered elsewhere in the world, the Australian officials  came on board and took away all of our food!

Australian biodiversity officials..Sheila in diving gear about to check hull for any noxious parasites  we may be harbouring.

Very politely but very firmly they confiscated all our bio hazardous fresh fruit and veg and meat and dairy products. We had expected this though and had been whittling our stores down to very little over the past few weeks.

Who you gonna call?...Aussie ghostbuster checking Legend's hull for biohazards..

We have had this happen to us before in Botswana where the danger of foot and mouth disease forces the officials to confiscate fresh meat at veterinary fences at various spots through out the country.

In Australia, they no doubt move your dangerous foodstuffs carefully to some sophisticated extermination facility. The Botswana customs fellows however, took away our meat and moved it  directly onto the barbecues outside their offices for later consumption!

Perhaps the Aussies have another ulterior motive for taking our food away though.. we immediately needed to buy more and no doubt the economy of Mackay experienced a marked upturn as the Oyster fleet arrived and headed for the supermarket and the mall.

After a few months in the Pacific with very little retail therapy available, most of the Oyster ladies were ready for a shopping extravaganza.

Shopping Extravaganza...the difficult part is packing it all away...and then remembering where you put everything!

I was a little out of practise though and had forgotten that when in a mall, one avoids making eye contact with  the ladies at the  cosmetics counters at all costs!

My first trip to the mall entailed a very expensive encounter with one of those Dead Sea Salt sales people who, in the words of a fellow shopper, " should have a restraining order against them! "

Aussie predator...just as deadly as a cosmetic saleslady...approach at your own peril!

My credit card took the blow manfully. Al was little less forgiving but I did get a free plastic handbag to show for the financial ambush! The promised wrinkle reduction that lured me into their clutches has yet to happen!

I did get a new hat though so the mall was not a total disaster! (Al complaining that the hat locker is full to overflowing though!)

The Seacret of the Universe

As we lifted the anchor in Vanuatu, the sun finally came out from behind 2 weeks of rainclouds.

We watched Nicky and Nicole and Kate and Alex fly out of Luganville in bright sunshine. They finally got to see the beautiful turquoise waters and white sand beaches of the islands after all..albeit from their window seats on Air Vanuatu.

The pain of empty nest syndrome is about to descend..Nicole leaving the boat in Vanuatu - note our warm jackets!.

Tony stayed on board to enjoy the sunshine and joined us for the 6 day passage from Vanuatu to Mackay, our port of entry in to Australia, and the halfway point of our circumnavigation.

Tony at the wheel before the clouds descended. Universe still smiling on us..

For the first 3 days of the trip we rolled blissfully along in the aforementioned sunshine and then all the Universe got mean again...

A big frontal system started moving in from the South West and of course this is exactly where we needed to go to in order to traverse the Hydrographer's passage...a narrow gap in the black fangs of the exquisite but wicked Great Barrier Reef.

The Hydrographer's Passage is a narrow channel through the reef, only charted in 1984. The sail through it is  fine if the wind is light and the strong tides are with you but there was a good reason that Captain Cook and his men avoided the area a couple of centuries ago when they bravely mapped most of the coast of Australia.

Captain Cook is a hero in this part of the world...and rightly so..to brave these waters in days of yore was a formidable feat.

As is often the case, Greed..with a capital G... was a powerful motivating factor in the discovery of the Hydrographer's passage. It cuts 250 miles off  previous routes through the reef. And if you are in a hurry to get the so called Black gold or coal of Queensland to your markets in the east, then you're going to make sure you find a quicker passage if there's one out there!


Greed wasn't our motivation for choosing the new passage...we had very little choice ..we were in the northern most islands of Vanuatu so we could either bash our way south for 2 days, or grit our teeth and take the pain for several hours.

And of course we  thanked our lucky stars that we were in an Oyster and not the little beauty on which we sailed around the world 25 years ago!


As the wind and waves began to build, we strapped on our harnesses and pulled on our mouldy sailing boots..bare feet having been our only  footwear on board for the entire trip so far.

Al getting boots out of locker ..not an easy task in rough seas..or even calm ones!

The boots came  in handy as we entered the passage just before dark and started slamming into brick walls of water ( 30 knots of wind against 3-5 knots of current) that broke into furious green waves over our bow and drenched us in the cockpit..no one mentioned this sort of thing when I signed up for this cruise!

Al tries on  footwear for suuny weather...go ahead and have a good laugh..we all did! 

I am not sure if it was a good thing that it was dark for the next 12 hours as we thrashed through this maelstrom..we couldn't see what was coming and had no idea when to pray or when to duck!

And then, after the storm, the peace of pussy cat waves inside the protection of the reef and the sight of numerous humpback whales breaching in the sunrise.

The reward too of heightened senses, the joy of being alive and a sense of pride and accomplishment. That has to be  the secret of the Universe...I think the aim of the powers that be  up there is to keep us mortals on our toes..otherwise we get too complacent and don't appreciate the good stuff!

Happy to be surveying the reef from above rather than navigating a passage through it.

I am not sure about Tony and Al, they are not the philosophical types, but I was proud of the fact that I had stuck it out on deck during my watch and hadn't hidden down below reaching for the the Bombay to ease the pain!

No photos of the rough passage...too busy ..the camera only came out once we had our feet firmly on terra firma.

Vanuatu Land of Smiling Faces no matter whether the sun shines or not....

As you might have gathered from previous posts, the tropics  have been very kind to us so far.

Fiji Island bliss...skipper at play on our new paddle board. 

For the last 8 months  we have generally  been blessed  with sweltering hot days and warm, balmy nights while we are in port.  We have become accustomed to gentle breezes punctuated only by the odd rain squall.

Blue skies, turquoise water...thought the hat looked better than it actually did!

Of course while we are at sea its often a different story and huge, washing machine seas and not so gentle breezes have often  been par for the course.

The constant rocking and rolling while we bash across oceans is a little annoying but hanging on for dear life 24 hours a day for days at a time uses up a lot of energy. This of course gives  me calorie credits to use when we get back to the warm, balmy, gin soaked evenings on shore!

Gin soaks on board fellow Oyster, Chinook.

However, Vanuatu, previously know as New Hebrides and our next port of call after Fiji, seemed to take perverse pleasure in putting an end to the sunshine and gentle breezes.

Gathering rainclouds 

Black clouds and rain and wind rolled in as we bulleted across from Fiji for 3 days in high winds and rough seas.

We were a little disconcerted by the weather to say the least. Mainly because we were due to be joined on board by our friends Tony and Nicky and their 2 children, Kate and Alex. The four of them  had signed up for a tropical island vacation on Legend IV and we were under pressure to make sure that the sun shone and that they had an idyllic sojourn.

Enormous waves threatening to ruin Nicky's island holiday...and her hair...

Tony and Nicky are old friends from Cape Town who now live in Brisbane. We sailed across the Atlantic with them in 1987. They were on board their Sadler 32 Flambouyant  and we  shared some lovely cruising in the Caribbean before they moved north and East to the UK and we moved south and west to Panama and beyond.

Tony and Nicky and Jean ... young beer soaked  yachties on the beach in the  Caribbean 1987.

Tony and Nicky...on the beach in Vanuatu 2013..older and wiser but still enjoying the sundowners.

The sun reneged on us for virtually 2 weeks and we were forced to rely on cheerful optimism, the island scenery and the people and culture of Vanuatu to add flavour to their trip rather than the diving and swimming and snorkeling that they were hoping for.

Nicole with Kate and Alex..preparing to zip line Vanuatu while waiting for snorkelling and swimming weather.

We ended up having a great trip. The remote islands of Vanuatu were amazing.

Friendly locals bringing gifts of fruit and  showing how it should be done..simply and with a smile!

In fact, in a recent World Happiness survey, Vanuatu scored the highest in the World on an index of  perceived happiness. Not bad for people with very little in the way of material goods and virtually no  access to electricity or  running water.  No doubt its  the lack of material goods that makes them happy!

Al, Nicole and  Kate sharing worldly goods with Vanuatu locals.

Making friends...being surrounded by 2 lovely blondes is sure to push up your happiness quotient!

The islands were colonised by both the British and the French until 1980 and the locals  speak good English or French but communicate with each other using a form of Pidgin English called Bislama.

Ladies who laugh...she thought I was very funny...maybe it was the hat ...need to rethink my head gear!

We found Bislama to be most entertaining...it takes a bit of getting used to but is basically simple, phonetic English. "Tank you too mus" is the islanders version of "Thank you very much"

Happy old guy...

and happy young guy...

There are no words in Bislama for some objects which are probably not commonly encountered in their cultures...

A piano for example is "wun  big fella blak bokis hemi gat waet tut mo hemi got blak tut, sipos yu kilim smol, hemi singaot gud. "

This literally translates to, " One big fellow, like a black box, he's got white teeth but he's also got black teeth and if you kill/ hit him gently (kilim smol) then he will sing out good!"

On the history side of things...  over half a million US soldiers were based on the islands of Vanuatu during the Second World War and evidence of their occupation still literally litters the islands.

Abandoned wrecks!

The biggest tourist attraction in the region is "Million Dollar Point." This is no luxurious string of hotels and homes on the coast as it would be else where in the world...rather it is an underwater  dump off the coast of Espirito Santo where the US soldiers disposed of millions of dollars of equipment at the end of WW 2.

The troops literally drove hundreds of  trucks, jeeps, tractors and tanks loaded with unopened cartons of food and clothing off the jetty into the water.

Talk about materialism gone mad and the futility of war..no wonder the people of Vanuatu prefer to stay out of the rat race after witnessing such a horrendous waste of goods that could have been put to good use in their world...

The futility of war...Nothings changed after all ..Legend IV at anchor  in Portobello, Panama  in the shadow of cannons abandoned by the Spanish  the 17th Century.