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.