Location: 27° 44.7 S, 32° 38.2 E
Thursday 12:00, 10.26.2006

The Schooner Maggie B’s noon position on October 26th was 27° 44.7S, 32° 38.2 E. At noon we were motorsailing in a light southerly, along the wild coast of Swaziland, in the St. Lucia Marine Reserve. We have gone 1009 NM since Cape Town and have 1317 to go to Nose Be, Madagascar.

The plan had been to work our way close in to the coast, up until we were able to make a dash across. Things have changed a bit. We now have a smart SW’er, 220 degrees M at 23-30 knots. This is perfect weather to cross. We now (1600) are on a beam reach for Bassas d’India, which is about two days or 500 NM away. With luck, we will be able to ride this low, first a SW’erly and then from the SE, as it passes us to the East, before the NE’erly returns. We are doing 9-10 knots. Adverse current is only 1/2-3/4 of a knot, just the same as inshore. While this sets up the possibility of big waves with wind against current, the current is relatively modest at this point and the SW’erly has not had enough time to blow up much in the way of waves. We are closely watching the wind speed and direction as well as the barometric pressure.

Bassas d’India is at 21° 27S, 39° 42E. A large reef encloses a shallow lagoon full of coral heads making for a six-miles-across translucent green pool in the bright blue ocean. The diving is reported to be fantastic, if you like sharks, which are prolific. The lagoon is also famous for the number of ancient and modern shipwrecks! The names along the coast have changed from Anglo or Portuguese to fully African. So no more Simon’s Town or Port Elizabeth or Richards Bay. Now it is Maputo and Inhambane and Sihangwana.

While Hannah is the champion for whale breaching, Bori has maxed out in a new category: moths. Last night during Bori’s watch (2100-midnight) we were totally swarmed by moths. They looked rather like Monarch butterflies, but acted like moths. We have photos to uplink. There were not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands. Everywhere. To turn a headlamp on was to get mobbed, to turn this computer on was to lose the screen.

All is well.