Location: 16° 21 S 56° 59 E
Monday 01.22.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 16° 21 S 56° 59 E at noon on January 22nd. We were under all plain sail, making 6.2 knots in nine knots of wind from the east. We have come 717 NM from the Seychelles and have 229 to go to Port Louis, Mauritius. The weather, both locally as well as in the rest of the Southern Indian Ocean, remains good. We should be in Port Louis by tomorrow afternoon.

Last night's delights were celestial.

Owen and I sat up the first part of the evening watching Venus, our evening star, set with the two day old moon not far behind. Then during the night Saturn was pretty much overhead, watching our progress. Finally, when Hannah came on deck to relieve me at 0300, we admired Jupiter rising out of the eastern sky, looking like a locomotive headlight roaring right at us.

What we are reading:

I'm working on Conrad's "Lord Jim," the story of a merchant marine officer who panics and abandons his ship and its passengers thinking it was sinking (it doesn't) and then later seeks redemption in the Far East and is killed. Owen is reading Jared Diamond's "Collapse" about how nations fail. Hannah is reading "The Butter Box Babies" about a Nova Scotia institution which engaged in infanticide, baby selling and child abuse. And Bori is reading "101 Alternatives to Suicide." (The Captain's "spider sense" went to 100% alarm on hearing the title, but supposedly it is uplifting...). This may sound depressing, but we are also sharing Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion Comedy Theater, burning the CD's into our iPods, and watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail and A Fish Called Wanda on DVD on the laptops. So giggles and guffaws are the Order of the Day.

Sunday and French Toast

Despite today being Monday here and in most of the rest of the world, we declared it Sunday so that we could start the day with French Toast (Pain Anglais for our French readers). Owen was at the controls in the galley and got an A+ for taste (Madagascar vanilla, cinnamon, and crushed cashews) but, alas, a D- for execution as most of the batter went into the reefer, spread over 30 days of supplies. But he got up, dusted himself off and got back in the saddle and the second round was a great success.

All is well.

Location: 12° 54 S 56° 34 E
Sunday, 01.21.2007

The Schooner Maggie B's noon position on January 21 was 12° 54 S 56° 34 E, or about 500 miles south of the Seychelles, 400 miles east of Madagascar and 439 miles from Port Louis, Mauritius. We are headed south at 7.6 knots, blissfully, finally under all full sail as (temporarily) the easterly has filled in with the wind 080 true at 10-12.

The day is fine, but a little frustrating.

The wind will vary from 080 to 130, speed from five to 20 knots. One little rain shower will dump on us and bring wind, then a dry stretch, then another dump. We are aiming to get to Port Louis before 1800 on January 23 (the port is reportedly closed from 1800 each evening to 0600 the next day). That means we must average eight knots. Sometimes the wind is powering us at 10 knots, so the engine goes off, then it poops out and back on comes the Yanmar.

Today's lunch was in special honor of the Seychelles.

Chicken coconut curry with rice and avocado salad. Loud Seychellois music on the Bose speakers. We almost danced, but the deck was moving too much. We are working on learning all the cool things our MaxSEA software can do. Owen is leading the pack. He has figured how to get it to make a good cup of espresso, I am working on the Latte sub-menu. Seriously, it has incredible functionality, but, being French, is not very approachable.

We are having the usual chafing challenges.

One is at the main throat halyard, where it rubs on the bolster that hold the stays on the mast. Owen showed his gymnastic abilities by scampering up the rope hoops along the main luff, as if they were proper ratlines or even a ladder. Photo to follow. The other serious operation of the day is iPod care and feeding. Getting them full of just the right music, podcast, poetry or book-on-tape, as well as fully charged, is almost a full time duty. Having something fun to keep you company on solo night watch is marvelous, as well as a good safety.

We have been followed by a lovely mature Long Tailed Tropic Bird or Paille en Cul (Straw up the Ass — these French!). Got a lovely photo. He tried to land on the main gaff peak. Good luck!

All is well.

Location: 9° 58.0 S, 56° 12.2 E
Saturday 12:00, 01.20.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 9° 58.0 S 56° 12.2 E at noon on January 20th. We are still motor sailing, headed due south for Port Louis, Mauritius, with the wind just about on our nose at five knots. It is a lovely day, with fluffy clouds and an almost flat ocean, with only a long SE'erly swell making up. We see dolphin from time to time, but they are always too busy to play with us. "Things to do, places to go."

We have 615 miles to Port Louis, three and a half days at this speed.

Today was a big "ship work" day. Hannah sewed and fitted a storm cover for our deck box; Owen fixed the "See Me" active radar reflector (they have a cool web site), and sewed a Mauritius flag out of some scrap colored sailcloth we got in Lunenburg; Bori fixed and glued up two places wood has split in our skylight and the frame for the cover of the Reepicheep; Frank overhauled, brought out, put away and organized all our paper charts, and troubleshot a Yanmar oil pressure concern. Never a dull moment!

In yesterday's post I mistakenly called Mauritius a overseas department of France. That is its neighbor, Reunion. Mauritius is, in fact, an independent country, attaining independence from Britain in 1968. It was Portuguese first (they ate all the dodos), then Dutch, then French, then English. There are 1.2 million inhabitants, mostly descendants of imported Indian laborers. A small minority of French descent form the wealthiest group. Joseph Conrad called Mauritius "the sugary pearl of the Indian Ocean." For us it is a pit stop on our way to Australia.

The way hurricanes in the North Atlantic tend to recurve northeast and then north as they approach the US coast, typhoons in the Southern Indian Ocean tend to curve southeast and then south as they approach Madagascar. The islands of Reunion and Madagascar historically have acted like Giant Slalom ski gates for the turn to south and finally southwest. Are we concerned at being here now? You bet! But the storms form way to the north and east of us, and we are watching that area as closely as a Florida home generator salesman watches little lows off the coast of Africa in September. We get three different forecasts five days out. If something formed, we would have five days warning of the birth, and the storm would still be at least a week away, once developed. So we should have at least 12 days warning of any developments. In 12 days we can go 2000 miles, which is plenty of distance, even though we would be in the SW (danger) quadrant. Nevertheless, we are going to gas up as soon as we arrive and stay ready to leave (even without the blessing of Customs and Immigration) on the first notice of developing lows.

Idiot light?

Most sailboat engines just have an "idiot light" to indicate low oil pressure. The Maggie B has the most sophisticated panel that Yanmar sells for this engine, which includes an electronic oil pressure gauge as well as an idiot light. Right now the oil pressure gauge is reading very, very low, though the idiot light has not illuminated. Tough to troubleshoot. An urgent inquiry to the Halifax Yanmar dealer came back with the "advice" that the electronic gauges weren't very accurate and should only be considered "advisory." What does that mean in the middle of the ocean? I went all over the engine with a laser thermometer and found only normal temperatures, so we are declaring it a gauge error. If we can, we will get an old fashioned "steam" gauge installed in Port Louis in the oil system so that with just a bit of effort, we can check the accuracy of the electronic gauge.

Food continues to be top quality.

Lunch today was Hannah's hard boiled egg and potato salad, with a fresh Seychelles avocado salad with Frank's mustard vinaigrette dressing. Sides included Prochutto di Parma, Jarlesburg cheese and Hannah's fresh baked biscuits. Served with a cold bottle of South African Sauvignon blanc. Dessert was apple and orange slices with Kit Kat chasers. Yum!

All is well.

On Watch, 3-6

So here we are outfitted and underway once more

Yippee ! Back in the routine of sea life.

I love to go to new countries and meet the locals and fellow sailors, but I find after a couple weeks, no matter how much I love the place, I start to feel like a fish out of water !

My watch is beautiful this morning.

There's a nice, light, cool breeze coming from Madagascar and a gentle swell — perfect for rocking us to sleep. The sky looks like a black velvet sheet, spatter-dashed with millions of stars, minus the 8 that have gone shooting by overhead.

My watch is now over , and so I'll leave it to Owen along with the rising sun...

Til next time,

Hannah

Location: 7° 00.5 S, 55° 49.1 E
Friday 12:00, 01.19.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 7° 00.5S 55° 49.1E at noon on January 19th. We are headed just about due south for Port Louis, Mauritius at eight knots, motor-sailing. We are scampering across the historical tracks of South Indian Typhoons during the season. The season is now, but winds are light and there is nothing happening at least in the five day forecasts. (I checked three different ones). We will be in Port Louis in four days at this speed, where we will refuel, buy a few fresh veggies and be off for Perth. Once we are about 200 miles (a day) south of Port Louis, we will be out of the zone.

We left Port Victoria, the Seychelles, more or less on time, at 1400 yesterday. We went 150 NM in the first 22 hours and have 795 to Port Louis.

We celebrate his life.

We heard today that my Father-in-law, the Honorable John Hooper passed away in California just about at the same time as we set sail. He was a lawyer and a diplomat. Husband, father and grandfather. Father-in-law to two lucky men and one lucky woman who are married to his two daughters and one of his sons.

He was indulgent enough to allow his eldest daughter, Margo, marry a 27 year old Navy Lieutenant, who found the "may I ask for your daughter's hand" interview more scary than a mission over North Vietnam.

When a ship leaves the harbor, people ashore watching it go over the horizon will say "She is gone" when they can't see her any more. But ahead, at the distant shore, there will be the happy cry of "Here she comes!"

Commander’s Weather Corporation
Tuesday, 01.16.2007

From: Commanders' Weather Corporation, tel: 603-882-6789

Route: Mahe, Seychelles toward Mauritius to Perth/Fremantle, Australia

Depart: approx. 0600utc, Thu, Jan 18, 2007

Prepared: 1800UTC Tue, January 16, 2007

Summary:

Satellite shows a lot of cloud cover and convection extending from 10N-10S between the Maldives/Chagos Islands area westward - just moving into the Seychelles.

• Light winds being reported at the Mahe airport currently, with some light showers in the area.
• NW-N-NE of Mahe, there have been W-NW winds of 20-50kts in thunderstorms.

The warmest sea surface temperatures in the SW Indian Ocean can be found E of 60E and between 5-15S

• The forecast models hint at some type of tropical low trying to organize just to the NE of Mahe over this next week but never allow the weak circulation to develop
• We'll continue to follow any possibly tropical activity in this region

Strong high pressure is currently found centered over the S Indian Ocean, near 35S/80E

• mainly E trade winds are seen along the N edge of this circulation to 10S
• with more light and variable winds between 10S and the equator, in regions without thunderstorm activity
• think you will have a fairly light trip, interspersed with a chance of some thunderstorms

As you move toward Mauritius later this week, a strong low pressure area is forecast to slide SE into the far S Indian Ocean around 80E

• The cold front associated with this low is expected to stretch from S Madagascar to the SE near 45S/80E by 12utc on the 18th
• During the weekend, this frontal boundary will slowly push the SIndian Ocean high pressure to the E and weaken it

On Sunday, another strong low will slide E across the far S Indian Ocean dragging another frontal boundary from Mauritius Island toward the SE, near 40S/80E

• Low pressure areas and tropical lows can form and travel SE along these type of frontal boundaries as the boundaries slide E across the S Indian Ocean
• Currently, there are no such lows forecast in the short -medium range time period but we'll keep watching.

Routing

Generally S toward Mauritius

• Routed you at about 170-180 nm/day in some gusty thunderstorm conditions then lighter winds S of 10S

Wind Forecasts

Wind direction TRUE, speed in kts, time is UTC

Wed, Jan 17

00: 290-320/ 10-20

12: 280-310/ 12-20 gusts/squalls to 30

Weather: Variably cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Seas: mainly 2-4 ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Thu, Jan 18

00: 270-300/ 10-18

06: 280-310/ 10-20 gusts/squalls to 30

Approx. departure

12: 290-320/ 10-20, gusts 30-35

18: 260-310/12-20

Weather: variably cloudy with isolated showers and thunderstorms

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Fri, Jan 19

00: light and variable to 250-300/5-12

06: 240-280/6-12 some gusts 20

12: 200-240/ 5-12 some gusts 20

nr 7 50S/56E

18: light and variable

Weather: variably cloudy with isolated showers and thunderstorms

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Sat, Jan 20

00: light and variable to 050-090/5-10

12: becoming 050-090/5-12

nr 10 50S/ 56E

Weather: Variably cloudy with chc isolated showers and thunderstorms. Some gusts to 25-30kts in any thunderstorms.

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Sun, Jan 21

00: 040-080/ 6-14

12: 050-090/ 7-15

nr 13 50S/56 30E

Weather: Variably cloudy with increased chc showers and thunderstorms. Some gusts to 25-30kts in any thunderstorms.

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Mon, Jan 22

00: 050-080/ 6-15

12: 040-070/ 10-17

nr 16 50S/56 50E

Weather: Variably to mostly cloudy with scattered showers/thunderstorms. Some gusts to 25-30kts in any thunderstorms.

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Tue, Jan 23

00: 020-050/ 5-12

12: 030-060/ 7-15

nr Mauritius

Weather: Variably to mostly cloudy with scattered showers/thunderstorms. Some gusts to 25-30kts in any thunderstorms.

Seas mainly 3-6ft, could become choppy and confused in any thunderstorms

Curieuse Island
January 14, 2007

Back to nature

It's been a long time I haven't written into my blog, but here I am again. Christmas is over and we have entered into a new year. It was wonderful to be home with my family over the holidays. We only had one snowy day in Hungary so it didn't feel so much like Christmas based on the weather but the warmth coming from the love in our hearts was surely there. We were especially numerous this Christmas and I feel more connected to my family now. It feels good to go home, it reminds me of where things start.

So, now, here we are back on the water floating by Curieuse Island in the Seychelles. It is almost midnight and the stars are bright in the night sky and our boat gently rocks on the waves. I don't really want to sleep, the sky is so beautiful, you just can't see this from a city. Being on the water enveloped by the starry sky with occasional shooting stars is breathtaking. It often brings tears to my eyes. I feel connected to something greater and timeless.

We saw a hawksbill turtle her lay eggs on the beach today and many other turtles grazing on grass all day long. I snorkeled with a baby green turtle and schools of bright yellow and blue fish. We found shiny red seeds in the forest as we hiked the hills on the island and delicate white and purple shells in the sand: we are going to make necklaces while at sea. We are about to undertake an approximately 30-day journey to Australia.

In two days, on January 16th, we are going to celebrate the Maggie B's first anniversary. We are planning to bake a boat-shaped cake and maple leaf molasses cookies. We will have many friends with us, just like on the launch party. Then, we'll take a deep breath and do the final checks and buy the rest of provisions and say farewell to our new friends and set sail towards a new continent, the land of koalas and kangaroos.

Happy Birthday, Maggie B
Monday 01.16.2007

Outward bound, one year later...

The Blue Peter is the signal flag "P" which is blue with a white center square. It means "Outward Bound." Ships in the old days hoisted the Blue Peter when they were ready to sail, so all ashore would know. The Second Mate would then go by the jail, bars, and the red light district to gather the crew. Of course, the crew of the Maggie B are all present, clean and sober.

Last night was epic.

It was the Maggie B's first anniversary. She was launched in a snowstorm on January 16, 2006 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. No snow in the Seychelles! Bori baked a cake and decorated it with a schooner, Hannah baked delicious cookies, many shaped as Maple Leafs in honor of the Nova Scotian birth. We invited yachtie friends, Seychellian friends and all our French friends, and made new friends that night. At one point I counted 35 people visible from the cockpit and was sure I missed some. We had 11 dinghies tied up, looking rather like a nursing sow with piglets. I'm glad that the Coast Guard didn't check us, but if they came by, they probably would have joined the party. We had a half case of very nice South African champagne saved for justsuch an emergency. It disappeared even before we got to lighting the one candle on the cake.

South for the Westerlies

The game plan is to head south to pick up the Westerlies on the south side of the South Indian Ocean High. It should take us to about 35 South. The Commanders Weather briefing will be posted on the web site. In general we will have light (10-15 knot) easterly winds for much of the way. Mauritius is about 850 NM away, south and a little east, and we are going to head in that direction because it is about 4200 NM to Perth and we have about 1200 NM of fuel for motoring. If, as I suspect, we will have to motor a fair amount between here and Mauritius, we will stop for a pit stop there. Since it is a French Overseas Territory, they supposedly have good cheese.

Checking out of the Seychelles was relatively easy — two hours and about $300 in fees for the two months we were here, which seems fair for the marvelous time we had.

We are off tonight for a last meal at our favorite restaurant, Le Perle Noir, the Black Pearl, also the name of a famous ship. Then 4000 Rupees of food arrives from the wholesaler at 0830, then top up our diesel and water, and, after a check by the Coast Guard, we are off for Australia!

All is well.

Location: 4° 17.3 S, 55° 44.0 E
Sunday 01.14.2007

Return to Isle Curieuse

The Schooner Maggie B is on the move again, but not too far. This weekend we are back on Isle Curieuse at 4° 17.3S 55° 44.0E. Curieuse (named for a French Naval ship) is marvelously full of tortoises and has many perfect beaches. We left Mahe for the weekend, planning to return tomorrow, Monday, morning, and hopefully be off for Australia before the end of the week.

We had a very successful Friday in Mahe, which included filling up on diesel and water. Those of you used to pulling in to a marina and saying "fill her up!" have no idea of the complications of getting fuel and water around the world. First was a serious negotiation with the Marine Charter Association as to whether they would sell us diesel at all. Then a three hour wait for the right bit of the float to open up. Then spinning the Maggie B (in front of the lunch crowd of professionals) in a space with at least a foot to spare in any direction with only 10 knots of wind. Then an hour to get the 1053 liters. Did I mention paying in cash? Also negotiating with a fishing boat to "borrow" their water. But, to be fair, the price was very reasonable at about six SR a liter or $2.26 a gallon, if you exchange your crisp $100's on the "informal" market.

When we arrived at Curieuse (about 20 NM run), we dived on the boat to admire our handywork of December, expecting to see a perfectly clean hull. The hull was actually looking pretty good, but the prop, which had been totally shiny when we relaunched in December, was completely covered with barnacles. We then fully understood the remark that someone had made in the Yacht Club that one skipper had dived and put a plastic bag over their prop when they left their boat over the holidays.

But I had carried out a new secret weapon (and somehow got it through the TSA and Seychelles Customs): a hookah! You should have seen my son Alden's face in Chicago when I said I'd bought a hookah. This one is an electric air pump that plugs into the Maggie B's 110 volt AC, and supplies air to a mouthpiece at the end of a 60 foot tube. See The Air Line. It enabled me to slide down to the prop with a paint scraper and wire brush and get it all sorted out in about 20 minutes. The system worked marvelously and seemed to particularly fascinate the fish, especially a very serious six foot barracuda, which really wanted to slide in and get a close look, though a poke in the nose by the wire brush dissuaded it somewhat.

Owen proved that he will be a fine shipmate, standing tall on the shoulders of the Maggie B's great Maritime Mechanics, Max and Bart (of earlier legs). He was able to replace the salinity probe in our watermaker in less than an hour despite its being positioned in a place a little harder to get at than the transmission of a 1954 Austin Healey. Tomorrow we are going to (try to) replace the impeller of the Yanmar. It hasn't broken (as far as we know) but it has been spinning its heart out for 640 hours, which is probably plenty. The generator's impeller destructed after 400 hours.

All is well.

On Board Again,
Monday 01.08.2007

The Schooner Maggie B is now re-crewed in Port Victoria! Frank, Bori, Hannah and Owen all made it to Port Victoria safe and sound and more or less on time. Everybody's bags got through the gauntlet of the TSA, baggage handlers in Halifax, Dulles, Chicago, Budapest, London, Paris and here. The TSA opened Owen's bag to check the pine tar, but probably they decided that anything that smelled that strong had to be good for you, and allowed it to pass.

The two anchors and the mooring lines will take us a week to sort out. A Gordian Knot (sp?). The boat only has a few minor dings. We were lucky to have good folks watching her while we were gone.

We're unpacking today, and sleeping. Tomorrow we'll start loading and sorting and stowing. The weather is cloudy and rainy, on and off, and forecast to continue the same.

Owen started his Seychelles experience right with octopus curry for lunch. He took some of the hot sauce, even though warned by his shipmates. Steam came from his ears, which was fun to watch.

All is well.