Category Archives: Passage

Time spent between destinations travelling on the water.

Port Blair to Maldives Days 4-7

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Over the last three days, the winds have continued to be erratic in speed and direction, so the seas pick up, then smooth out, then pick up”¦ and so on. But overall, the ride is still pretty good, even at its roughest. Mike is bored stiff and suffering from internet withdraw, but the good news is that his injuries are healing nicely, probably aided by the fact that he isn’t moving around much. He is so lucky about the good seas. It is very hard to move around the boat in rough water, especially on the stairs. With the difficulty he has bending his knees thanks to his wounds, we don’t know how he could have physically done it if the water were rough.

Also over the last three days, moon has gone from a crescent to nothing. The small/no moon has been bad for visibility, but the flip side is that both the stars and bioluminescence are dazzling without the moonlight to usurp their glory.

On Sunday, we realized Continue reading →

Passage from Port Blair to Maldives Days 1-4

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So far this passage has been smooth and pleasant. Since we left, winds have been light, but wind speed and direction have been erratic. Of course, all that matters to us is that the winds are light, but we do feel sorry for the poor sailors, who must be going crazy from constantly changing their sails. Thanks to light winds we have had calm seas. The swells are four feet, coming at long intervals, and there are virtually no wind waves. It is really nice. It just doesn’t get much better than this. We are making good time, too. We have been consistently running at the relatively low 1600 RPM but averaging 6.25 knots. Flat seas help with speed, as do currents going our way.

We are quite pleased to report that Continue reading →

Welcome to Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India

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Sea conditions remained the same (thank God!) and we arrived at Port Blair at 1030 local time. We anchored in a bay surrounded by a series of small islands, some with low hills, some taller mountains, all green and beautiful. There are a couple sailboats and a mega yacht anchored near us. Port Blair’s wharf is full of commercial containers and warehouses. Farther back, you can see lots of buildings on the hill. East of Port Blair is Chatham Island, a tiny island with more commercial vessels in front of it attached by a bridge to Port Blair. The surrounding islands are all dotted with buildings here and there many along the shore, a housing development of some sort at the top of the hill on another island , a smattering of houses on the hills, but the majority of the land is undeveloped. It looks like pretty dense forest. In some ways it reminds us of the Thursday Island area in Australia.

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Mainland India has a long and rich history, but we are going to focus Continue reading →

Passage from Phuket, Thailand to Port Blair, Andaman Islands

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On Sunday, the moment of truth came where we realized we could no longer put off chores. Eric changed the generator oil and filter and the air filter in the main engine and on engine fuel filter while Christi cleaned and did laundry. We also both did some major re-organizing. No matter how much stuff we move around, we never can seem to put it all away. We always have something sitting out on the living room floor that has no home. And when we find a spot for it, whatever was in that spot goes to the living room floor instead. Someday we will get it all put away… Maybe… Mike went to the hospital to have his bandages changed. We are pleased to report he came back with slightly smaller bandages, which is a very good sign, indeed. In the evening we went out to dinner with a family we had met on the kayak trip.

Monday morning we took a taxi back to Ao Chalong bay to check out. We were supposed to Continue reading →

Welcome to Phuket Island, Phuket Province, Thailand

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We untied from the mooring at 1000, just as a long line of tourists boats came chugging into the bay. Not only was our timing good going in, it was good going out, too. If there weren’t so many tourists around we probably would have stayed in the Phi Phi islands another day or two, but all the ridiculously heavy boat traffic made for very uncomfortable and rolly anchorages. Besides, we haven’t checked into the country yet, so it was probably time to get officialdom out of the way. Technically we weren’t supposed to have stopped in Ko Muk or the Phi Phis, but we had been told that the Thai government gives you a week between checking out of Malaysia and checking into Phuket before they become suspicious that you may have made an illegal stop along the way. Also, there is no real coast guard checking for illegal boats, so getting caught stopping someplace is unlikely.

Our trip to Phuket was almost identical to our trip to Phi Phi. The seas were smooth, calm and pleasant, there were some pretty islands along the way, and there were lots of fishing flags to weave in and out of, requiring constant hand steering. We understand fully why people out here prefer to day hop versus take overnight trips. Trying to avoid these little flags at night is very stressful. And like on the trip to Phi Phi, we had an equipment problem. Eric turned on the Continue reading →