From There to Here … Into the Indian & on to Africa

From There to Here … Into the Indian & on to Africa

There's always a bit of regret when we leave a place we've enjoyed and been comfortable. There's always a bit of apprehension mixed with anticipation and exhilaration as we haul anchor and head out of a harbor and across a vast ocean. What's out there? How will the weather be? What will break this time? How long will it take us?

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There to Here – Western Australia, Here We Come

There to Here – Western Australia, Here We Come

We pick up our From There to Here story in Esperance, Western Australia.  Making landfall in Esperance after the long passage in and across the Great Australian Bight was welcome in many ways. Though the passage across the Bight was challenging, it was also amazing. Now that is was behind us, however, getting back to civilization definitely had its pluses.

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10 Days to Cocos Keeling

Our passage from Geraldton, Western Australia to the Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean was idyllic. We could not have asked for better weather, better winds or better conditions. (Okay, that 10th day sucked, but the good days were really good! ) Here's our photo journal of the trip and our passage stats: Planned miles: 1422 Actual Miles: 1468

Days at sea: 10.5 Average speed: 5.8 kts

Flying fish: 14 Squid: 4 Birds: 1 Edible fish: 0

 

humpback whale breaching

Humpback whale breaching just off our port beam

 

red tailed tropic bird

A red-tailed tropic bird did frequent flyovers.

 

dramatic sunrise

A dramatic sunrise on the Indian Ocean

 

brute force and a hammer

The captain resorts to brute force (and hammer) to coax a jammed whisker pole into service.

 

wing on wing

Nine of Cups sailed downwind wing-on-wing for most of the passage. Our poor American flag looks a bit worse for the wear.

 

big waves

Winds and waves were big at times. We saw up to 40 knot gusts and lots of green water over the bow.

 

flying fish

Flying fish come in different sizes.

 

stuck squid

Squids are sticky … especially on the mainsail.

 

moonset sunrise

Moonset is no competition for sunrise.

 

cocos

Arrival at beautiful Cocos Keeling Atoll