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American Spirit II - Day 289; 'Rigger Day' and a Great Rendezvous Party; Tuesday, October 21, 2014



Up at 6:10 AM. Jeremy and Joel followed by 6:40 AM. Why up so early? The sun. Not a lot of ways to darken the inside of a sailboat when the sun rises and you have hatches open for ventilation. If you close the hatches and pull the darkening screens, you can sleep later without the sun waking you. But that can get stuffy.

At 7:10 AM I'm looking at the boat behind me, Chicka-lu, and I notice two Indians standing outside of the boat. One then climbs onto the boat, walks to the bow, and then poses for pictures. Incredible. Crew on board are still sleeping. I'm tempted to ask them what they're doing, but my doing so might wake the sleeping occupants of the boat. So I just watch to make certain that they're not up to anything bad. Pose, picture and then they leave. The picture taking by Mauritius people has been quite extraordinary, with persons standing in front of many of the boats having their pictures taken by their husband or wife, or friend. We've never seen anything like it anywhere else around the world. Fascinating.

Around 8:00 AM I call the rigger and tell him to not order anything, that I'm making other arrangements and sailing on to Reunion island Thursday. I've waited long enough for the rigger to do something, and I've been disappointed. He goes nuts on the phone and says he can't stop the orders. This from a guy who last night hadn't ordered anything for 10 days. I was corresponding with him via SSB radio and the internet a thousand miles from Mauritius, and Rally control was calling him before I got in, to order me a new forestay in advance he wouldn't do it and now the foot dragging was continuing. At any rate, we ended the telephone conversation on a bad note. Three hours later we talked again and he told me he was able to stop the forestay order but not the Pro Furl order. I said fine. The Pro Furl parts will arrive in Mauritius on October 27, and I will have to fly from Reunion to Mauritius, pick them up, and then fly back the same day. That or I have the rigger ship them to me when they arrive in Mauritius. That's not going to happen. We leave Reunion for Richard's Bay, South Africa on November 1, so time is ticking away and I don't want to lose a day or two waiting for a shipment coming from a mere 120 nautical miles away.

At any rate, Rally control calls the rigger in Reunion; I talk with him; and he agrees to help me put a new forestay on the boat when we get to Reunion, even though he's quite busy. We could put a new forestay on the boat in Mauritius, because I got the wire and connecting apparatus from Vlado on Civetta II; but I'd rather a rigger put the new wire on than us doing it. We could do it in an acceptable manner, I think; but I'm sure a rigger could do it better. So we'll wait and have it done in Reunion.

The Mauritius rigger comes by the Rally office at 11:15 AM and give me an invoice for $4,000; for the Pro Furl parts, shipping and the rigger's commission. The way you pay an agent or someone who orders parts for you is by giving them a commission based on the price of what you've ordered. Usually 10% or 15%.

While I'm in the Rally office dealing with this matter Joel and Jeremy are taking the extrusion apart so they can put a new wire forestay on the rig. When I get back to the boat they are done; then I tell them our plan of having a rigger in Reunion put up the new forestay, and so they take the extrusion pieces apart again so we can bundle everything up and put it on the boat. The extrusion is really an aluminum tube that the jib is wrapped around; and the forestay wire fits inside of this hollow piece of aluminum. The extrusion pieces are too long (50 feet) to fit on the boat without taking them apart; and we have to be careful not to bend any as they would then be no god and we'd have to order more. From France.

While Joel and Jeremy are doing this, I go to Nexus and borrow from them an emergency Dynema forestay kit that we can use if necessary to help hold up the mast on the way to Reunion.

After that all the canned goods that were in the hold are taken off the boat and hosed off as some are rusting. Somehow they got salt water on them while in the rear, hidden hold area of the boat. Go figure! A local Mautitian stops by to help me, and when we're done I give him a nice fee for his services.

After most of our work projects are done for the day, its off to McDonald's for me for lunch; while Joel and Jeremy go to the Keg & Marlin pub for Wifi and a light lunch.

Back on the boat later, Joel takes a nap from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM while Jeremy reads and I'm still organizing things on the boat. You an never have things too organized on a boat; never.

Showers at 6:15 PM for Joel and me in the marina complex; then off to our rendezvous party at 7:00 PM. The party is on the dock next to NDS Darwin and Nexus. We can hear drums beating as we approach the party. Attractive young ladies are dancing to the drums. Free drinks are being served at the open bar; and tents have been set up on the asphalt pavilion area. Toward 8:00 PM or so, Paul from Rally control grabs a microphone and starts the program. First by introducing two guests, who each speak to us for a few minutes; then by giving out prizes for Class A and Class B boats for the most recent leg of the Rally from Cocos Keeling to Mauritius. Boats that earn prizes include: Alpheratz; Chicka-lu; Ghost; and Saphir. Sweet Pearl wins the 'ETA Award,' but they're not in attendance (Sandra's parents from Switzerland are in town). I have the microphone next and after thanking all in attendance for the noisy welcome we received when we arrived in Mauritius on October 16, I tell our story about our misadventure and thank Merlyn of Poole (Jonathan, Jenny and Sigi) Folie a Deux (Tim, Tracy,Brian and Lucy); Nexus (Russ, Laurie, Jeanine and Finn); and Civetta II (Vlado) for their help and support. Each boat receives a bottle of run or two. Certainly not enough for what they've done for us.

Lastly, Rally control surprised us by giving American Spirit II two gifts: a wooden model of a ship called the Superbe built in 1784. A three masted ship with multiple headstays and over 19 sails. Wow! I'm off to the store where they bought it tomorrow so I can package it up for the ride from Mauritius back home to Florida. Thank you Rally control: Paul and Joel. A pleasant surprise. I can't thank the World Cruising Club enough for their help in our misadventure, either; with their emails to us; to the rest of the fleet; and their help in coordinating my contacts with the riggers in Mauritius and Reunion. If ever there was a good reason to join a Rally, this event should be enough to convince anyone. As I've said in the past, sailing with the World ARC 2014/15 Rally is not only 'Concierge Sailing' ('Leave the planning to us!';, but a safer way to sail, too.

Dinner after the speeches consists of fish, shrimp, beef, chicken, lamb, rice, salad and for dessert succulent water melon and pineapple. A very good culinary experience!

Back on the boat after the party, Joel and I watch episode 2 of True Detective, an HBO series. Jeremy has had enough and goes right to bed after calling the States.

After the show I call home and talk to my better half, Janet. Always a pleasant experience. You have to like SIM cards. Only $.15 per minute to call the US. Not bad. It probably costs $2.00 to $3.00 using my AT&T US phone.

In bed at 11:15 PM.

Brian Fox




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