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Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V log for 9th, 10th and 11th November



Sunday 9th November 2008

 

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

 

The usual suspects, namely John, Judith and JB, have re-boarded the good ship Quasar V making the numbers on board 6.  That includes Malcolm and John, the geriatric pensioners, with criminal and juvenile tendencies, Judith the enthusiastic cook, Lindsey the needle happy quack, Ian the ship?s boy and JB.

 

We left Mauritius today at 3.30pm local time, headed for La Reunion, a small island 130 miles off the south west coast of Mauritius.  With light southerly winds we unfortunately needed to motor sail. 

 

However, a treat was in store for us.  Within 30 minutes of leaving Port Louis, Judith spotted a pod of sperm whales.  John, on helm, immediately abandoned the heading in pursuit of these whales to have a closer inspection.  We stopped within 50 metres of them and a mother and her calf ambled over to inspect us!  Our joy at sighting the whales was tempered with a touch of trepidation as we realised how big they were when they approached within 3 metres of the boat.  The mother whale was in excess of 20 metres in length.  She had a pronounced bulbous head, a feature of the sperm whale.  With a graceful flip of her powerful tail she nestled into the depths of the sea, just to the stern of the boat, instructing her calf to follow.  Pure magic.

 

The 20 hour sail to La Reunion continued at a comfortably uneventful pace save for a welcome from an abundance of playful dolphins as we approached the north of the island.

 

Monday 10th and Tuesday  11th November

 

LA REUNION

 

We arrived at La Reunion at approximately 10am local time on 10th November.  It all started well as we secured the boat, filled up with fuel and had a lovely lunch in Le Port, a sleepy little sun-baked seaside town. 

 

Alas, events started to conspire against us, preventing us from enjoying the sights of the island. The first obstacle was that the residents of La Reunion celebrated Armistice Day as a public holiday, hence half the sleepy island was on holiday.  Secondly, in typical fashion, the French lorry drivers blockaded the airports and fuel depots staging a protest against the rise in fuel prices, causing chaos on the roads.  Thirdly, there were no cars available for hire.  In defeat, we hotfooted to the town and had a lovely evening out where we were met with a throng of celebratory football players and fans parading their trophy through the town streets.

 

The next day we decided to leave La Reunion, given the absence of hire cars available and blockades causing chaos throughout the island.  But to our chagrin Customs and Immigration refused to allow us to check out.  So we were stuck in La Reunion for another night.  This was having spent all morning provisioning the boat, which involved a number of bicycle rides and treks into the town's only supermarket, which was thankfully open. 

 

Promptly, and without due delay, with a boat now full of food and drink we returned to Le Port and ate and drank all afternoon in the restaurant/bar we had adopted!!  We got on well with the owners who bestowed us with gifts of straw hats, peaked caps, lighters and stickers. 



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