It was a beautifull night at sea , 14 / 20 knots of wind on the port beam, and we had a passanger for the night. A " Tern" landed on the rib and spent an hour or so there before moving forward onto one of the large fenders on the quarter deck, where it was happy to remain untill dawn. then kissed us goodbye and flew off out over the vast ocean.
We sailed through the " Timor Sea " before crossing into the " Indian Ocean" and the waining Moon appeared around 02.30hrs, This gave us great comforting light, even though it was in its last quarter.
09.00hrs RADIO CALL . It seems that we are 36 miles ahead of the next boat, so we are doing ok.
10.15 We reached 1/2 way at 465 miles
12.00 The weather was beautifull and much less humid than the last few days. The wind had eased to 11 / 14 knots , and we had a flat sea.
14.30 We passed a 959 foot tanker, she seemed to stop when she passed us to the south, and next thing the AIS indicated that the ship was no longer under " command " At the same time we were reading the Imray Book on Cruising the " Indian Ocean " and it seems the area we are in right now, is high on the list for PIRATES.However, it seems they are interested in commercial ships and not sailors or yachts... phew! So, of course we are wondering if we are witnessing a Piracy at sea. ? If it is the case, boy are we glad its them and not us ......Anyway, Aileens prayers will keep them away.
Later in the day, we were joined by lots of dolphins, jumping out of the water all around "A Lady" . We still, after sailing approx 18500miles, love to see the dolphins.
18.00hrs,, Distance travelled.....................................515 miles
Distance to destination.............................407 miles
we also had the benifit of a 1 knot current,
20.30hrs Dinner in the starlight rest. was slow Roast belly Pork and crackling, plus roast spuds, and green peas, also
included was apple jelly, and this was followed by some delicious Ice Cream.
We had lots of chat with Neill about the good old days, when all our families ( including his ) used trapes all over the world with the Mirror Dingies,We all enjoyed that period of our lives.
23.00hrs the wind had dropped to 10knots from behind, so we started the engine and motored along under the twinkling stars.
Thats all for now.
Signed :- Stephen Hyde ( Skipper )
Night watches :- 10,00 / 01.00 ...........................Neill
01.00 / 04.00............................ Aileen
04.00 / 07.00...............................Stephen