Mischief - La reuinion to Richards Bay

Reunion was insight and Rally control had allocated Mischief a mooring against Influensa, this worried the skipper as he wasn't sure all of the crew had been inoculated against this sometimes deadly virus.......

This French Island set between Mauritius and South Africa had so much to offer, from the moment we were greeted by traditional dancing on the first evening. After completing the jobs on the boat, including a creative repair to the freezer by Dan from Smoke and Roses (Thank you so much Dan, good job) the crew were ready for Josh's party at the nearby resort. Partying that night was enjoyed to the full, some of the crew not arriving back at the boat until the small hours despite the early start the next day. Ouch!!!!! The coach arrived a few hours later to take a less than functioning fleet on a day trip to the world's most active volcano. Not much activity amongst much of the fleet though. After a snooze on the bus we were ready to enjoy magnificent views of the volcanos crater, gofa hole and a nice walk across the terrain. Many of the crew were ill equipped for the walk proving that flip flops should be better kept for the beach. Lunch was delicious local cuisine accompanied with local rum and French wine.

We of course mustn't forget it was Wendy's Birthday. A day off for Wendy, starting with birthday wishes from the dolphins and then a pod of Whales. She enjoyed birthday wishes from the fleet and a delicious cake that all the crew enjoyed. Obviously we weren't able to party on the day as we were mid Indian Ocean so we decided to take Wendy out for the day during our stay in Reunion. Starting the celebrations with a girly trip to the local seaside town, St. Denis where we enjoyed coffee on the beach followed by a little shopping in town. Anna and Sharon needed to buy Wendy gifts so it was decided I'd be the decoy to keep Wendy out of the way whilst the gifts were bought. I choose to lead her into a shop full of frumpy clothes and then desperately tried to persuade her that they were in fact rather trendy and perhaps she may like to try some on. I could tell by her face I was rapidly losing this battle and in danger of her escaping back into the previous shop where the gifts were secretly being percured. An outside rail provided another opportunity for me to try to lure her in "Look at this lovely dress Wendy" then Sharon arrives and says "isn't it more suitable for Halloween?" By which time the gift was hidden in her bag. Phew! only Anna's to go. This required a surreptitious lurk in a previous shop whilst Sharon moved Wendy swiftly on to lunch at the harbour edge. This was never going to be a quiet affair in the company of Bones and Dave. Boys will be boys and it culminated in Dave smelling of toilet airfreshner after bones attacked him with it mid meal. Not quite Hugo Boss but better than he had been smelling. Lunch was interrupted by the crew at various times tripping over a nearby step not learning anything from the previous tumbling tosser. An enormous Sword fish caught earlier also stopped precedings as it was dragged by a local fishing tour. I'm sure it was bigger than the fishing boat.

Our next treat for Wendy was horse riding in the mountains where she proved to be an accomplished rider unlike most of us who were dominated by well schooled ponies who were asked to carry this group of undisciplined sailors during the ponies teatime. The horses, however soon restored order to the group who despite their gun hoe attitude to the sea and its oceans found themselves as far out of their comfort zone as was possible. The group were photographed on a grassy verge that was the horses preferred location for their tea. Dave asked if many people paid to take the horses out for the evening meal...... All in all a great day, hope you enjoyed it Wendy.

A new acquisition to the Mischief toy cupboard was purchased when Bones and Dave again got out of control in the local supermarket practicing rugby moves with a child's foam ball that had to be purchased to avoid the tantrums of the two small boys. Wendy is threatening to throw it overboard if it keeps coming out of the cupboard on passage.

Its always fun on Mischief when there is an excuse to dress up this time an Halloween party, costumes were varied and suitably scary. The venue was the local restaurant where we enjoyed good food and a local band provided the music and by the way was difficult to decipher which members of the fleet had bothered to dressed up.

After the Skippers briefing we prepared to set sail for South Africa, Dave was particularly happy because he had a new reel and rod. A good purchase he assures us, a bargaiin. So far we've had the one that got away, an enormous sword fish which, was frankly better left in the sea and two Mahimahi that were very tasty. The Indian Ocean has again been sent to try us sending squalls containing water spouts, electric storms and then moments of no wind at all!!!!! We now await our arrival on the 11th or the 12th and also look forward to Marks's birthday on the 11th. Wishing you a happy Birthday then shipmate.