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Firefly - Curry on Saturday evening?



Today is Thursday 13th of October and Firefly's crew are dreaming of Mauritius's local speciality, Carri Poission (fish curry) washed down with the island's Phoenix Beer on Saturday evening. Despite a very fast passage across the Indian Ocean and continuing favorable trade winds it is however unlikely that time will be on our side.....

Its 0800 now and there are 450 miles to run until we reach Port Louis. The forecast for the next 24 hours gives us broad reaching in 20 knots and that should mean close on another 200 miles under the keel as we average about 8 knots. The wind will then move more to the east and gradually reduce meaning less speed to cover the final 250.

Having been at sea for a week and half it is interesting how one's mind works, and more interesting that the 3 of us are all thinking the same thing - we can't wait to arrive. However it is important to point out that as keen sailors we are loving the trip - and hating it the same time. There are a number of negatives but it is predominantly that the boat never stops rolling and we are effectively imprisoned. Making a long passage on a yacht is a however a unique and often magical experience, in fact while discussing the experience so far, Gareth described it as a 'complete detox from modern life'.

We are a mere spec in the midst of massive ocean moving at about one hundredth the speed of a modern airliner - it makes the planet feel extremely large (a good feeling) and apart from the odd bird and flying fish there is nothing else here. Totally dependent on Firefly, she is powered by the wind and creates the electrical power needed from the towed generator and the solar panels. In fact traveling this fast the generator is so efficient that we only need the engine running briefly in the morning to power the toaster!

So back to those final 250 miles....on Friday the estimate is 170 miles leaving 80 more to cover from 0800 on Saturday. While 80 does not sound much it will take 12 hours so the curry seems starts to seem unlikely but still possible. Except, the time difference is on our side. We are on Cocos time so will have 1.5 hours in hand! Sadly, the only flaw in the plan is that there is something we had forgotten...customs, immigration and quarantine, and the timing and duration of that is completely unknown. However, we still have Aussie beer on board and some fish in the freezer so perhaps it will be a DIY curry and at least the rolling will have stopped!

Paul, Gareth and Hugh

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