First Indian Ocean Passage, Padang to Cocos/Keeling

May 15 2016

This has been an uneventful trip so far. We are travelling mostly south to get out of the doldrums, but are not there yet. Most days we are motoring in light winds. If there are squalls around, we can sail a few hours on the winds they produce. Yesterday during dinner a squall to 30 knots hit us. That was a scramble to reef and keep things from flying around down below. It has been so calm that we are not tidied up enough.

We left last Wed and were planning on stopping Thurs night in the southeast corner of Pagai Selatan. Several other boats are waiting there for good weather, which means at least some wind here. But the weather didn't look like it was going to be much different in the next few days so we just kept going. No Regrets came within sight of us at the end of the island having spent the night before on the west coast. That was our official "start". We have been fairly close most of the trip, travelling slowly to conserve fuel. But, at least, we will probably make it to Cocos. If the wind is too strong from the south, it is too much of a "beat" to be worth a stop. Most of the boats on the Sum (Sumatra) net are not making this detour.

We thought the bilge pumps were good now, but the fuse keeps blowing on one of them. Also the hose has come off the manual pump. I guess they all need to come out again for repair. Good thing we will have a stop.

The only company we have had are a few dolphins and some birds, and still some fishing boats out this far. We expect tradewinds to develop by 10 south. We are currently at 7S. ETA Wed the 18th