La Reunion Island - BPO travel and plans

Carol at the Helm - unusually cool morning!

First glimpse of Le Port, Reunion Island

Maggie at rest on the wall

Eclipse of the Sun - Reunion was the best place to view!

Carol on the climb to the top of the crater

View down into the crater

Rugged landscape

Crater rim

Hang gliders in the crater

Observation point on crater's edge

On the edge

September 5, 2016


Luc and Maggie have kept us so busy this week that I have not had time to sit down and catch up with our blog. Today, our first underway to Africa, I will outline the what ,how, when, where of the trip at the moment. Tomorrow, I'll write about what the highlights of this island were for us.

We left Mauritius Aug 30 and arrived the next morning. The winds averaged about 30 knots on the beam so it was a fast trip. It was also a wet and tiring one for us, as it turned out. Both the bow thruster and autopilot were not working. They had been fine when we returned to Canada so didn't think of checking before leaving. Boat equipment doesn't like to sit unused. This meant that we had to hand steer the whole way. With the beam reach, waves and wind are on the helms person. Fortunately, we were giving Kate a ride to Reunion. She had been on the boat rafted to us. Despite being seasick for a few hours, she took turns steering, one hour on, one hour in the cockpit on watch and one to sleep.

We have had the autopilot repaired. The fluxgate compass needed replacing, probably the only part of the system we didn't have a replacement for. We thought replacing a burnt out fuse would be the simple solution to the bow thruster but it looks like the batteries will need replacing. Instead of being in a slip in the marina we were tied to the entry wall. At least, all the marine services had their offices there. The showers were a 15 walk away with only cold water, this that didn't happen often.

Luc flew in from the Philippines for the 6 days. There are three boats in the BPO now. We have a weather router to help us on this next leg, considered the most difficult long passage of a circumnavigation. Fortunately, he has forecast today as the best day to leave. The schedule allowed us to wait up to 2 weeks. We will be happy with longer in South Africa. There is much to see, and you need to do a lot of waiting for the right weather as you travel along the coast.

As well as sightseeing, we made many trips to the markets to restock the fridge and freezer. Because we had rental cars for a few days, it was a chance to stock up on other heavy things, like beer, pop, and milk. (Probably not in that order of priority.) A number of other cruisers that we have met elsewhere are in this area. We had Gaia over for dinner and they filled us in on others' plans as they have been here awhile. Most boats will be leaving soon to go around the north of Madagascar, along Mozambique to SA. It is 1000nm longer but has more places to stop, plus the chance to see that island.

Last night we had a farewell dinner, particularly to say goodbye and thank you to Luc.
He has joined us in five cruising areas. He invited his host from town ,whose home was offered on Air B and B. He, in turn, introduced us to a good mechanic and a local sailor who shared tips. The restaurant was a well known creperie by the sea. A good farewell to France! We have 1440 nm to Durban and expect that to take 10 to 12 days.