Sunday, January 30, 2011

west to Maldives

We left the Andamans on Thursday Jan 27 at just before sundown...they want you out of their hair in 2 hours after checking out from immigration. So we got to sail thru a 1 mile passage in the blacka** night with no moon or sight of a horizon...just the radar image to get around the south of the main islands. Even Chuck who is a pillar of patience couldn't wait to get out after "big brother" was watching us the whole time with radio calls and even helicopters. I mean we aren't carrying weapons!!!

Some anchorages there were supposed to be just great but now they are off limits for cruisers and they are also charging about $10 a night to anchor any where in the islands. Even the regular anchorages are often in passages between islands with current and deeper than we like at 60-70' depth. As far as we are concerned the whole Indian bunch can just shove it!!! We heard of a taxi driver reporting a cruiser for changing out a routine pump and the govmt charged him duty for bringing it in because he allegedly brought in the pump to sell!!! Go figure! No other government acts this way....taxi driver spies??? Come on!!!

3 days behind us now with lumpy seas but usually good enough wind to do 5-6 knots. We have had enough scattered storms to clean off the salt and top off the water tanks....and make everything sticky and knocks us around freshening up our bruise assortment!

This sunday am just after I got up from my last sleep about 1pm, Chuck says we are dragging something and he has to go into the drink and cut it off in 25 knot winds. We hove the boat to with the staysail...[sorta stopping it by keeping it almost into the wind]. He was so brave to tie himself on and dive down with a knife and cut off a 10' long bunch of nets...looked like a bunch of onion and fruit bags in a old fish net. It was hooked on a tiny ...less than 1/4" screw... that holds on a zinc and had been slowing us down by a knot of speed.

Cooking has been a challenge but I am getting my sea legs back and learning to wait for the right roll to cook and it takes twice as long. No fish yet but we still keep trying as long as there aren't storms. These storms are pretty mild...just annoying.

more later

Cyan Crew
Lynn

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