This is an account of our circumnavigation on Moondust, a 40ft catamaran.
Home is where the heart is and after having almost circumnavigated the world, my heart still belongs to Africa. Arriving in Mikindani Bay in southern Tanzania was like coming home; we were welcomed by the shrill, haunting cry of the fish eagle from high above the grove of steely pinkish tinged Baobab trees still standing sentinel over the bay after eons. For me these two epitomize Africa!
At intervals during our circumnavigation we had contemplated the Indian Ocean crossing, not always with a great deal of enthusiasm because of the distances involved across to Africa; 4580 nm (8200 km) from Indonesia and 3330 nm (6000 km) from Cocos Keeling. Add to that the intemperate weather and sailing conditions that seemed to be a common factor in quite a few of the accounts we had read.
This challenge has generated enough interest amongst cruisers to justify an ‘Indian Ocean Crossing’ Facebook group and also a useful document written by experienced sailor, Durban based Des Cason, who has successfully guided many hundreds of boats across this ocean and onwards down the infamous Mozambique Channel. We initiated daily email contact with Des prior to departure so that we could benefit from his experience as well as from the sophisticated weather information sources to which he made daily reference; much superior to our limited Iridium Go satellite link.
Continue reading “The Last ‘Big One’ – Cocos Keeling to Tanzania”
We expected it to take us five days to sail the 550nm from Christmas Island to Cocos Keeling but we had such good wind that we made it in three-and-a-half days.
Even though Cocos Keeling is part of the same underwater mountain range as Christmas Island, the topography is very different. The latter consists of two low- lying coral atolls with palm fringed white beaches and turquoise water.
Moondust's Voyage 