Five Days at Sea – 625nm ✅ –1,725nm to Go!
Five days into our Indian Ocean crossing, and life aboard Okisollo has been a delightful mix of spectacular sailing, fresh fish, questionable plumbing, mechanical mysteries, and a little Hollywood entertainment. Just another week in paradise!
Sunday – Preparing for the big crossing.
Sunday was all about getting Okisollo ready for 2,400 miles of open ocean. The hull was cleaned, rigging checked, kayak packed away, and everything that could potentially become a flying projectile was secured.
We began transforming Okisollo from her comfortable floating home at anchor back into a serious ocean-going sailing yacht. It’s amazing how much work goes into preparing a boat to spend the next couple of weeks doing absolutely nothing but sailing.
Day One – Mauritius, Here We Come!
Monday at precisely noon, I pulled up the anchor in a fresh 20-knot breeze, officially trading a perfectly good anchorage for 2,400 miles of open ocean. Some people book a cruise. Apparently, I prefer the version where you do all the work yourself.
Andrea skillfully guided us out through the bommies and reefs, and by 12:30 we crossed the starting line. Mauritius, here we come! With 20-plus knots of wind, the full jib and staysail poled out in a butterfly configuration, Okisollo was charging west. The Indian Ocean was giving us a proper send-off, and we were more than happy to accept.
Day Two – Sail Surgery, Celestial Navigation, and Fresh Fish
The morning began with a little surgery on our drifter. Unfortunately, the damage was near the head of the sail, which meant removing the entire thing from its sock. For those unfamiliar with this procedure, imagine trying to unfold, repair, and refold a giant parachute inside your small living room. Now put that living room on a rocking horse. After temporarily converting the salon into an industrial-sized sail loft, we managed to make the repair, wrestle the enormous sail back into its sock, and return it to the deck. Soon the drifter was flying again, happily pulling us toward Africa.
At noon, we switched from sail repair to celestial navigation. Andrea took a sextant sight from the pitching deck and calculated our position to within three miles of the GPS! Pretty impressive considering the sun, horizon, and boat all seemed determined to move independently of one another. There’s something remarkable about figuring out where you are on the planet using a mirror, the sun, and a bit of mathematics.
The afternoon delivered an even better reward. We hooked and landed a beautiful mahi-mahi! A few hours later, our catch had been promoted from ocean resident to dinner guest of honor, appearing on the table as incredibly fresh ceviche.
Day Three – The (not so) Glamorous Side of Sailing
I woke up to discover two things: the toilet was completely clogged, and the refrigerator had stopped cooling. Welcome to the glamorous world of sailing around the world!
At least the weather was beautiful. Apparently, the Indian Ocean was trying to soften the blow.
First up was the toilet. I’ll spare everyone the unpleasant details, but after a determined battle with the plumbing, victory was ours. The toilet was operational again, and I was reminded why this particular job remains firmly at the bottom of my list of favorite sailing activities.
Next came the refrigerator. Three hours of troubleshooting later, I had successfully established, beyond any reasonable doubt, that it still didn’t work. My best guess is that the electronic control board has failed and is no longer telling the compressor to start. Fortunately, our supply of fresh food was pretty limited to begin with, and we’re nearly out anyway. Apparently, the refrigerator looked at our inventory, decided its services were no longer required, and took early retirement.
On the brighter side, we enjoyed delicious homemade meatballs for a late lunch, everyone was happy and healthy, and the toilet was once again accepting visitors.
So, two mechanical failures, one repair, and a fantastic lunch. It was a reasonably successful day.
Day Four – Champagne Sailing and Questionable Cinema
The weather forecast had promised light winds. Fortunately, nobody bothered to tell the wind. Instead, we spent the morning enjoying a beautiful broad reach with 25 knots pushing Okisollo along at a wonderful pace.
By day four, something magical happens offshore. The watches become routine, sleeping while underway starts to feel normal, and everyone settles into the rhythm of life at sea. We had found our sea legs, everyone was well rested, and spirits were high.
Okisollo was happily eating up the miles, and we were enjoying the ride. The evening brought another excellent meal, courtesy of John, who prepared a delicious beef curry. For entertainment, we settled in to watch Borat. Fine dining, spectacular sailing, and some of the most questionable humor. Not exactly the traditional luxury cruise experience, but I wouldn’t trade it.
Day Five – Settling Into Ocean Life
This morning started at a wonderfully relaxed pace. By 9 AM, everyone was up, breakfast was underway, music was playing, and the usual collection of jokes and good-natured insults was circulating around the boat.
We’ve officially reached that wonderful stage of an ocean passage where nobody is particularly concerned about what day of the week it is. Our world has become wonderfully simple: sail, eat, sleep, repeat. Occasionally fix something that has decided to stop cooperating.
Today’s ambitious agenda includes another round of sextant practice, teaching Andrea how to make a double-eye splice, and possibly a few games of cribbage.
We’re currently enjoying 18 knots of wind and making good progress westward. Unfortunately, the forecast suggests the wind may disappear tomorrow morning, potentially leaving us with three days of motoring.
Three days listening to the diesel engine instead of the wind filling our sails is not exactly my idea of paradise. So we’re going to enjoy every minute of sailing while we can.
After all, there’s something very special about a 52-foot sailboat quietly carrying you across an ocean, powered by nothing more than the wind.
Onward… Mauritius is out there somewhere!
Aunt Chris passed on the 29th of September, She passed just as the Doctors said she would peaceful.