Since we have completed our passage across the Indian Ocean, it is now safe to share some of the stuff that we have been dealing with along the way. It is no secret that things break down on boats. However, we do tend to keep those things somewhat hidden from our family and friends back home, at least while we are underway. Even though the pleasantness is never lied about, the reality is that sometimes things go wrong. Well, here’s everything that went wrong between Singapore and Durban with engine problems, steering system problems and a true hurricane!

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Helena is underway again and with a new crew! Rolf and Matty have said goodbye to Rikard and Maurizio and are now sailing with Neil Bryan. They left Mauritius on the 6th and are hoping to arrive in Durban in less than two weeks. We’ll keep you up-to-date on their progress right here. For daily location updates you can check Pangolin.

Tuesday 6 November

Local time: 17.30 Position: 20.14S 57.12E, Course 247 T, speed 4.0 kts, True Wind speed 7.2 kts E-NE

We have spent a lovely time in the north of Mauritius in a place called Grand Baye where there are a few resorts, but mostly very nice people and lots of nice weather. We have done some snorkelling and diving with David and Peter from the Dolce-thingy, a beautiful catamaran of 63 ft long and about 3 kilometres wide!!! (well I think it was about 32 ft, but it seemed a lot more!) Since Neil was flying into Mauritius, we picked him up from the airport last Sunday and we made a nice road trip along the west coast of the island before introducing him to his new home.

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Helena is off again! After a short stop Rolf, Matty, Rikard and Mauritio left Cocos Keeling towards Rodrigues in the Mauritius Islands, expecting to arrive there around the 16th. We’ll keep you up-to-date on their progress right here. For daily location updates you can check Pangolin.

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In the next months Helena with Rolf, Matty, Rikard and Mauritio on board, will cross the Indian Ocean to South Africa, with stops in Cocos Keeling and Mauritius. These are the daily updates from the first part of their trip: from Singpore to Cocos Keeling.

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After spending a month around Darwin, waiting for our cruising permit for Indonesia while checking out the outback and arranging for crew to sail with Rolf, we were finally able to set sail again. I write we, but Boukje actually flew over to Bali and spend a week in a retreat being spoiled (being pregnant isn’t so bad). Rolf on the other hand motored Helena for 850 windless miles over the Indian Ocean. His great consolation: once on Bali he would finally be able to eat a kroket again!

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People often ask us what our most scary moment has been at sea. Usually we answer that we haven’t really been in any scary situations, as we try to avoid storms and rough seas and that kind of stuff. Oh sure, we’ve sailed out of an atoll, along the wrecks of two big cargo ships, with 48 knots winds (10 beaufort) on the bow, heavy waves, an engine held together by superglue and cable ties and sails that were damaged and barely holding on; but that was a calculated risk. 😉 But now for the first time in 2,5 years of sailing Rolf ran into something he really considered somewhat scary.
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We have arrived in our final port of call in Australia: Darwin. As we have been very, very lazy in updating this website, I will try and bring you up to speed on the developments on board of Helena since July quickly: The repairs in Cairns have gone well, the boat looks and feels great again. We had Eric en Maxine crew with us for 2 months. Boukje returned on board in the beginning of August. We sailed from Cairns, via Cooktown, Barrier Reef and Torres Strait to Darwin. In a couple of weeks we’ll leave Darwin to sail to Bali and Singapore.

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It took us three weeks of blood, sweat and tears to get the boat fixed and running again. But, we are on the move again. A short stop in Gizo ensured of us supplies for the next months or so and in Noro we took in enough fuel to motor through the Solomon and Coral Sea if we so please. For now however, we are happily cruising around the Solomon Islands for a bit. Read the rest of this entry »