Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Farewell Andaman Sea, hello Indian Ocean

It's been a day of contrasts as we've moved from the Andaman sea into the Indian Ocean. The day started with a rainy squall, requiring a couple of reefs in the main and a free shower in the process. As we approached the "Great Channel" between the Nicobar Islands and Sumatra, the concentration of shipping increased, we were seeing at least a couple of ships an hour - unnerving the way they suddenly loomed out of the rain. The Andaman roller coaster ride continued adding challenge to the couple of gybes we made to deal with the shifting wind direction in the channel.

As we left the Andaman sea, the seas became noticeably more regular and the wind increased - now at last some exhilarating sailing as we sped across the relatively calm ocean with a strong tail-wind leaving the rain behind us. The contrast in sea conditions and comfort levels is incredible.

Some excitement as the fishing line raced out this afternoon, only to lead to disappointment as we landed a large plastic sheet.

We continued our tastes of the World cuisine, moving to Mexico for lunch as we used the reminder of the spag-bol topped with coleslaw in Taco shells. Not convinced by Taco shells - far too fiddly and messy to prepare on a rolling boat. This evening we moved back to Italy for spaghetti carbonara - unfortunately I seem to have forgotten the tricks we were taught by Stephania in New Zealand. She taught us carbonara the Roma way - is there any other? Unfortunately this evening mine was more spaghetti with scrambled eggs and bacon - edible but not from Roma.

It's a star filled night, with plenty of shipping around adding interest to tonight's watches.

Position @ 23:00 (GMT +5) 14/1/2008: N6deg 01.9' E93deg 00.0'
Distance to Sri Lanka: 743.6
Daily run: 168.4

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