Stage 3 – Cocos-Keeling Atoll to Rodrigues Island
Posted by Graham Cox
Stage 3 of Leg 3 got underway on 18 September, when Renaud and CAPUCINETTE slipped out of Cocos (Keeling) Atoll and headed WSW towards Rodrigues Island. By the following day, he had been joined by Dan on IMMORTAL GAME, Keri on ORIGAMI, and Pilar on PETER PUNK. They all reported unsettled conditions, with a large cross sea coming up from the south, squalls and periods of rain. Keri, as usual, dove south, but the others chose a course a bit north of the Rhumb Line, where they remain to date.
Adam got away aboard LITTLE WREN on the 21st, followed, on the 22nd, by Jakub on BIBI and Christian on ARGO. Eric, on SUNBEAR, and Jasmine, on NUMBATOU, left a few hours apart on the 23rd. By that morning, conditions were settling down for the front-runners, with Renaud reporting 15 knots of wind, clear skies and a moderating sea. A message from him in French, auto-corrected to English, said he was heading for Iceland, but it is safe to assume that the AI boffin meant ‘the island’.
Dan said the brighter conditions had lifted his spirits, and he posted a photo for himself lifting up a bottle of Morgan’s rum, pun intended. Whether he broached the potion remains unclear. A couple of days earlier, he’d posted his regrets for drinking chocolate milk on an unsettled stomach!
Keri had a bit of a problem getting Starlink up and running on the 22nd, possibly due to the wild motion, but later managed to make contact. He said, “It’s been interesting weather so far. The stopover in Cocos (Keeling) was pretty windy, pretty exposed as an anchorage, but it was a wonderful place to visit. I made new friends there on other yachts, and we started hatching plans for some future expeditions.”
Asked about his decision to take a more southerly route, he said, “I’m just seeking the best of the equatorial current for the time being, and also wanted to get some reasonable speed across the seas. They were breaking on the beam for the last three days, and there was a big southerly swell too.
“My track’s been quite erratic, largely because of the seas. The first two days, I didn’t hand-steer, because it was unpleasant in the cockpit, just being hit by waves all the time. There was a risk of being knocked overboard or something like that. I chose to take shelter down below and peer out through the hatch, leaving the Aries (windvane) to do the brave stuff outside.” As conditions started easing, he began to do a bit of hand-steering to boost performance.
His batteries were quite flat when he first set off. “It was very overcast in Cocos a lot of the time, but also, we tended to be orientated north-south in the anchorage. When you’ve got your solar panels set up pretty much for westerly tracking, they don’t get quite as much exposure to sunlight when the boat is oriented north-south. I ran down to 0% on my battery bank while I was in Cocos, so I’ve been careful to build it up, and I’m only just now back up to 190 amp hours. I tend to use about 9 amp hours overnight.”
ORIGAMI had three reefs in the mainsail and full jib before the wind began easing. “Last night was the first time I broke out a spinnaker, so I’ve got the A7 up. I’m kind of at risk with the A3 I think, unless I’m going to be hand steering. I think it might be prudent enough to go up to the A5, but not to the A3 for now. Some of those quartering waves round me up, and then I’ll just be laid on my side flogging until the boat comes back up.
“The seas are still quite random, but big enough that I’m just surfing down them. The Aries will pick a track that’s quite efficient down (into) the troughs, but every now and again, when she catches one of the quartering seas, she’ll round up. We’ve had cross seas from the south or SSW all the way since leaving. They’re sort of bigger than the trade wind swell at the moment, so they’re the predominant swell on the beam.
“I put them on the beam to get a decent reaching angle, because they were breaking over the boat quite a bit, and there was a risk of broaching. The swells were never bigger than three and a half metres, four meters – they weren’t as big as they were on the run into Cocos. I think the wind was slightly less, too, so they weren’t breaking so much, but when they were, they thumped the boat around in a big way.”
It was also very squally for the first few days, which made me reluctant to shake out reefs quickly. The squalls were quite violent, and coupled with the sea state, it ratcheted things up a notch or two very quickly. If anything, I’ve been sailing with less mainsail than I could carry. I had a poled-out jib for a while but it didn’t really seem to pay, as my apparent wind angles were changing so much on the waves. It’s nice to have a spinnaker up now.
“I’m always a bit mindful of rounding up because of the spreader issues we’ve had. I think the only way to strengthen them adequately is to put a stiffening bar on the leading edge, which compensates for the bending moment, which is forcing the spreaders forward.”
Right now, Keri’s biggest concern is that the parcels he had shipped to Cocos failed to arrive, including the base charger for his Iridium Extreme phone, a book sent by his father about Charles Darwin’s voyage on the BEAGLE, and power cords for his headphones, meaning he cannot listen to audio books while helming. “You’re just stuck with your thoughts going around in a circle, and in the end, you think, ‘I am going crazy here.’ It definitely has a knock-on effect to my feeling on board, or generally morale. That lack of human contact gets quite significant over the course of two or three weeks.”
Pilar said she was well, as always, although PETER PUNK had experienced, “a lot of wind, a lot of waves, a big swell.” It was windy when she left, and she was concerned about whether she’d be strong enough to raise her anchor in those conditions. She tied two reefs in the mainsail, and shortened the anchor cable until it was almost vertical, to make sure she wouldn’t have any problems during her night-time departure. “After the maneuver, everything went well. Now I am sailing towards Rodrigues Island. I have less than 2,000 miles to go. The wind is strong, but today the waves are evenly spaced, which makes sailing easier.”
Adam said that LITTLE WREN was sailing well. “We had a good day yesterday, it’s a little bit overcast today, quite a few clouds, with broken sunshine starting to come through. It’s just dawn, so there’s not a lot of light, but I haven’t had any squalls yet, so it’s not too bad.”
The sea-state was similar to his approach to Cocos (Keeling). “The seas are fairly big and rolly. There was a little bit more swell coming from the port quarter at the beginning, but it’s a bit all over the show now. It’s generally coming from behind the boat, so I haven’t had much water in the cockpit.”
Just then, his Ecomax alarm went off. It turned out to be a catamaran that had been in Cocos, about 1.2 miles astern and sailing at 7.5 knots. LITTLE WREN was averaging about 5.7 knots, and they had a chat on VHF radio as he passed. He’d also seen two or three commercial vessels since he left. Adam had to interrupt his call at that moment, as a squall forced him to go on deck and reef the jib.
LITTLE WREN left Cocos at midnight, local time. Adam stowed the motor before leaving, and sailed off the anchor under a little bit of mainsail and a scrap of jib. The wind was steady and he had no difficulty getting clear of the land. “I decided to go round the north of Horsborough Island. It was nice to get out into deep water again and clear of the land.”
Asked about the sails he was carrying, he said, “I started off with two reefs in the mainsail and a full jib, but not for very long. Throughout the first night, I had three reefs in the mainsail plus the full jib. I got slightly lighter winds the following morning, and shook out a reef. And then I did a lot of playing around with the sails, going back to three reefs in the main and a reefed jib. I tried the A7 briefly, but it was far too much sail. Now I’m back to three reefs in the main and just adjust the jib as needed.”
He still has his twin jibs rigged, lying on the deck, to give him some flexibility. “But they are quite heavy. If the boat rounds up, (and they backwind) you tend to get a bit of judder on them, which puts
pressure on the forestay. I am north of the rhumb line at the moment, but not a long way off it. I’m happy with my course. I’ve just hardened up a little bit (come up a bit closer to the wind), but the more you harden up, the more you’re inclined to round up.
“I saw Dan Turner’s post on Facebook. I haven’t had the squalls that he’s had. I’ve had a little bit of rain, but not very much. I have about 70% cloud cover at the moment, but there’s nothing ominous-looking, it’s all fairly light, with just the odd black cloud.”
He has quickly settled back into being at sea and found his sea legs. “My wife gave me these wristbands, with little bubbles on the inside, (pressure-point devices), and I’ve used those the last few times when I’ve started. I think they definitely help. I normally feel a bit sick for the first day or two.
“I am pleased to get away from Cocos, although they were amazing islands. It was blowing hard all the time, and we were stuck on board our boats in the anchorage. Also, we’ve still got thousands of miles to travel. It’s not like we are tourists – you’ve always got the next leg looming. We’ve still got the Cape of Good Hope to get around. Nonetheless, the beauty was absolutely stunning, and Cocos will live in the memory for a long time.
“I don’t relax, perhaps, as much as some of my fellow sailors. I find the Indian Ocean very tiring, probably mentally as much as physically. Right now, with the wind forward of the quarter, the boat is heeling a lot more than it has been generally in this voyage so far.”
Adam is still cooking regularly though, being pretty stalwart on that. Unfortunately, he did not manage to buy anything fresh other than potatoes and onions at Cocos. Even long-life foods were limited. “I found the only seven tins available that had meat in them, so, rather naughtily, I bought them all. Perhaps I should have left one or two. When I had a close look at them back on the boat, I discovered that it was buffalo meat, which I’ve never had before.
“Yesterday, I made a potato salad for lunch, and in the evening, I fried the potatoes and onions, and then made a buffalo beef curry. I think the poor buffalo was on its last legs when it was put into a can, because it wouldn’t be what you call terribly tender meat. Besides the buffalo, I’ve got corned beef, corned mutton, and curried beef, and then some tinned tuna. I’ve still got those six cans of sardines, too, which I’ve put in the bottom of the shelf, and which really will be emergency food only!” (Adam maxed out on sardines coming across the Pacific.)
Water is more of an issue. “I’m slightly regretting it, but I compromised on my water a bit. I’ve got all the water I need, but took about 50 litres from the fresh-water tank on Direction Island and 50 litres from Home Island, because getting water from Home Island took a lot of doing, carrying the canisters, etc. I’ll definitely have to boil the stuff from Direction Island because it’s just got that slightly feisty sort of taste.
“Mike from WHITE MARKHAM gave me some sterilization tablets, although there is only enough for a few litres, and I’m trying to share them around 50 litres, so I’m not sure they’ll be very effective. I should really have sterilization tablets on board but I don’t. It will be OK boiled, and I always drink a lot of tea.”
Adam mentioned that LITTLE WREN’s fundraising for the Ella Dawson Foundation has now reached around £50,000, half of the stated goal at the beginning of their voyage, after a big donor came in with £18,000 about 10 days ago. Now they are starting to run a little competition, in which participants have to guess how much rope there is aboard LITTLE WREN. “That includes everything, even things like my 100m heavy-weather warp, and my Dyneema guardrails. It costs £5 to enter, and there are some wonderful prizes. If you go to the Ella Dawson Foundation Facebook page, or their Instagram page, there’s a link on how to enter.”
Christian had difficulty making contact through Starlink on Monday, and eventually left a recorded message on WhatsApp. “I’m back on the sea, after 10 beautiful days in the Cocos Keeling Islands, which I really enjoyed. It’s very tough to get some food there, not really possible. So, no fresh food on board ARGO, but I’ve got enough provisions, and I’m happy to be sailing again, to be back out in the ocean.
“I had an easy departure. I had the boat prepared completely, and was hooked up to another boat, so my anchor and my outboard engine were already stored securely inside the boat. I just hoisted sail, dropped the line, and just sailed out of the bay. I chose to be a little late at the start, so that I did not have to tack back and forth, waiting for the exact time to cross the line.
I was using the A5 and the main with three reefs when I sailed out, but when I turned corner and was sailing at about 260°, there was too much wind for the A5, so now I’m sailing with the jib and second reef in the mainsail. The sea state is quite bumpy, so it was uncomfortable to sleep. You have to place yourself to the sides so that you don’t get thrown around. I’ve started thinking about getting my helmet ready, and I’ve got a harness that I use for mountain biking, to protect my shoulders and chest. When it’s really rough, I’m definitely going to use that. We’ve got about 17 to 18 days to go down to Rodrigues.
“I did a couple of updates on ARGO in Cocos. I added some jammers, so it will be easier to pull the sheets in for the storm jib. And I also got a new furler. It was a bit of a challenge to get the package, which was on West Island, and there was a little bit of confusion there. I was very lucky that I found so many people eager to help.
“I also put my wind generator on again. I had some issues with it last night, with screws that were coming loose, so it’s not running at the moment, but it does something at least (when it is running). I got rid of the other one in Fiji, as it did not produce much power. This unit is one that Dan Turner got rid of in Lanzarote (Canary Islands), because it didn’t work for him.”
Eric says that he really enjoyed Cocos, despite the weather being windy and overcast much of the time. “When I came here, it wasn’t what I expected. I thought the anchorage would be a lot more sheltered, and access to the other islands has been a bit of an issue, with the ferry only coming twice a week, and then it was cancelled last Thursday. But they are beautiful islands. Renaud, Dan, Pilar and I did a dive tour, to celebrate Renaud’s birthday, so that was good. I really enjoyed that.”
With his son, Stephen, he was lucky enough to stay for a few days in Oceania House on Home Island, once the homestead of the Clunies-Ross family. This heritage-listed building was lavishly built by indentured labour between 1887 and 1904, with Burmese teak and bricks imported from Scotland. Ertan was also staying there, and the two of them explored West Island on e-bikes.
On the day before he left for Rodrigues Island, he said, “Direction Island was a telegraph station during the Second World War, and the Japanese bombed it, so there’s a bit of history here. The Malay people are lovely, and the lady at Oceania House, Jody, has been really good, taking us around to the ferry, etc.
“But the big problem is that I think the Cocos Islands are subsiding. There’s a six-inch gun on Horsborough Island, put there 70 years ago to protect the entrance during the war, and it’s actually underwater now. It was two metres higher 70 years ago.
“I’m leaving tonight. It’s meant to be about 19 knots when I leave, and it’s been a solid 20 knots at the anchorage here this morning, coming from the east, though it bends around the island and creates a chop in the anchorage. There’s a lot of water breaking over the reef (between Direction and Home Islands), and there’s a little bit of swell in here this morning, about two feet.
“Dan said the first couple of days he was here were quite rough. When I came in, the last eight miles were bloody horrible. I tried to make it for daylight, and I was pushing hard for the last three days. I knew I had to do at least 130 miles a day over the last three days to get here in daylight. I was going alright until the last six hours, but then the breeze dropped.
“Big black clouds were coming in from the north, and it rained like you would not believe. I’ve never seen rain like it. And then the wind came, and I reckon I was getting 35 knots on top of the rain, and it was just bloody horrible. That lasted for a good half an hour, maybe a bit longer.
“Then it sort-of cleared, but this was getting on towards nightfall, so it was starting to get dark. I had about a half-hour break, and then the wind and rain came in again for another half-hour or so. Finally, when we were about four miles from the anchorage, the wind completely died, so it was a real struggle in the end.
“There’s an orange flashing light-beacon just as you come into the entrance, and there are some shallow spots just past it, so I dropped the pick on one of them. I was only about 0.8 of a mile from the anchorage but I was really tired by then. I just motored in early the next morning, which worked out good.”
SUNBEAR is well-stocked for the next passage. “Steve and Brandon packed a suitcase full of food for me, so I’ve got heaps on board, and I’ve got about 120 litres of water on the boat. I topped-up from the Direction Island rainwater tank. Most of the other MGR skippers went over to Home Island and got water, but with the heavy rain we’ve had, the run-off from the Direction Island tank’s roof was as clean as a whistle. I put some water out of the tank in a glass, and there didn’t appear to be any sediment overnight, so I thought I’d taste it. I’ve been drinking it ever since I’ve been here, and it’s bloody beautiful water.
“My son’s coming over here in one of the water taxis at lunchtime to farewell me, have a couple of beers before we go. I’m looking forward to having a good passage to Rodrigues.”
SUNBEAR’s departure left just NUMBATOU, TREKKA and SKOOKUM at Cocos (not counting the cruising yachts). At 0000UTC (0630 in the morning, Cocos time) on 23 September, Jasmine was underway, with NUMBATOU about 15 miles west of the atoll. The day before she departed, her mother posted:
“Jasmine is due to leave the beautiful Cocos Keeling Islands in a few hours. She doesn’t want to leave! Besides having a great time with the Mini Globe Race sailors, she’s repaired the halyard, made a new bed base, giving her the option of lying across the cabin, repaired sails, plus restocked with water and a few provisions, including tinned quail eggs!
“Along with swimming and snorkelling, she’s cleaned the bottom of the boat. It had a lot of weed growing on it, mostly since arriving in Cocos. While Jasmine was scrubbing NUMBATOU’s underbody, a hermit crab decided that her ear looked like a great new home. It made itself known with being noisy and was swiftly removed!
“She also inspected the hull for damage from the big bump she had into a UFO on the passage over from Thursday Island. As she thought, NUMBATOU is a bit bruised, with a small gouge out of the paintwork on the hull underneath, and another scratch further aft, but it’s ok.
“She’s made good friends amongst the cruisers anchored in the bay, who between them have invited her for food, or brought tea over to her (shark steak and rice), helped with jobs, given lifts to Home Island (especially useful when the ferry broke down and several sailors needed to pay their anchorage fees to complete their entry. Jasmine was able to go and pay everyone’s debts!)
“Her anchor and tender are now safely stowed, and she’s moored off a French catamaran ready to cast off at around 2:30 am local time. Next stop is Rodrigues Island, another 2,000 miles.”
Before Jasmine left, she also finger-painted an MGR 2025 sign for the shed on Direction Island, managing somehow to squeeze the names of all 11 boats or skippers onto a small scrap of plywood, albeit with some artistic abbreviations. Pilar is now called PUNK, while Josh is SKOOK, Adam is WREN, and NUMBATOU is just #2. Holding her paint-smeared fingers aloft, Jasmine looked as gleeful as a three-year-old in kindergarten!
Ertan and Josh will soon follow Jasmine out to sea, and a unique chapter in the storied association of Cocos (Keeling) Atoll with world-voyaging yachts will come to an end.
Image by Jasmine Harrison, showing NUMBATOU rafted alongside BIBI in the lee of Direction Island, with Home Island in the distance, connected by a fringing reef, on which the sea breaks heavily during developed weather.
