After six weeks at sea, I arrive on La Réunion: rubbish, laundry, repairs. A visit from Marinette and hikes through lava fields and misty forests. Then it’s on again: 1500 miles across the Indian Ocean to Richards Bay, South Africa. Calms, fronts, cross seas, giant container ships and the dreaded Agulhas Current. Others do it in ten days, I take 19. Sail it like famous solo sailer Bernard Moitessier may have done it: No engine and take the weather as it comes.
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Birds, Crabs & Crisis. Sailing 1500 Miles from Australia to Christmas Island
1,500 nautical miles solo across the Indian Ocean: from Darwin to Ashmore Reef and on to Christmas Island. A loose shackle sends the boom swinging wild, the oil pump fails right at the reef, a squall snaps the spinnaker pole in two — and mid-ocean, the insurer drops single-handed sailors. In between: frigatebirds, boobies, noddies, turtles, and coconut crabs in one of the most remote corners of the planet. A voyage of wildlife, wonder, and on-the-fly repairs.
Sailing gale. How? Technical and navigational issues
How do you sail safely in gale-force winds? This video covers storm preparation, heavy weather tactics and real-world cruising experience between 28 and 47 knots. Learn about reefing, wave patterns, close-hauled sailing, broad reaching, downwind sailing, squalls, preventers, heaving-to and survival tactics. Practical storm sailing advice from a solo cruising sailor aboard Reykja.