05:21.20S 072:12.57E
Hi everyone - apologies for not being in touch. We arrived Chagos on the 22nd and have been moored here since then near the island of Boddam. We had a fantastic day to arrive - the clearest blue skies and crystal clear water. We had made radio contact with one of the other boats already in the anchorage and the husband (Bryce) and our friend from UAE (Bernd) came out to meet us in the dinghy to help us navigate in past the many coral reefs or "bommies". The small irony is that the boat we made contact with was named "Silver Fern" after one of the NZ national emblems - the same emblem we carry as a motif on the side of Aroha. Bryce is a Kiwi - so Bryan felt right at home! Then, within a few hours of establishing our mooring, we had an invitation to our first party.
The derelict buildings from when the island was still inhabited some 30 years back offer some functional use - with one being claimed as the "club house". It is a fun setting, with lots of maritime objects have been left by other yachties over the years. The party was to celebrate the 69th birthday of Ron. Ron and his 66 year old wife, Eileen, live aboard "Tigger". At that point, there were 7 boats moored here so we met lots of new people and enjoyed Ron's special punch for a good few hours. The evening was punctuated by visits from the islands main inhabitants - huge Coconut crabs. They can become a bit unnerving when it is so dark and you can't see where they are coming from. One even attempted to launch itself into the blazing fire - but made a hasty retreat when he discovered it was very hot!
Unfortunately, after the great start, the weather then decided to take a turn for the worse (well it is monsoon season) so we have had a few windy and bumpy days and nights. The mooring lines here have been created by previous boating visitors and our mooring is a long chain wrapped round a huge piece of coral - so pretty secure. Our concern has been the mooring lines we have been using to secure ourselves and the fact that we have a reef either side of the boat meaning we don't have a great deal of room to swing. Bryan spent some time sorting lines (mooring ropes) out yesterday, including bringing up an additional second chain he had found on the seabed and we also made a make shift anti-chafing solution for the rope. So we are now feeling a bit happier and safer. The wind is almost consistently blowing from the south east but has been up to 30 knots.
Unfortunately, our computer decided to pack up completely about a day after we arrived and even while working was steadfastedly refusing to send any emails - for now we are borrowing email facilities from Martha and Bryce on Silver Fern and I hope that we can get the mailing software we need to install on Erin's computer to see if I can get Erin's up and running for sending emails (though not too hopeful). So for now we are pretty limited on outside communication but will try and send a blog every few days.
Until next time - Helen.....
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