Indian Ocean Day 7; 15/10/17

We got the boat sorted out to handle the imminent gale, rolling away the mainsail and just leaving the genoa. Shortly afterwards rain squalls started to arrive with 40 knots of wind, and as night fell it got rougher. I was cooking again and I served wahoo steaks in a Korma curry sauce (packet) with rice.

When I came on watch again at 9pm it was a wild night with clear skies full of stars and I got quite chilly despite wearing my fleece, waterproof and woolly hat. Justin relieved me at midnight just as it was clouding over and started to rain again.

When I came on watch again at 6 am the promised swell had arrived and long lines of crests were coming up astern, much taller than we have seen before, at about 5 meters high they come part way up the mast. Across them then come the waves whipped up by the gale intersecting at a shallow angle and piling up on top to break noisily from time to time. The wind is pretty steady 35-45 knots with times when it gets to 50 knots, blowing spray off the wave crests and leaving long thin parallel lines of foam on the water. Occasionally one of the crests breaks over the boat and, while Mark was on watch, the plastic crate full of fishing gear was smashed on the aft deck, the man overboard recovery sling was torn off the rail, and the cockpit got a good wash through! Mark managed to retrieve most of the stuff from the aft deck, but one of my Crocs is now adrift in the Indian Ocean.

There's a dread fascination with the ocean as it marches relentlessly towards us from astern, higher crests shouldering above the skyline with breaking crests, like a crowd eager to see what's ahead. Trying to get a good photo of this impressive sight seems impossible as the camera can't convey the scale of the waves effectively. I tried sketching them instead.

Impression of the waves.  Wind blowing 40-50knots, Indian Ocean

Fear of what this mighty ocean can do, and at what point it becomes really dangerous, is a very real underlying anxiety. As the boat rises to each wave astern it adds to my confidence, but nonetheless we don't know what is yet to come. There's nowhere else to go so we must manage it as best we can. This is only a gale, so I'm glad not to be experiencing a cyclone.

Our speed is between 8-9 knots most of the time, but we have had some exhilarating rides down big waves at 12-15 knots with a record of 18.5! George, the autopilot, handles the boat very well, but we all spend time hand steering too for the experience. However in that process we have noticed that there is some slippage in the hydraulic system, so that's another job on the list when next in port.