Dec 15
I was startled from my spot laying on the deck, daydreaming about cold mountain rivers and icebergs as sweat trickled down my face, by the AIS alarm. We hadn’t seen any boats in a long time and were surprised to see one now. As we drew closer we saw it was a 50 foot fishing boat on course to pass us at less than 500 feet away. We altered course to pass behind with plenty of room. As we passed astern of them we noticed they were towing a net supported by a line of orange floats. As soon as we passed them the boat sped up to 7 knots and turned to cut in front of us. A course that would encircle us in their net. Feeling rather like a fish, we quickly altered course again and fled the net. They must have seen us as we were within less than half a mile of them. So whether it’s an Indian Ocean version of roping a steer at the rodeo, or they just figured they’d try their hand at fishing for sailboats, I’m not sure. The odd thing was they never called us up on the radio to tell us they were towing a net or even to tell us to get out of the way.
An Indonesian fishing boat that seemed set on running us down
Dec 16
Sunrise revealed a large-scale joint ariel and aquatic fishing operation. Large fish below pushed a school/flock? of flying fish up to the surface where a large flock of seabirds, eager for breakfast, wheeled and dove, picking the fish out of the air.
One of many large fish that kept company with us for the day
Later, two large fish, about 4 feet long and a shimmering electric blue in colour, came over and swam along with us for the rest of the day. It was tempting to try and catch one, but with just two of us, there’s no way we could eat that much fish before it goes off.
Dec 19
We over-trimmed our sails and slowed down around midnight to avoid reaching Cocos (Keeling) in the dark. At 8 am I called up the Cocos police on the radio and notified them of our arrival. About half an hour later we got a call from the Australian Border Force vessel Ocean Protector asking all the normal questions.
As we pulled around Direction Island, a 400 foot cargo ship came into view, anchored in the sparkling blue waters of the lagoon. There was a barge pulled up beside it and they were lowering large sacks and boxes of goods to be transported into the islands. The cargo is unloaded onto a smaller barge that can get over the many reefs to west island and home island
The supply ship anchored off direction island, Coco’s Keeling
We crossed a shallow reef and dropped anchor 100 meters off the beach on Direction Island. We radioed the Cocos police and 20 minutes later they were alongside, clearing us in. They were very excited about the arrival of the cargo ship as it meant fresh supplies for the store. After a very brief search of the boat and a couple of forms we were free to go ashore.
The sand is pure white and so fine and soft that you can sink past your ankles, jumping out of the dinghy.
Cossies beach Direction Island, with the supply ship and Saumure in the background
Cocos (Keeling) was originally settled as a coconut farm and much of the islands are still covered in coconut palms. Before World War I, Direction Island was leased from the Ross family by the Australian government as a submarine cable station, linking Australia with Africa, Asia, and Europe. As such an important communication station the island came under several attacks. Without any way to defend themselves the signal station crew had to improvise. At one point a German warship shelled the island from a good distance, all the shells went wide but the station crew busied themselves painting shot holes in the roofs and setting decoy fires around the island. The next morning the Germans reported that the station had been destroyed beyond repair.
The station was closed in the 1960s and all that remains today are heaps of rusting equipment and piles of bricks.
Dec 20
We made the 40 minute dinghy ride over to Home Island to pay our anchorage fees and do some exploring. The town is almost exclusively Malay and has a population of around 300. There are very few cars, most people preferring golf carts or ATVs to get around on the island’s 2km of roads, which are made of white sand or brick.
The roads are made of pure white sand on Home Island
At the centre of town is a large mosque and farther along a disused turtle pond from when this was a major food source for the Islanders.
The graveyard, refuse site, and desalinator occupy the north end of the island.
Groceries are all shipped in from Australia and are enormously expensive so, apart from a couple of candy bars and a carton of eggs, we limited ourselves to refilling on fresh water at the pier.
We spent the next few days fixing the boat, relaxing, and exploring the reef.
Dec 24 The local Australian Federal police officer tracked us down and informed us that our visa was running out tomorrow. Our visas hadn’t reset when we cleared out of Darwin for some reason, which meant we only had one day left in Cocos. Fortunately the boat was already fully provisioned with food and water.
Dec 25
This morning the Australian Border Force patrol boat vessel Ocean Protector moved around the island and moored next to us. I guess they want to make sure that we actually leave. We went for one last snorkel on the reef, under the watchful eye of Border Force.
We packed up the boat and at 4 pm, upped anchor, and set sail for the 4,000 nautical mile crossing to South Africa.
With a stiff south-easterly breeze, we averaged 5 knots for the remainder of the day and that night.
We’ll be crossing the Indian Ocean during cyclone season which could pose some interesting challenges.