Egmont Isles-Seychelles

Map of passage to Seychelles

The first five days were an average start to the voyage from Egmont Isles to Seychelles. Kathryn and I settled into our routine of schoolwork and cooking. Mince, roast pork chops, turtle stew, roast chook, fish, cakes and crumbles and more cakes. Fruit and yogurt for breakfast, along with French fried bread and omelette. We certainly ate well for a family on the high seas. Especially when many Yachts had no oven or a fridge/freezer. It was so calm during those days that we finally decided to get somewhere and motored. This was a rare occasion, as motoring costs money. The fuel tank would need to be refilled. We hadn't money to spare, and if it was spent on fuel, some other product was not bought.

During these days, with nothing much to do, we taught Mum the card game 500, so every afternoon, four of us would sit in the cockpit and play cards. Dad never joined in, and Mike was always doing something else, so it was Mum, Kathryn, Stuart, and myself. Admittedly, it did help to pass the time. One could only read for so many hours every day!

It rained on day 3, so we washed standing on the deck in the rain. Yes, just raining was noteworthy; it was such a slow, unexciting trip.

However, on the 5th morning, Kathryn woke me at 06.40, saying, "Come have a look. It's a dinghy". Mike, on watch, happened to see the dinghy as we drifted slowly past it. A few hours earlier, it would not have been seen in the dark, a few miles to either side, and it would not have been spotted in the distance. Pure luck.

All hands on deck. Franda II started her engine, and as Mike kept an eye on the dinghy as it slowly faded astern, Kathryn and I dropped the headsail and tied it to the rail, then sheeted the mainsail in tight. The boat was abuzz with excitement. Dad, on the helm, turned Franda II around and headed back in the direction Mike was pointing. Stuart helped Kathryn and I drop and lash the mainsail to the boom. As Franda II closed in on the now-identified Boston Whaler, we noticed it did indeed have a warp over the bow with an anchor hanging 1/2 a meter down. The boat was undoubtedly the one the servicemen had let drift away from Diego Garcia.

We had been told the story four weeks ago, but I am not sure how long before that it had "escaped". The Boston Whaler was covered in guano; the seabirds had been nesting in it. There was also a micro-ecosystem under the Whaler. Many weeds and barnacles adhered to the hull, crabs, shrimps and tiny fish swimming amongst them. The further away one looked, the larger the fish became. We even spotted a Mahi mahi swimming by.

This Boston Whaler was an 18-foot-long fibreglass runabout with an 85-horsepower Johnson outboard. They are a very seaworthy boat and "float" when full of water. It had a steering station amidships with a wheel, throttle lever and swivel chair. Padded seats adorned the stern and in front of the steering station. For safety, it also had a pulpit.

The sea was calm enough for Dad to manoeuvre Franda II close enough without touching to allow Stuart to jump down into the Whaler with the tail end of a warp and tie it to the bow cleat. Next, he pulled in the anchor and handed the diving gear up to us on Franda II's deck. Three pairs of $40 flippers, three snorkels, one mask, and a rusty speargun. He also handed up a box of flares.

What were the chances of finding it? Something so small in such a vast expanse of ocean. From Franda II's deck, we would have to be within a nautical mile to see it. And then, we need to be looking in the right direction.

Mike joined Stuart in the Whaler and tried to start the outboard. No luck; unsurprisingly, the battery was flat. Mike carefully handed the battery up to Dad on Franda II's deck. Dad took it to the engine room and put it on charge. The Whaler spent the night tied to Franda II's stern.

The following day, with the Whaler tied to the stern on a short painter, Mike and Stuart used the saltwater hose to wash as much of the guano off it as possible. Once clean, Dad climbed down into the Whaler and received the fully charged battery Mike passed him. Dad reconnected the battery and primed the fuel line to the outboard. Then, sitting on the driver's seat, crossed all fingers and toes and turned the key. The outboard spluttered, then ran. A huge cheer rang out from the watching family. Doug's job done, he climbed onto Franda II, allowing his sons to take it for a "spin". They took it slowly at first. The saltwater from the washing slowly drained out the stern with the bow held high. As she emptied, her speed increased until she, at last, was up on the plane. My brothers took turns driving the Whaler around Franda II at high speed. Finally, they came back alongside and offered to take their excited sisters for a ride. What fun they had cutting doughnuts and bouncing off the small swells.

The brothers were excited by the speed and adrenalin. They had the idea to visit Hohoq, just over the horizon to the north, about 10NM. First, though, they needed to clean the hull. This would help reduce the drag, therefore gaining speed and fuel economy. Stuart drew the short straw, so he got the diving gear ready. Meanwhile, Mike got comfortable with the shotgun in case any inquisitive sharks were around.

Franda II dropped all sail. When she had ceased all forward motion, Stuart jumped into the water with diving gear, a scrubbing brush and a scraper. All ten eyes were on the water, watching for any unwanted visitors. Stuart worked quickly; the hull was clean, and he was safely back on board in no time at all. Deeming they had plenty of fuel onboard, Michael and Stuart left to visit Hohoq. They would be out of sight of both yachts for a period. The Whaler is at sea level; hence, they could see less distance. Their horizon would be 2.3NM, whereas, from Franda II's deck, it was over 3.5NM. As a precaution, they packed some flares and a handheld compass. They had not let Hohoq know they were coming, wanting to surprise them. 30 minutes after their departure, Franda II, with relief, received a message on HAM to say that Mike and Stu had arrived safely. Franda II later received a short message saying the Boston Whaler was returning. It arrived in one piece with two exhilarated lads on board and two relieved parents on Franda II.

The Whaler was tied to the stern of Franda II with a stout warp. It would be towed into Seychelles and hopefully sold. It should only be another 2 days, but the drag of the Whaler would slow Franda II. Our brothers had given us girls the speargun, so I spent a morning getting the rust off it and getting it usable. I also filed the spear into a sharp point. After all this excitement, we returned to the galley and cooked the whole afternoon. We baked biscuits, cakes, pudding and three crumbles and roasted a chook for dinner.

On the final night of the passage, Day 9, Kathryn and I cooked "T" bone steaks for dinner. We were excited and hyped up, not wanting to sleep, so we took Dad's 3-hour watch together, waking Mike for his watch at midnight. The following day, when we awoke, there were islands in view. St Anne Island was passed about lunchtime. Then Franda II anchored at the lighthouse and waited on Customs. Seychelle customs duly arrived and cleared Franda II and family in. They took Franda II's shotgun ashore to lock it up. Seychelles was a new "Republic", having gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, the previous year. Mahé is the largest of Seychelles 155 islands. 1022NM (1892km), an average of 100NM per day.

I was delighted to be reunited with my two friends, Tina and Sophie.

During the 25 days Franda II spent in and around Mahé, the main island in the Republic of Seychelles, I spent much of it with Sophie off Jolly Jumper and Tina off Dreamtime. We shopped for Christmas presents and fruit to eat at the cubby we had built on a small island. Stamps were swapped between Sophie and I. We three girls often set up a classroom in one of their "homes". Seychelles introduced me to a type of fruit referred to as "red things" in my diary. I absolutely fell for them and could not get enough Lychees.

I found Mahé island dirty with open drains. The smell it permeated reminded me of New Caledonia, which also had open drains in the town. Huge low tides made taking the dinghy into town difficult. However, the outer islands were wonderfully clean, with beautiful clear water and white beaches.

The Boston Whaler gave the Franda II crew and friends some fun-filled days of waterskiing and trips to the islands. However, eventually, it sold for US$5000. It was sad to part with it, but the dollars set Franda II up for a few more months. Realistically, Franda II could not take the Boston Whaler with her. It was too big to tow and could get them into strife in rough seas.

At the end of November, we finally left Seychelles to head towards Kenya. The first stop, though, would be Eagle Is(Rémire Is)in the Ameranty group, some 245km in a westerly direction.