Sea Monster - on the home stretch

We are on the home stretch! We are ~2,300NM from Cocos Keeling and less than 50NM remaining to the finish line on the north of Mauritius. We have the spinnaker out and it’s been the most fun stretch of sailing for me to date. The sun has created a silver carpet on the sapphire ocean leading us to our destination. It’s beautiful.I’m no longer relying on the apparent wind angle to know if I’m sailing the right way. I can feel the tickle of the breeze moving from behind my ear to my cheek and back again, indicating whther I need to turn up or down. I hear the change in the sound of the wake behind me, and when a rush (surfing down a wave) quietens, it’s time to turn up again. And with both the wind and the sound, I allow the pressure of the rudder on the helm to guide me, always trying to. read more...

Sea Monster - continues in the Indian Ocean

This weekend has been full of lessons on how to steer. The swell has been from SW (moderate, 2m) and S (longer period and bigger, 3m) and when they meet it’s a challenge. With the constant 18-20kt winds gusting to 25kt this weekend, it has been a good opportunity for the crew to have lessons on how to manage the helm without slamming the boat or risking another broach, or accidental gybe. Skipper Jerry is doing a fantastic job on imparting his countless hours of offshore experience to us quickly. Hopefully we will all be ready for when the bigger wind and swell hit this week! And Billie The Bengal approves of the crew’s upskill and has eaten and not puked.. read more...

Sea Monster - in the Indian Ocean

Hi from The Monsters! We are off again! We crossed the start line atCocos Keeling at 11:00 local time (GMT +6:30) and in 15 days / 2350 NM across the Indian Ocean we will be in Mauritius! We’re starting the circumnavigation adventure across the most difficult ocean (!) but who doesn’t like a challenge?!? We are following the tradewinds: generally we will be sailing along a high pressure system, and there is a developing low to the north of Chagos. If that comes down towards our course at all, it will push the high pressure system south, and in turn we will head further south to stay in the high. The low pressure system could turn into a cyclone (there was one in the area last week) but historically it is too early in the season for these to be regular. For the first week, the winds will. read more...

Sea Monster - In Cocos Keeling

Hello from Cocos Keeling! I can’t believe we are in the middle of the Indian Ocean at this beautiful atoll. To get here from Lombok was 5 days / 4 nights to Christmas Island, then 4 days / 3 nights to Cocos Keeling. The sailing has been challenging and I will share more about thay later. For now, it’s hard to imagine the colours you can see in the photos where yellow turns to green which turns to blue and in real life there is no distinction between them - it’s like looking at the full colour spectrum from yellow to blue! Arriving at the Direction Island anchorage, we were met by black tipped reef sharks, who seemed super friendly until we fed them leftover wahoo!Today we are having the skipper’s briefing regarding the next leg to Mauritius, which should take 15 days. We are over at the. read more...

Sea Monster - In the Indian Ocean

The sun started showing her shine at 5am. By 6am, the sky was bright although overcast. When I saw the size of the swell we had been hand-steering through all night, I momentarily wished it was dark again so I didn’t have to see it 🤣 But then I settled back into the rhythm of the night, anticipating the swell or gusts before they caught Sea Monster, and continued to have a lot of fun. We covered 183.6nm in our 1st 24h since leaving Christmas Island. We will arrive in Cocos Keeling on Tuesday, and may have to put on the brakes a bit to ensure a daylight arrival.. read more...